About
Merlin Koene is the founder of merlin and friends, a network of communication professionals who believe in purpose driven communication. With over 30 years of experience in journalism, media, and corporate communications, he has played a leading role in change, crisis, financial, and sustainability communication for various companies and personalities. Before launching his own venture, he was the head of company communication at Action, the fastest growing discount retailer in Europe, where he led the external, internal, and public affairs communication strategy and was a member of the executive and sustainability boards. He also served as a partner at fischerAppelt advisors, a strategic investor and business angel at Dialogue.Tech, the executive vice president of communications at ProSiebenSat.1 Media, and the global media relations director and the managing director of sustainable business and communications at Unilever. He has received several awards and honors, including the German…
Experience
Founder
merlin and friends · Hamburg, Vienna, The Hague
Present
The story behind merlin and friends Over the three decades of my professional career I have had the opportunity to meet many special people. Whether at the beginning of my career as a journalist and filmmaker with renowned broadcasters, as a communications director with national and global responsibilities or as a strategic communications consultant for numerous companies and personalities – the great people I have had the opportunity to meet and work with have always given me a great deal of energy. This positive energy is pivotal for me to be successful in the long term. This dynamism and passion has given rise to the special network merlin and friends, and the deep, multilateral trust it generates is convincing, not only for me, but above all for our clients.
Senior Advisor
Stella Polaris · Vienna, Austria
Present
Board Member
drawnames (lootjestrekken.nl) · Delft, South Holland, Netherlands
Present
Supervisory Board member of drawnames, one of the world’s leading digital applications for organising Secret Santa and gift lists year-round. Founded over a decade ago by Rob and Arjan. It started with a small idea when Arjan sought a solution to coordinate a Secret Santa with his family across the Netherlands – since then drawnames has grown exponentially. Led by the founders from the headquarters in Delft, the company boasts a dedicated team of 25 employees at peak times and was edging towards an impressive 30 million unique users in 2023.
Garden Leave
· Hamburg, Germany
Taking some time off to learn new skills and reconnect with my personal and business network after the corona period.
Head of Company Communication
Action · Zwaagdijk-Oost, North Holland, Netherlands
External Communication (international & country level – focus NL & France as the largest markets), International Issue and Crisis Management, Internal Communication & Event Management, International Public Affairs, Communication Strategy, Financial Communication, Sustainability Communication, Brand PR, Agency coordination Member of the Executive Committee Member of the Sustainability Board Co-Lead Transformation Strategy: Mission 365 – Getting better every day
Strategic Investor & Business Angel at Dialogue.Tech
Dialogue Tech FMC GmbH · Hamburg Area, Germany
Our Dialogue Engine enables your shop to have a natural dialogue with your customers. And the implementation is as simple as plug & play.
Partner
fischerAppelt, advisors GmbH · Hamburg Area, Germany
Strategic Consulting in Global Corporate Communication, Sustainability, Public Affairs and Digital Transformation
Executive Vice President Communications
ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE · Unterföhring, Bayern, Deutschland
Communications Director D-a-Ch
Sustainable Business & Communications, Managing Director Unilever D/a/Ch
Unilever · Hamburg Area, Germany
Global Media Relations Director
Unilever · London, United Kingdom
Head of Corporate Communication Germany
Education
Queen Mary University of London
Bachelor of Science (BSc), Economics
Vienna International School
International Baccalaureate
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