Meet the Team

Christian Knaebel is an internationally respected advisor and industry guide, known for helping media leaders chart their course through shifting landscapes and uncertain futures. With almost 30 years of experience across the global television, broadcast, and streaming sectors, he brings not just strategic acumen but rare narrative clarity to a field defined by disruption, fragmentation, and accelerating change. He is the Founder and Managing Partner of Global Media Consult, a boutique consultancy rooted in deep industry expertise and built on long-standing trust. Over the course of his career, Christian held leadership and strategic roles at CNBC Europe, NBC Inc., Vodafone, and Liberty Global, before founding Global Media Consult in 2005. His consulting work has since spanned all around the world with clients including Al Jazeera, CNBC, NHK World, Bloomberg Media, Liberty Global, SABC, Orange, Vodafone, and numerous public and private sector media organisations.

Lindsey Oliver is the founder and CEO of Africa MediaWorks Limited and YANGA! TV. YANGA! is a UK based entertainment destination providing original and acquired entertainment for Africa's thriving diaspora community. Africa MediaWorks is the production arm of the operation. Her interest in African entertainment began when she worked in Lagos, Nigeria as TV Continental's Commercial Director and interim CEO. An experienced media professional, Lindsey is also a trained lawyer and has worked for International media organisations in both legal and commercial capacities. She served as General Counsel for CNBC Europe for five years before becoming its SVP Director of Distribution and Network, followed by in 2005 becoming the Founding Commercial Director (and the first female director) of Al Jazeera English and later in 2009 the Commercial Director of Bloomberg EMEA until 2014.

Thomas is a social worker, systemic coach and organizational consultant. When he thinks of people in his counseling, he thinks of people who already have innumerable solutions within themselves. He always assumes that each individual is in a constant process of learning and development and therefore carries innumerable resources within himself. Sometimes these resources and solutions just have to be tickled out.

Andrea's professional background is in audience and corporate strategy as well as content licensing and co-production. She has held senior leadership roles both in the German commercial media sector and the public broadcasting sector. In her consultancy work, she focuses on audience and content strategies, market analysis and business modeling, covering the TV as well as audio and video streaming markets. Andrea produces, co-hosts and publishes the media business podcast 'Industry' in cooperation with DWDL.de. She consults in English, German, Czech.

Holger Ischebeck worked at Eutelsat from 2001 to 2021. He held the positions of SVP Video Distribution and Head of Hybrid DTH networks in the commercial division and Director Business Development, Director of Solaris Mobile and Strategic Planning Manager in the strategy devison. Holger completed an MBA from INSEAD in 2000.

Veronique Segard has a wealth of experience as distribution representative with well-know TV channels and News outlet. Her focus is on markets in Western + Eastern Europe, but she also had exposure to projects in Middle East and Africa.

Living in London, Stephane is a C-suite executive with 30 years of experience in content and communications in UK&Europe, Latin-America and the USA. Stephane has held senior positions at Groupe Canal+, Sky Group and Liberty Global/Liberty Latin-America. Working at the intersection of content, product and technology, he has a deep expertise in strategic partnerships, advertising, DTC distribution and GTM, restructuring and operational performance.

Benedicte, a two-decade tv industry veteran, has founded CTS International Media in 2022. Her unique approach is built upon Connecting, Training, and Supporting, while leveraging the extensive network of trust-based relationships, she has cultivated in the TV sector including influencers, key decision-makers at major broadcasters, global streamers, distributors, and producers all over the world. Her added value : 360° experience, thorough knowledge of the TV industry – from acquisition to coproduction and distribution – as well as the organization of think tank and 1to1 international events with a wide-spreading premium network in the sector.

Vernon Scholtz arbeitet bei Global Media Consult als Projektmanager und unterstützt das Team bei Aufgaben zur Geschäftsentwicklung. Er ist auch in die Bereiche Beratungsprojekte und Schulungen der GMC eingebunden. Event Manager wurde zum Projektmanager mit fundierten Kenntnissen im agilen Projektmanagement. Menschen stehen im Mittelpunkt dessen, was in jedem Unternehmen, Projekt oder jeder Gemeinschaft erreicht werden muss. Vernon bringt eine einzigartige Mischung aus kreativen Ideen und systematischer Problemlösung ein, die anderen hilft, ihre Ziele zu erreichen.

Julia Laukemann is an entrepreneur and product leader based in Southeast Asia with extensive experience across media, technology, and digital transformation. She has held senior leadership positions including Group Head of Product/CPO at CARSOME Malaysia, Director of Product & Digital at Astro TV Malaysia, and SVP Product Management & Customer Experience at Sky Germany. Julia also founded My Blossom App in Germany, demonstrating her entrepreneurial spirit and ability to build products from the ground up. Her expertise spans product strategy, customer experience, digital innovation, and scaling platforms across diverse markets.

Paul Erickson is a nearly 20-year veteran market and competitive analyst of the media & entertainment technology and consumer electronics industries, from both the consumer and service provider viewpoints. Prior to founding the analyst consultancy Erickson Strategy & Insights, he was the Research Director for Entertainment and CE at Parks Associates, and brings expansive experience and perspective from covering the media & entertainment technology sector and related devices across Parks Associates, Omdia, IHS Markit, and NPD DisplaySearch.

Roger Pitton go-to expert for Streaming and Media Cloud product strategies and technologies. With experience launching eight major consumer services as an operator and technology vendor, he has a pragmatic, market-driven approach to product development. Roger ensures that businesses implement effective, scalable solutions tailored to today's evolving media landscape. His hands-on expertise, as customer or vendor, in building innovative, customer-focused products makes him a key player for any strategic initiatives.

With 20+ years experience as strategy consultant and senior executive in the telco/media industry with international scope (ex PWC, IBM, FOX, DISCOVERY, PARAMOUNT) Daniel brings a wealth of valuable expertise to the clients of Global Media Consult. Daniel has a strong business acumen from roles on company boards and in leadership positions. He is well versed in a multitasking approach from business development to effective Go-To-Market strategies; from business operation of complex services in different markets to strategy and product definition and all the way to actual launch and evolution in a given market.

Graham has wide-ranging experience in the African video entertainment space, with proven strategic development and planning skills, and a track record of successful deal-making and platform management in both broadcast and on-demand environments. He is a director of Avatainment.com a video entertainment consultancy specializing in acquisitions, distribution and content strategy development. Research services, policy development and business modelling focussing on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are also key outputs. Originally trained as a journalist, he has almost 20-years of broadcast and video entertainment experience, where he has been responsible for Television Network Strategy and Business Development at the SABC, South Africa's National Public Broadcaster and, more recently, headed up Content & Acquisitions for SSA at Viu Africa, a leading pan-regional VOD service.