CMO of the Year

CMO of the Year 2026

Michael Schuld

The CMO of the Year jury, consisting of members of the CMO of the Year Council, leading marketing decision-makers and experts from business, academia and agencies, has made its decision: Michael Schuld, CMO of MediaMarktSaturn, is the CMO of the Year 2026.

Michael Schuld impressed the jury with his consistent transformation of MediaMarktSaturn from a traditional consumer electronics retailer into an “Experience Champion”. By connecting brand leadership, customer experience, technology and new business models, he has positioned marketing as a key driver of growth and business transformation.

Under his leadership, MediaMarktSaturn has created a seamless shopping experience that combines personal advice and services in-store with digital touchpoints. At the same time, data, technology and AI are enabling more relevant customer communication, smarter media investments and scalable content operations across eleven countries.

With this holistic approach, Michael Schuld demonstrates how modern marketing can create lasting value for customers and businesses alike.

Impressions of the CMO Award Night 2026

Shortlist 2026

Maike Abel

Nestlé Deutschland

Martell Beck

Deutsche Bahn

Petra Czora

Dirk Rossmann

Alexander Ewig

Aida Cruises

Jan Flemming

PENNY

Heiko Klauer

IKEA Deutschland

Michael Schuld

MediaMarktSaturn

Anja Stolz

R+V Versicherung

Henning Strauss

STRAUSS

The Jury 2026

Who’s best qualified to evaluate a CMO’s performance? That’s right - other CMOs and partners.

Christian Bachert

Ad Alliance

Tamer Batan

The Trade Desk

Catrin Bialek

Horizont

Andreas Billker

Kellanova

Tim Christiansen

Snap Inc.

Selena Gabat

Florian Haller

Serviceplan Group

Kerstin Köder

SAP

Matthias Lange

DER Touristik

Portrait Carsten Knob, Chefredakteur der digitalen Produkte der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung fotografriert im Studio am Freitag, den 5. April 2019.

Thomas Lindner

FAZ

Ingo Müller

Republic

Prof. Dr. Sven Reinecke

University of St. Gallen

Ulrich Reitz

ntv

Christian Russ

Samsung Ads

Liselotte Schwenkert

Serviceplan Group

Lothaer Weissenberger

DekaBank

Jenny von Zepelin

Capital

Our Keynote Speaker for 2026: Oli France

The Explorer's Mindset: Leading with Conviction in an Uncertain World

Oli France is an expedition leader, adventurer and speaker who has spent more than a decade exploring some of the planet’s most remote, challenging and high-risk regions. From the mountains of Iraq and the jungles of the Congo to the streets of Aleppo, Syria, his journeys have tested the limits of resilience, leadership and human endurance.

Having faced extreme environments, natural disasters and countless high-pressure situations, Oli has developed a unique perspective on what it takes to remain calm under pressure, build trust within teams and overcome seemingly impossible challenges. His experiences reveal that growth, resilience and extraordinary achievement often emerge from the most difficult circumstances.

On stage Oli shared powerful lessons on resilience, self-confidence and leadership, inspiring audiences to challenge their perceived limits, embrace uncertainty and unlock their full potential. Through captivating stories from the front lines of adventure, he demonstrated how individuals and teams can thrive in times of change and turn adversity into opportunity.

From the social media universe

Previous Winners

How do you achieve the extraordinary and become CMO of the Year? These CMOs have shown us how it’s done!

Yvonne Wutzler & Thorsten Mühl

2025

COSNOVA

Daniel Grieder

2024

Hugo Boss

Michael Götz

2023

Gustavo Gusto

Boris Dolkhani

2022

Bosch

Antje von Dewitz

2021

VAUDE

Susan Schramm

2020

McDonald's

Tarek Müller

2019

About You

Karsten Kühn

2018

Hornbach

Erik Liedtke

2017

Adidas

Hans-Christian Schwingen

2016

Deutsche Telekom

Godo Röben

2015

Rügenwalder Mühle

Dr. Ian Robertson

2014

BMW

Host and Partners

Ad Alliance stands for effective cross-media brand communication in Germany. As the marketing unit of RTL Deutschland, it is responsible for the marketing of the media offerings of RTL Deutschland and the Bauer Media Group. In addition, Ad Alliance acts as a proprietary trader and service provider for selected brands and categories of Media Impact, the FUNKE Media Group and Warner Bros. Discovery Germany, and manages the video and addressable TV network of RTL AdAlliance. The approximately 500 media brands across TV, print, digital, addressable TV as well as selected streaming services such as RTL+ and HBO Max reach up to 99 percent of the population in Germany. Strategic consulting, data intelligence and innovative technologies ensure measurable advertising effectiveness.

