Katja Leifheit is a research assistant and Ph.D. student at the Stuttgart Media University. She holds a B.Eng. in audiovisual media and a M.A. in media management from Stuttgart Media University. Before starting her Ph.D., Katja gained practical experience as the project lead for the diversity strategy at Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, a German public broadcaster. The […]

Julia Lührmann is a research assistant and PhD candidate at the University of Münster. She previously completed her bachelor’s degree in communication science and master’s degree in strategic communication at the University of Münster. In her research, she focuses on strategic and organizational communication, especially internal communication, as well as sustainability and energy communication. In […]

Prof. Dr. Helena Stehle is Professor of Communication Science with a focus on strategic communication at the Department of Communication at the University of Münster. She earned her doctorate and habilitation in communication studies at the University of Hohenheim, was a deputy professor at the University of Tübingen, and a visiting researcher and guest lecturer […]

Professor Swaran Sandhu is Professor of Corporate Communications with a focus on public relations at the Stuttgart Media University. He heads the Institute for Network Research and Communication (IKONE) and the MBA program for corporate communications. Sandhu studied in Hohenheim, Syracuse and Lucerne. His dissertation on PR and legitimacy was awarded by the German Communication […]

Laura Siewert is Communications Manager at the Academic Society, where she supports internal and external communications and assists with organizational tasks. Since October 2024, she’s been a research assistant and doctoral candidate at the Institute for Communication and Media Studies at Leipzig University. Laura holds a master’s degree in strategic communication from Lund University in […]

Dr. Jens Hagelstein is a postdoctoral researcher in the Corporate Communication Research Group at the Department of Communication at the University of Vienna. Previously, he was a research associate and doctoral candidate at the Chair of Strategic Communication at Leipzig University and held the scholarship of the European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA). […]

Lea Marie Knabben is Head of Research Management & Knowledge Transfer, where she oversees the Academic Society’s research projects and organizes key events such as the Leadership Forum and Hermes Dinner. She is alo PhD candidate in communication management at Leipzig University. Previously, she worked at the Center for Research in Financial Communication and gained […]

Günter Bentele is Professor Emeritus of Public Relations/PR at the Institute for Communication and Media Studies, Leipzig University. He read German language and literature, sociology, journalism, and philosophy at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the Free University of Berlin, where he also completed his doctorate and habilitation. He currently researches and publishes on the […]

Claudia Mast is Professor Emeritus of Communication Science and Journalism at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart. Her teaching and research activities focused on innovations in corporate communication, strategic communication and topic planning as well as business journalism and corporate reporting. Claudia Mast held a senior management role at Siemens AG for many years and […]

Karen Berger is the Academic Societie’s Managing Director and Head of Communications. She also serves as Managing Director at the Günther Thiele Foundation. Before joining the Academic Society in 2014, she worked at Siemens in corporate communications in Munich and Bangkok, overseeing projects in issues management and thought leadership. She holds degrees in communication and […]