WFA elevates Deutsche Telekom’s Louw to Media Forum leadership role

The new role will see him work alongside incumbent Chair Mastercard’s Ben Jankowski.

The dual role reflects the heavy workload of the group and the huge number of media issues that major multinational clients have had to address in recent years, notably relating to the digital media landscape.

Gerhard has already played a key role in the work of the Forum, making critical contributions to recent work on programmatic and ad fraud.

For more than 10 years he has been part of the Deutsche Telekom’s team based in Bonn. In his current role as Senior Manager, International Media Management & Digital Transformation, he is responsible for steering and co-ordinating the international media function for the Deutsche Telekom Group across its 13 national telecommunication companies in Europe.

A South African native, Gerhard speaks four languages and has recently published his first book, a practical guide for immigrants wanting to find their feet and integrate in Germany.

“The power of the WFA’s Forums is a reflection of the hard work that their leaders and members put in to help each other understand their common challenges. All of them do it in addition to their extremely demanding roles for member companies. Gerhard, like Ben, has given his expertise selflessly to help make our industry better and I know that together they will continue to improve the impact that the Media Forum has on all members,” said Stephan Loerke, WFA CEO.

“There has never been a more exciting yet challenging time to be in a senior media role. For us as advertisers, the digitisation of media and marketing requires a transformation in what we do and how we do it. This covers the entire marketing ecosystem, starting with the way consumers connect with brands, the way advertisers use data and technology as well as the role of agencies and suppliers in the transformation process. By sharing our experiences in WFA Forums we are all able to ensure that this challenging process is as smooth as it can be for our brands,” said Gerhard Louw.

The Media Forum now boasts over 700 global and regional contacts across North America, Europe and Asia.

The next WFA Media Forum will be in Shanghai on 12^th July, NYC on 26^th October and in Europe on 29^th November.