Management

Egbert Deekeling is a Senior Partner. The company founder supports and advises communications experts, CEOs and top managers, especially during phases of comprehensive, large-scale transformation. He is one of the most renowned experts in this field.

Egbert graduated in sociology and later became Managing Director at ABC/EUROCOM. In 1995, he founded Deekeling & Fiebig, which later evolved to become the strate­gic communications consultancy Deekeling Arndt/AMO. Egbert Egbert is co-author and co-publisher of a number of specialist books on the topic of change communications, CEO commu­nications and commu­nications in times of digital trans­formation.

Olaf Arndt is a Senior Partner, responsible for the Corporate & Public Affairs division. One of his focus areas is executive coaching, particularly in crisis situations and phases of strategic realignment. He supports top management in communicating success-critical topics to policy-makers, the media, opinion-makers and the capital market.

Olaf trained in journalism, after graduating in political science, sociology and history. He draws upon his many years of management and consulting experience with renowned consulting firms. He co-authored the book “CEO-Kommu­nikation. Strategien für Spitzen­manager” (CEO commu­nica­tions. strategies for top managers), with Egbert Deekeling.

Dr Christina Afting is a Managing Director. She provides consulting to companies on complex change and modernisation processes as well as the digital transformation. She specialises in the conceptualisation and design of executive and employee communications as well as in the development of agile formats for new forms of collaboration and leadership.

Christina studied biology and completed her doctoral degree with the Max-Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology. After her studies, she undertook a traineeship in journalism and PR at the German Aerospace Center, after which she worked at the communications departments of a number of pharma companies. Before moving into consulting, she worked for Axel Springer SE for eight years, where she held a number of positions supporting the digital transformation. She has built up a comprehensive network within the media and the start-up industry.

Susanne Arndt is a Managing Partner. In collaboration with Michael Fuchs, she heads up the Change & Leadership division. She spe­cialises in supporting trans­formation processes, especially in the context of strategic re­align­ment, digital transformation, restructuring, vision and value processes as well as integration processes.

After completing her degree in German, history and media studies, Susanne spent ten years working at another communications consul­tancy before joining Deekeling Arndt/AMO. She has extensive experience in corporate commu­nications, corporate responsibility, change, and crisis commu­nications. As a specialist in change manage­ment, she has a wealth of experience in dealing with different interests and target groups as well as in communicating complex business decisions in various industry contexts. She co-authored the book “Change-Kommunikation” (Change communications) with Egbert Deekeling and Dirk Barghop.

Dr Dirk Barghop is a Senior Partner. He advises companies on executive and employee communications during times of highly complex (digital) transformation and renewal processes. His specialises in developing strategic commu­nications programmes and designing executive commu­nications processes.

Dirk holds a Ph.D. in historical anthropology and produced a thesis exploring communications among the elite rulers in ancient Rome. Before embarking on his consulting career, he worked in research and teaching at third-level. Egbert is co-publisher of the books “Kommuni­kation im Corporate Change. Maß­stäbe für eine neue Management praxis” (Communications in times of corporate change. Standards for new management practice), “Kommuni­kation in der digitalen Trans­formation” (Communications in times of digital transformation), and he co-authored the book “Change-Kommunikation” (Change communications) with Egbert Deekeling and Susanne Arndt.

Michael Fuchs is a Managing Partner. He is in charge of the Design Studio and heads up the Change & Leadership division in collaboration with Susanne Arndt. He supports companies through change and realignment processes. He focuses in this regard on developing visions that are the central point of orientation in times of change. Michael also works with his clients to develop storylines, corporate values and brand content that serve to raise the profile of companies with their target groups. He supports and guides the implementation of this content in terms of good design and language.

Michael worked for six years as a freelance editor for Rheinische Post newspaper in Düsseldorf and was Editor-in-Chief of Metropolis magazine. He studied media, politics and social sciences at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, where he also worked for many years as a guest lecturer.

Volker Heck is a Senior Partner, responsible for the Capital Market Communications & Financial Relations division. His main focus is on capital market commu­nica­tions, managing regulatory and political topics and positioning of top management during phases of strategic realignment.

After graduating with a degree in economics, Volker spent more than 20 years working for energy companies and has broad-based experience of national and international lobbying. He focuses on the area of energy and the environment, having held various senior positions at the RWE energy group for many years.

Birte Kattelmann-Jagdt is a Managing Director. She advises companies on complex change and modernisation processes as well as digital transformation. She focuses on strategy development and communication, creating corporate images and purpose statements as well as designing integration, identity, culture and value processes. This also includes implementing the above in terms of content and design.

Birte studied Romance languages & literature and business adminis­tration at the universities of Mannheim and Santiago de Chile. After completing a journalism internship, she worked for over ten years in the chemicals industry – holding positions such as Group press spokesperson for BASF. She has broad experience in internal and external communications as well as crisis communications. She also specialises in systemic organi­sational consulting.