Strategic Communication

Dr. Ansgar Zerfass is Professor and Chair of Strategic Communication at Leipzig University, Germany, and Professor of Communication and Leadership at BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo. He serves the global academic community as Consulting Editor of the International Journal of Strategic Communication, USA, and Editorial Board Member of Corporate Communication Review, a new global magazine that makes research insights freely accessible to practitioners.  Since 2007, he heads the study series European Communication Monitor which explores key trends in the field based on interviews with communication heads of the Top 300 companies. Professor Zerfass is Chairman of the Executive Board of the Academic Society for Management & Communication, a think tank that combines the commitment of 50 global enterprises and several universities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland to promote cutting-edge research and knowledge transfer in corporate communications, and member of #NORA, the Nordic Alliance for Communication & Management, a joint initiative of researchers and communicators in Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. 

According to Google Scholar, Ansgar Zerfass is the world’s most cited researcher in Strategic Communication, Corporate Communication, Public Relations, and Communication Management (h-index = 70; 2025). He has received more than 20 best paper awards and several personal awards, including the renowned Pathfinder Award from the Institute for Public Relations in New York. To date, he has published 44 books and more than 450 articles and study reports in several languages on his research areas of corporate communications, communication management and evaluation, digital communication, and international communication. Among them are The Routledge Handbook of Strategic Communication (English, Chinese), Communication Excellence – How to develop, manage and lead exceptional communications (English, Spanish, Chinese, Croatian, Slovenian) and the Handbook Corporate Communications (German) with more than 5 million downloads so far. More information and a complete list of publications are available at www.zerfass.de. 

Ansgar Zerfass studied business administration, communication science, and information systems at FAU University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Bavaria. He graduated in management with an acclaimed thesis on business ethics and gained a doctorate in business administration summa cum laude. Afterwards, he worked in practice for 10 years in the fields of corporate communications and political consulting. At the same time, he achieved a Habilitation (second doctorate) in communication science at FAU University. He works at Leipzig University since 2006, initially as a full Professor of Communication Management and since 2014 as Chair Professor for Strategic Communication, where he directs the Master Communication Management program, which is continuously ranked number one among all graduate programs in the field in Germany since 2007. 

Christoph has helped inter­national organisations to align communications with corporate strategy for more than 25 years. His mission is to ensure that communication contributes to overall value creation. Christoph is a proven expert in developing communication strategies as well as in designing operating models for communication across disciplines and organisational borders.

Steve Heywood is SVP, Global Head of Communications at Philips, where he leads the company’s global communications function. He has more than 20 years of experience in corporate affairs, spanning media relations, public affairs, integrated campaigning, sustainability communications, issues and crisis management, and digital newsroom development. Before joining Philips, Steve held senior agency leadership roles, including running the country P&L for a leading global communications consultancy, where he doubled margin over four years.

His work focuses on building trust with internal and external stakeholders, strengthening reputation, and helping communications teams adapt to changing business, societal and media environments. At Philips, he is responsible for shaping communications that support the company's vision of delivering better care for more people.

In this guest lecture, Steve will draw on his experience across agency and corporate leadership to discuss how strategic communications can create business value, build resilience and earn trust.

Julia Huhn leads Communications & Public Affairs for L’Oréal in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. An accomplished executive with over 15 years of experience across the consumer goods and banking sectors, she is passionate about shaping future-ready organizations through purposeful communications and public affairs. Prior to joining L'Oréal in February 2026, she was Head of Communications, Public Policy and Sustainability at Santander Germany. She also spent several years at Henkel in Düsseldorf, serving in various international roles, concluding as global Head of Corporate Branding & Communications Strategy. She holds a Master’s degree in Communication Management.