UM Deutschland Promotes Felix Schneider to Chief Strategy Officer
TL;DR: Omnicom-owned media agency UM Deutschland has promoted Felix Schneider to Managing Director and Chief Strategy Officer, doubling its leadership to a dual model alongside CEO Stefanie Tannrath and putting strategy at the centre.
What happened
UM Deutschland has elevated Felix Schneider to Managing Director and Chief Strategy Officer, effective 1 August 2026, moving to a dual-leadership structure alongside CEO Stefanie Tannrath. Schneider had been Managing Partner Strategy & Insights since April 2023.
His background includes dentsu Deutschland and The Story Lab. The agency framed the promotion around integrating Omnicom's global capabilities into its German offer.
Marketing Minute's read: strategy is being promoted, literally
Creating a Chief Strategy Officer seat at MD level, in a dual-leadership model, is a structural statement that strategy is now co-equal with running the business. Media agencies have spent years defending themselves against the accusation that they are buying machines with a thin strategic layer; this is UM answering that directly.
The Omnicom context matters. As the group integrates and rationalises post-merger, individual agencies need a reason to be more than a buying desk plugged into a holding company's tech. Elevating strategy is how a media agency argues it still owns the thinking, not just the trading — the part clients are least willing to see commoditised.
What it means for clients
For advertisers, a media agency that structurally elevates strategy is signalling where it wants to add value: in the thinking that shapes the plan, not just the efficiency of executing it. That is the right instinct in a market where automation is eating the mechanical parts of media buying.
The broader read is that as buying automates, strategy and insight become the defensible human value media agencies sell. Clients should reward — and expect — agencies to lead with thinking, because that is increasingly the part a platform cannot replicate.
Quick FAQ
Who is UM Deutschland's new Chief Strategy Officer?
Felix Schneider, promoted to Managing Director and Chief Strategy Officer effective 1 August 2026. He had been Managing Partner Strategy & Insights since April 2023, with prior roles at dentsu Deutschland and The Story Lab.
How is the agency now led?
UM Deutschland has moved to a dual-leadership model, with Schneider co-leading alongside CEO Stefanie Tannrath, framed around integrating Omnicom's global capabilities.
Why does it matter?
Elevating strategy to MD level signals that a media agency wants to own the thinking, not just the trading — the defensible human value as media buying automates.
Creating a Chief Strategy Officer seat at MD level is a structural statement: strategy is now co-equal with running the shop. As buying automates and holding companies integrate, this is how a media agency argues it owns the thinking, not just the trading — the part clients won't let become a commodity. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
The takeaway: as media buying automates, strategy and insight are the defensible human value — expect and reward agencies that lead with thinking, not just execution.
From your media agency, are you buying trading efficiency or genuine strategic thinking — and which are you paying for?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Meedia, Horizont.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
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