About us
Initiative18 is an association of committed experts from the media industry, journalism and research. We have made it our mission to preserve and strengthen the diversity and independence of the media. In view of the increasing threats to democracy, we are committed to free, secure and sustainable media – as the foundation of an open society. With our work, we want to secure the future of journalism and promote public debate on the importance of a diverse media landscape.
The INITIATIVE 18 Team
Our team consists of experienced and committed individuals who are passionate about the future of the media and strengthening democracy. At the head of Initiative18 is our Executive Board, each of whom has extensive expertise in the fields of media business, journalism, research and communication. Together with our advisory boards and members from various industries, we work tirelessly to promote a diverse and independent media landscape. Each and every member of our team shares the vision of a free and informed society and contributes to achieving our goals with their experience and commitment.
Manfred Kluge
Co-Founder Initiative18
Chairperson
Manfred Kluge has been working in the field of media & marketing for more than 35 years. From 2006 to 2015 he was CEO of Omnicom Media Group Germany GmbH, since then he has been Chairman D-A-CH of the Group and since 2016 also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Omnicom Media Group Schweiz AG. Manfred Kluge has been an honorary board member of the association Die Mediaagenturen e.V. for many years. The preservation of media diversity and trustworthy content is a topic close to his heart.
Norman Wagner
Co-Founder Initiative18
Deputy Chairperson
Norman Wagner is Managing Director DACH at Utiq, a company committed to responsible digital marketing. He previously headed the Group Media division at Deutsche Telekom and was a member of the board of the Organisation Werbungtreibende in Deutschland (OWM).
He joined from the GroupM agencies Mindshare and Mediacom. Wagner began his career at MediaVest (now Starcom) in the early 1990s
Leah Gasch
Co-Founder Initiative18
Treasurer
Leah Gasch is Manager Commercial Compliance & Legal Affairs at Omnicom Media Group Germany. Leah Gasch previously worked as a lawyer in two law firms specialising in insolvency law, commercial law, civil law and in legal publishing
Klaus-Peter Schulz
Co-Founder Initiative18
Board Member
Klaus-Peter Schulz has been Managing Director and spokesperson for the association Die Mediaagenturen e.V. since 2015.
Trainee at LINTAS, the renowned full-service agency in the 80s, in the 90s Manager Media & Advertising Kraft Foods (Mondelez) and Managing Director Media1, the marketing subsidiary of SAT1 at the time. From 2001 CEO of OMD, today’s Omnicom Media Group and CEO of the holding company BBDO Germany. 2008 Board Member Sales & Services ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, then corporate consultant for media and communications.
Holger Thalheimer
Co-Founder Initiative18
Board Member
Over the past 29 years, Holger Thalheimer has worked with many of the biggest and most successful brands in the world. After initial positions at Schmitter Media and Carat, his path led him to the Omnicom Media Group in 2006. In 2010, he moved to Mindshare, where he first became Managing Director and three years later COO of the agency.
In 2015, Holger returned to the Omnicom Media Group as CEO of PHD Germany.
In October 2022, he took over the newly created position of Chief People & Culture Officer of Omnicom Media Group Germany and is now responsible for all topics relating to people management, personnel development, training and further education, recruiting, employer branding as well as CSR, DE&I and sustainability.
Sven Korndörffer
Co-Founder Initiative18
Board Member
Sven H. Korndörffer can look back on almost three decades in the banking industry. Most recently, he was Divisional Board Member for Group Communications at Commerzbank. In his previous professional positions, he was responsible for communications at the Aareal Bank Group and was Head of the Executive Board of Norddeutsche Landesbank. Korndörffer has also been Chairman of the Board of the Values Commission – Initiative Werte Bewusste Führung in Deutschland since 2005.
Jesper Doub
Co-Founder Initiative18
Board Member
Jesper Doub will be Managing Director and member of the Executive Board of FUNKE from October 2024. Jesper Doub, who holds a degree in industrial engineering, worked for the Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta for five years until September 2023. Together with his international team, he was responsible for the cooperation between Meta and media companies as Director International Media Partnerships. Until 2018, Doub was Managing Director of the SPIEGEL Group, where he was responsible for SPIEGEL ONLINE and SPIEGEL TV as well as numerous publishing functions. Prior to that, his professional career took him to the media companies DuMont Mediengruppe, Bauer Media Group and Axel Springer, where he held various management and leadership roles in publishing, tech and editorial.
