Even at our team meeting in November 2025, it was clear to us that this year would be a challenging one.
The conflict in Ukraine is, unfortunately, still ongoing; the economic situation in Germany is becoming increasingly fragile; and companies are laying off staff due to a decline in orders and business failures. And in the banking, insurance and consultancy sectors, many employees are being replaced by artificial intelligence and agents.
Furthermore, the conflict in the Middle East and Iran has further intensified the transformation of society, the economy and politics. And this is happening at a pace that makes one’s head spin.
What does this mean for us as a company? What does this mean for the events and conference industry? And what does this mean for me as an entrepreneur? Does our business model still work? And – what does the ‘agency of the future’ look like?
Since the conflict in the Middle East began, I have been thinking about these issues even more than I did before this latest development. It feels just like the start of the pandemic: the first companies are postponing events, and speakers who had been booked are suddenly being cancelled. Conferences are being cancelled at short notice to save on travel costs, even though companies are forced to pay cancellation fees for venues and hotel rooms.
Mark Carney said in his impressive speech at the WEF in Davos: “We actively take on the world as it is, not wait around for a world we wish to be. Nostalgia is not a strategy.”
…and that is exactly what we do. We accept the situation as it is and will continue to bring new ideas and innovations to the market in the future with Premium Speakers, LEADING MINDS and the MICE Service Group.
We have a sensational team; we are privileged to work with fantastic, forward-thinking and positive people, and we offer a service culture that is unique and unrivalled in the industry. And with our podcast ‘Before Applause’, we gain great insights from fascinating people, stories we are privileged to tell, and relevance we can create.
We’re focusing on three key areas: brand building, visibility and relevance. Our companies are geared towards these areas, and we’ll do everything we can to remain relevant and inspire our customers.
On a very personal note: it doesn’t necessarily have to be New York, Cape Town, Davos or Berlin. To clear my head and gather lots of ideas, a few days on Föhr are enough for me. Running along the beach in the cool air, counting sheep, gazing out at the water for an hour and thinking in peace, piecing together all the ‘bits and pieces’ – on the one hand, it’s relaxing, and on the other, the concept of ‘clarity’ takes on more and more meaning.
And this quiet time brings many ideas and a fresh perspective on the industry and the situation. As Udo Lindenberg once sang: “Beyond the horizon, it goes on…”
19 April 2026, Wyk