With over 2,400 registrants, TopLine 2021 EMEA was the biggest event Simon-Kucher has ever hosted. On September 30, 2021 our offices throughout EMEA held 14 simultaneous events, each with their own custom agenda, guest speakers, and regional-specific content focusing on top-line growth strategies. The conference unveiled growth opportunities for all types of enterprises and provided the latest insights, methods, and commercial trends.
Each of the events then connected as one to enjoy a live-streamed keynote session from Werner Vogels, the CTO of Amazon. Werner discussed Amazon’s approach to managing innovation and the importance of strong values and culture. Attendees throughout the conference also listened to a live fireside chat with Simon-Kucher’s CEO’s and Fumbi Chima, the former CIO of Adidas, as they discussed the latest trends in digitalization and commercial transformations.
Born in 1972 in Upper Austria, Bernhard Ecker has been a writer and leading editor of „trend“ since 1998.
He studied history in Vienna and Salzburg and is lecturer at the University of Vienna. He has co-edited several books focusing on international economics, politics and history.
Mark Billige is CEO of Simon-Kucher & Partners, elected to lead the consultancy with Andreas von der Gathen in 2019. During his 15-year career with the company, he grew the UK business as Managing Partner and served on the company’s global board.
Mark joined Simon-Kucher in 2006 in the firm’s London office. In 2010, he was elected into the partnership and was appointed UK Managing Partner one year later. Mark has gone on to be one of the world’s leading experts in pricing and monetization strategy, advising the CEOs and boards of UK businesses as well as the value creation teams of leading private equity firms. He is a regular commentator in the press and broadcast media on these topics as well as a guest lecturer for MBA programs at the world’s top business schools.
Mark started his career in the Telecoms, Media and Technology practice at PwC Consulting while qualifying as a chartered management accountant (ACMA). He subsequently moved into the telecoms industry, joining the corporate finance team at FLAG Telecom/Reliance Communications and eventually taking over as pricing manager.
Dr. Andreas von der Gathen is CEO of Simon-Kucher & Partners. Before he became CEO on January 1, 2020, he had already been working for Simon-Kucher for more than 20 years as a Partner. He founded and led the global Consumer Goods & Retail practice, specializing in sales organization, product pricing, and brand strategy for national and international clients in all stages of the consumer goods' value chain.
Andreas has carried out many projects with a variety of customers ranging from international and national ingredient suppliers to fast-moving consumer goods companies and retailers. In many of these projects he helped companies to improve their pricing with the ultimate goal of finding ways to increase profits.
He has written two books on marketing and brand valuation and co-wrote the book Instruments for Strategic Analysis together with Hermann Simon, Simon-Kucher’s founder. He has published numerous articles on pricing, sales, and branding and is a frequent speaker on these issues at conferences and seminars.
Andreas studied business administration and economics at the University of Bochum and received his PhD for his work on brand management, valuation, and controlling.
Dr. Thomas Haller is the Managing Partner of Simon-Kucher's Austrian operations and its Vienna office. He also leads the global Energy practice. He began his professional career at Simon-Kucher in Bonn in 1999, and has since gained 12 years of experience in consulting with a focus on strategy, pricing, sales and marketing topics.
Dr. Haller specializes in the development of general strategies, marketing and sales strategies, pricing and new product development and positioning in the energy and industrial sectors. He has worked with numerous energy clients.
He studied economics and business administration at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, where he focused on marketing and retail management and was subsequently awarded a Ph.D. degree.