Nina Haller
Member #1
Advisory Board Member
Nina Haller is known as an enthusiastic digital strategist with a clear customer focus and a great passion for brands, technology and digital trends. She has been CMO at Experience One since 2024 and heads the Technology & Innovation Forum as a board member of the GWA. In her previous positions, she worked for international clients and companies at media.monks, Accenture and WPP, among others, and can also look back on over 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur.
Daniel Knapp
Member
Advisory Board Member
Daniel Knapp is an advertising, media and data expert with more than 15 years of international experience. As Chief Economist at IAB Europe, he provides market analyses and forecasts on all facets of digital advertising and acts as a translator between politics and industry. He is also co-founder of RE:DEF, a specialised consultancy at the intersection of digital strategy and implementation with a particular focus on forensic analysis of the ad tech supply chain. Daniel is a board member of the Institute of European Media Law and The MediaLab, a Brussels-based think tank on media pluralism. He was previously an associate expert on media and AI at the European Commission for Vice-President Ansip’s cabinet and co-founder of a programmatic advertising agency. He worked at IHS Markit for 11 years, most recently as Executive Director for Telecoms, Media and Technology. Prior to that he worked at the State Chancellery in Düsseldorf. Daniel received his PhD from the London School of Economics (LSE).
Thomas Höppner
Member
Advisory Board Member
Prof Dr Thomas Höppner is a lawyer and partner at Hausfeld law firm.
He specialises in antitrust and regulatory law, with a particular focus on technology markets.
For many years, he has campaigned for more competition and plurality in the media. He was a full professor of private commercial law and intellectual property law at the Technical University of Applied Sciences in Wildau for six years, where he taught marketing law, among other things. As an expert, he advised the European Parliament and the Bundestag on digital issues, among others.
Thomas is involved in numerous landmark proceedings in the platform economy and has published 5 books, including “Digital Advertising and the Google Ecosystem”
Florian Weischer
Member
Advisory Board Member
Florian Weischer is a driving force in the German media and cinema advertising industry. As Chairman of the Weischer Group, he has played a key role in shaping the future of media communication across cinema, outdoor, and digital platforms.
His commitment to high-quality, independent media is deeply rooted in decades of experience working closely with broadcasters, publishers, and advertisers.
Beyond his entrepreneurial activities, Florian advocates for strong, diverse media ecosystems and actively supports cultural and industry initiatives across Germany.
Christian Kaeßmann
Member
Advisory Board Member
Christian Kaeßmann has been active in the communications business for more than 25 years. His agency PLAN advises clients on all aspects of media planning and brand consulting.
His focus is on communication that emphasises sustainability with a focus on ecology and media diversity/democracy.
In addition to his agency work, he is involved in various committees in the DOOH and online audio scene and is a sought-after dialogue partner at industry events. He was also co-host of the media, brand and people podcast KLAR and DIREKT with almost 100 published episodes. Numerous awards and activities as a university speaker and juror at communication awards make him a recognised, neutral expert in the communication industry.
Statutes of the non-profit organisation Initiative 18 - free, safe & sustainable media e.V.
Purpose of the association and tax favouritism
- The purpose of the association is to promote a pluralistic media environment, freedom of the press, support responsible journalism, increase media literacy, avoid disinformation, e.g. through fake news and hate speech, and promote data ethics to strengthen basic democratic structures in the long term. We are guided by the United Nations’ definition of sustainability (triple bottom line: social, ecological, economic) in order to establish a value-based media ecosystem as the standard.
- The association pursues exclusively and directly charitable purposes within the meaning of the “tax-privileged purposes” section of the German Tax Code. The association is selflessly active; it does not primarily pursue its own economic purposes.
- The purpose of the association can also be realised in accordance with § 58 No. 1 AO by raising funds and forwarding these funds to other tax-privileged corporations, which must use these funds to realise the tax-privileged purposes described in § 2 (1).
- The association may carry out transactions that serve to achieve or promote the purpose of the association.