Stephan joined Edelman Brussels in September 2019. He is an international government relations and public policy specialist with 20+ years corporate & consultancy experience. His particular expertise lies in policy and communications around digitization and emerging technologies (artificial intelligence, big data, cloud, IoT, blockchain), (mobile)telecommunications, media, privacy and data protection.
As of 2000, Stephan was the public policy director of Liberty Global in Europe. He designed corporate policy strategy, thought leadership campaigns and (EU-) government relations to support Liberty Global’s European operations in 11 countries, like Virgin Media in the UK. He prepared Liberty Global’s presence and CEO roadshows at the World Economic Forum annual meetings.
In 2016, Stephan took on a more commercial role in the ‘Advanced Advertising & Data’ business unit at Liberty Global, as Director Data Policy & Privacy. His brief included supporting go-to-market strategies for new business models based on addressable TV advertising, big data analytics and artificial intelligence.
In February 2017, he was assigned to Liberty Global’s 50% owned joint venture with Vodafone Group in the Netherlands, to position the new entity to Dutch public affairs stakeholders and support (government) business and sales targets.
In the nineties, Stephan worked in the European Commission’s Directorate General for the Internal Market on the first EU Data Protection Directive. After consultancy assignments for the European direct marketing industry and the Dutch Advertising Association, he became director of a Brussels-based EU public affairs consultancy. He advised pan-European clients in the telecommunications, e-commerce, advertising- & audiovisual media sector on regulatory issues & political strategies in Europe and implemented advocacy campaigns.