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CAPITAL has been shaping German business journalism for over 60 years. The brand stands for credibility, substance in its research, journalistic excellence and a high level of expertise in the areas of finance, investment and asset accumulation. CAPITAL reports on developments in the economy from a variety of perspectives, accompanies companies and SMEs in their transformation, explains upheavals in the global economy and recognizes new trends at an early stage - from artificial intelligence to female leadership, sustainable investments and innovative energy concepts. The CAPITAL editorial team analyzes all of this not only in its monthly magazine, but also on all channels that decision-makers demand today: digital and mobile, as a newsletter, ePaper and podcast, as well as at events. CAPITAL is the most widely read business magazine in Germany today.

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HORIZONT - Your News, Your Business. HORIZONT is the media brand for news from marketing, advertising, communications and media. With exclusive news, independent analyses and comprehensive reports, we provide marketing and communications professionals with information for their daily business - as a newspaper in print or digitally and updated daily on HORIZONT Online. We also organize congresses and events on the topics that move our industry.

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With its cross-platform news programmes and the largest business market share on TV, ntv is one of the most influential news and business brands in Germany. The channel, which is owned by RTL Deutschland, is known for its high proportion of live reporting and breaking news expertise. Since 1992, ntv has been offering its viewers the latest news from the worlds of politics, business, sport and society around the clock – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

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Quality marketer and solution provider for Süddeutsche Zeitung and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

At REPUBLIC, all customers are at the center of our actions and thinking. Understanding your challenges is the first step in our collaboration. Republic always takes a holistic view—the brand, the target group, and the market environment.

Our promise: media with meaning.

This is based on the quality media outlets F.A.Z. and SZ, which today reach more people than ever before, demonstrating their great importance for the republic. They appeal to the core of society: opinion leaders and multipliers with diverse interests.

Republic develops meaningful solutions for you in meaningful environments for upmarket target groups – and offers brands the security of successfully achieving their communication goals in credible environments.

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Samsung Ads delivers Advanced TV advertising at scale. Its smart TV advertising solutions are built on a unique source of first-party data from millions of Samsung smart TVs worldwide. Samsung Ads provides a holistic view for advertisers, connecting linear, OTT and gaming to help brands see the total picture of modern TV consumption behaviour. Brands use its managed service and programmatic offerings to achieve incremental reach, complement linear TV campaigns, find difficult-to-reach target audiences, optimise advertising contacts and, most importantly, to measure results. Samsung Ads is the advertising division of Samsung Electronics, the world’s leading TV manufacturer.

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The Serviceplan Group is the largest independent, partner-managed and most broadly positioned agency group in Europe. Founded in 1970 as a classic advertising agency, the Serviceplan Group has been bringing together all communication disciplines under one roof ever since: from brand strategists, creatives, experience designers, marketing technology experts, CRM experts, data scientists, market researchers and PR consultants to sales specialists, everyone at the Serviceplan Group works together at the House of Communication – the only completely integrated agency model in Germany. The precisely coordinated interaction of a number of specialised agencies focused on Strategy & Consulting, Creative & Content, Platform & Technology and Media & Data makes the Serviceplan Group the leading agency group for innovative communication.

What connects us all is our passion for building and coaching fascinating brands. Brands that are economically successful and trigger emotions in the hearts and minds of the consumers — or in other words, BEST BRANDS.

And this is achieved through innovative communication, which means finding new ways into consumers’ hearts with creativity, media and technology.
This vision of turning brands into BEST BRANDS is something we live and breathe here at the House of Communication on a daily basis.

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Snapchat is a visual messaging app that enhances your relationships with friends, family and the world. It is an alternative to traditional social media because people want to communicate with friends and family without the pressure of looking popular or perfect.

Snapchat empowers people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world and have fun together.

The app opens directly to the camera and offers millions of augmented reality lenses for self-expression, learning and play. In Germany, Snapchat reaches 18 million active users monthly.

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Technology company The Trade Desk™ empowers brands and agencies to purchase digital advertising. Through its self-service, cloud-based platform, ad buyers can manage and optimise data-driven digital advertising campaigns across various ad formats and end devices. Integrations with major data, media inventory and publisher partners guarantee maximum reach for independent, data-based purchasing decisions. Enterprise APIs enable customers to make individual developments based on the cloud platform. Headquartered in Ventura, California, The Trade Desk has offices across the United States, Europe and Asia.

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Facebook | X | LinkedIn

The Institute of Marketing and Customer Insight (IMC) at the University of St. Gallen is a renowned research institute that specializes in marketing management and consumer behavior. Through a combination of in-depth research and practice-oriented teaching, the IMC provides innovative educational programs and contributes to the development of the next generation of marketing executives. It facilitates the exchange of knowledge between science and practice by collaborating with companies and offering a wide range of open and customizable continuing education programs.

The IMC's research is characterized by its relevance and quality, covering topics such as digital transformation, consumer psychology, and sustainable marketing. Additionally, the IMC regularly organizes events and workshops that serve as platforms for sharing best practices and building networks.

Further information and details on current projects can be found on the IMC's website: imc.unisg.ch

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Vanessa Kemme

Serviceplan Group

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