Theme: Perspectives Shape Perceptions

On Saturday February 4th, 2017 TEDxWHU will host the third annual TEDx Conference at WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management in Vallendar, Germany.

We are looking forward to an outstanding event with talks revolving around how we perceive certain things in life, how different perspectives can change the way we think. Again we will bring together a diverse audience with inspiring speakers to stimulate thinking that goes beyond the usual.

H1 Building
Burgplatz 2
Vallendar, Rheinland-Pfalz, 56179
Germany

Andrea Gjestvang

Photographer from Oslo & Berlin

A photograph can capture much more than just a moment. It is a lot about the people and the story behind what can be seen on a first view. Norwegian photographer Andrea is living in Berlin, where she takes on assignments and pursues long term personal documentary projects. With an intimate photographic approach she explores political and social issues often connected to the lives of adolescents. For the project called “One Day in History” with portraits of the young survivors of the 2011 terror attack on Utøya, Norway she was awarded the prestigious L'Iris d'Or/Sony World Photography Awards Photographer of the Year 2013. The project “Return” portrayed young asylum seekers who had been deported back to their home countries after living in Norway for many years. Andrea’s fascination and interest in remote and inaccessible environments in the North, has brought her to Greenland and the Faroe Islands, exploring the intimate lives and persistence of people in vulnerable communities.

Andreas Winiarski

Managing Partner at Hering Schuppener + Adviser on Digital Communication

You always want what you can’t have. Startups want to become corporates and corporates want to become startups. The modern-day equivalent of alchemy, however, is impossible to achieve. Corporates will lose ground if they think co-working offices and coffee lounges will ensure a smooth transition into the digital age. Startups do not automatically assume a superior position simply because they are new. The relentless hire and fire culture, or the prevalent insistence on supercharged growth at the expense of other factors – all combined prepare the grounds for failure rather than success. The solution? We need to assume a position of humbleness and curiosity to learn from one another instead of blindly attempting to produce an almost identical copy. In short, we need the best of both worlds! Andreas, Managing Partner at Hering Schuppener and former SVP Global Communications at Rocket Internet, advises startups and corporates on all aspects of their reputation in the digital age.

Annie Oelmann

DJ in Berlin & London + WHU Alumna

Annie Oelmann started her career as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch in London after her studies at WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management. Although this might look like the typical start of a successful business career Annie had a sudden realisation that this was not what she wanted to do in the future. She turned her life 180 degrees around and now follows a career path that is probably unbelievable to many following studies in a business context. After she quit her job as an investment banker she was earning her living through part-time jobs while exploring the music scene of London. Later on she started doing online marketing for startups. She still felt uncomfortable with that kind of work and decided to focus on her DJ career. Today, she is better known as Annie O and you will find her at well-known clubs in Berlin and London where she works as a successful DJ. In her talk “Acknowledging your inner compass” Annie is going to tell her personal story.

Chris Kastenholz

Founder of Pulse Advertising

Christoph Kastenholz is Founding Partner of Pulse Advertising, the globally leading Influencer Marketing agency with offices in Hamburg, Germany and New York, USA. Growing rapidly from inception in 2014 to a team of 50, Pulse Advertising has become market leader in its industry. After studying at top universities in Germany, France and Spain, Chris worked in M&A Investment Banking at GP Bullhound in London. His experiences working with businesses sparked his interest in entrepreneurship, and Chris left London to start a fashion label in Germany with his partner Lara. While promoting his fashion label, Chris found many shortcomings in the traditional advertising methods. He realized the highest ROI in advertising was through the widely untapped influencer marketing field, and decided to pursue this opportunity. This led to the establishment of Pulse Advertising, and in just over two years Chris and Lara have grown Pulse into the global player it is today.

Daniel Drepper

Investigative Journalist + Co-Founder of CORRECT!V

What exactly is investigative journalism? And what function do you believe investigative journalism serves for society? Daniel Drepper, Co-Founder of CORRECT!V, the first non-profit research office in the German-speaking region, believes that its function is to reveal the truth, to uncover facts many people want to keep hidden, to re-establish fairness and to shine light in dark places. That is exactly what Daniel Drepper is up to. After his studies in the US, where he got to know the advantages of data journalism, Daniel wants to accelerate this way of providing information to the general public in Germany. In his talk Daniel will focus on the role of investigative journalism in today's society.

John Danaher

Human Enhancement Scientist + Philosopher + Author

John Danaher (PhD) is an academic based in the School of Law at NUI Galway in Ireland. His research interests are eclectic, ranging from the philosophy of religion to ethics and legal theory. His main area of research is the philosophy of technology and the impacts of emerging technologies on society. He writes a blog called Philosophical Disquisitions and is an affiliate scholar for the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. His published work has focused on robotics and the law, the future of work, the threat of advanced AI, sex work and robotics, and the ethics of human enhancement. From 2015 to 2017 he is the lead investigator on the Algocracy and Transhumanism Project, which looks at the future of governance and values in an era of advanced artificial intelligence. The project is funded by the Irish Research Council. He is the co-editor (with Neil McArthur) of the book Robot Sex: Social and Ethical Implications which is due to be published in 2017 with MIT Press.

Lucas Kollmann

Private Equity Investor + Speaker and Coach on Networking + WHU Alumnus

Lucas started his career as one of the youngest Investment Professionals in the Private Equity industry in London and was since his high-school times fascinated by the power of networks. He realised that a majority of professional success as it relates to promotions, job opportunities or entrepreneurial success could be traced back to bonds and relationships between people. New opportunities seem to not just be an abstract concept but a window for advancement that opens when you met the right people in the right context. However, one of his realisations was that many of his peers solely focus on forming weak ties with a large number of people while many neglect the power of friendships that they have already formed. This relates to the concept of "Mastermind Groups", which Lucas will particularly focus on during his talk. Besides his work, Lucas is a passionate entrepreneur, investor in and advisor to start-ups. Together with two friends he formed a pro-bono coaching platform.

Pamela Reif

Social Media Influencer + Entrepreneur + Author

Looking back at Pamela’s career, it all began four years ago when she started posting photos of herself on social media platforms without having a particular goal or strategy in mind. Pamela simply shared her hobbies and interests, being mainly fitness, beauty, and fashion, with her followers and quickly grew her international following reaching more than 2,7 million people today. Although she loves to post on Instagram and engages with her followers on a personal level she wants to be more than just an „Instagram girl“. Pamela is a 20-year old social media influencer but also a dedicated entrepreneur, who successfully launched her app, her personal fitness program, and a shoe collection. Next month her first book will follow. Above all, Pamela is an inspiration for young women who achieves her goals being passionate and hard-working.