Media companies
New revenue streams, digital business models and international expansion.
Learn moreConsulting for new growth businesses, internationalisation and brand expansion
Growth begins
alongside
the core business.
New growth arises where companies think beyond their core business: in new growth businesses, international markets and brand expansion.
20+years in leadership roles at Bertelsmann, Gruner + Jahr and Hubert Burda Media, among others.
16countries in which the media brand GEO was launched under my responsibility.
700+media and brand partnerships realised with the Burda Brand Licensing division.
Target groups
Three areas.
One shared goal:
Sustainable growth.
I work with organisations that use strong brands, relevant content and education as a foundation for growth – and that want to take the next step in their development.
Strong Brands
Develop brand strategies further and extend them into new product categories and markets.
Learn moreThe individual project is never the point. The question is always how a business model can be developed further.
Dr. Andre Moellersmann
Services
Three levers for
sustainable growth.
I develop and guide new growth businesses, internationalisation and brand expansion – strategically, operationally and with a focus on commercial results. Selected cases from my operational responsibility in the respective companies.
New growth businesses
Identify opportunities.
Realise potential.
Opening up new growth businesses on the basis of existing strengths such as brands, reach, customer access and expertise. From developing the business model through building the organisation to securing commercial performance.
Putting brand potential to work
Built a leading brand licensing agency for brand and media partnerships.Burda Brand Licensing
New campuses. New opportunities.
Growing the university group through new programmes and strong partnerships.
Internationalisation
Taking brands into new markets.
Transferring successful business models and brands into international markets. From selecting and assessing suitable target markets through developing the market entry strategy and choosing the right partners to successful implementation on the ground.
One brand. 16 countries.
International expansion of GEO with publishing partners abroad, including GEO Online in nine countries.
Growing digital, even without print.
A cross-border digital network built on ELTERN.de, with responsibility for all international brands in 23 countries.
Brand expansion
Turning brand strength into new revenue streams.
Developing brand strategies further and extending them into new product categories and everyday contexts. Designing strategic cooperations, licensing models and partnerships, and entering new markets.
Strong brands for new categories.
Secured the licensing rights for the German-speaking market and built them into licensed brands with retail presence.
From magazine to home brand.
Established a media brand as a licensed brand of its own for home & living in retail.
Testimonials
What others say about my work
The best insights come from the people I have had the pleasure of working with.
He built the licensing business at Burda Verlag virtually from nothing over recent years and shaped it decisively.
His stamina, friendly persistence and knack for finding solutions impressed me from the very beginning. What also sets him apart is self-reflection paired with a healthy dose of ambition to create something new.
Working with Andre is a pleasure on every joint project: he creates ideas, gets things moving and takes responsibility for what he has set in motion, connects people and makes things possible.
He is an excellent visionary, a strong strategist and he is consistently looking for new ways to grow the company’s revenue while also upholding ethical and fair standards at all times.
André Möllersmann is an expert in his field who is passionate about his work. His eyes light up when he talks, and he manages to carry people along and inspire them. Thank you very much for your commitment to us.
Working with him and his team was always a pleasure – he is a consummate professional in his field. Personable, authentic, dependable and effective in execution.
He knows how to analyse market trends and customer needs precisely, and to turn those insights into innovative and profitable licensing agreements.
I can warmly recommend André. He has substance, knowledge and a great deal of expertise. He was always an asset to work with and delivered projects reliably, with enthusiasm and with success.
André has an excellent way of connecting ideas, businesses and business partners.
For many years I had the opportunity to work closely and trustingly with André within the Bertelsmann group. His exceptional strategic understanding, his entrepreneurial instinct and his ability to turn ideas into action with decisiveness and a fine sense of judgement have fascinated me.
I have known André Möllersmann for many years as a reliable and pragmatic partner. A strong negotiator, focused and always with the shared goal in mind. It is always a pleasure to develop and drive projects forward with him.
Curiosity, creativity and drive. André Möllersmann is a true doer whom I have enjoyed working with time and again for 20 years. His network and expertise are simply unbeatable. I look forward to further projects.
In conversation
Ideas for
sustainable growth.
In conversation with media, partners and experts – on new growth businesses, internationalisation and brand expansion.
Podcast
Growth beyond the core business
On building new growth businesses within media companies, international brand expansion, and the question of how a strong brand can become a new growth business. The conversation is in German.
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Video
New paths through education
On the University of Applied Management, the competition for students and the question of how to build educational offerings that connect practice and academic research.
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Panel
Brands and retail in the media shop window
Panel discussion at “MEDIA meets FASHION”: how media and fashion brands come together through licensing – and why the story behind it has to be right. The panel was held in German.
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Interview
Ten questions for Andre Moellersmann
On building Brand Licensing at Burda, opening up new growth businesses and the interplay of creativity, innovation and commercial judgement.
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Article
Licensing: new marketing opportunities for publishers
How Jahreszeiten Verlag is building a high-margin business with licences for DER FEINSCHMECKER – including five success factors for publishers. The article is in German.
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Interview
The underestimated business model: your own brand
Why a media company’s own brand is often an under-used asset – and how recognition and trust can be translated into durable revenue models beyond advertising and circulation.
Go to conversation
About
Entrepreneurship and research
Shaping growth. Developing organisations. Connecting people.
I combine more than 20 years of strategic leadership experience with a proven track record in developing new growth businesses, internationalisation and brand expansion – complemented by entrepreneurial and academic experience.
My career has included positions at Bertelsmann, Gruner + Jahr and Hubert Burda Media, among others.
Within the Bertelsmann group I was responsible for the international expansion of the media brands GEO and GALA, developed international partnerships and opened up new markets abroad. At Hubert Burda Media I built one of the publisher’s leading brand licensing businesses for its media brands – from zero to a team of 20 employees at its peak. The focus of my work was never the individual project, but always the strategic question of how business models can be developed further and additional value creation unlocked.
I was able to extend this experience across industries. As vice president of a university I was responsible for strategic development and growth projects as well as the internationalisation of the university group. While serving on the university's executive board, I also completed a doctorate in international business administration. My dissertation examines the internationalisation strategies of universities – a field that complements my practical experience with an academic perspective on growth and market entry.
Today I support media companies, universities and educational institutions as well as brand owners on opening up new growth potential and lecture at university level on business model development, entrepreneurship and digital commerce.
Career
- since 2025MK BrandXCo-Founder and Managing Director
- since 2023PrimeBrand SolutionsFounder and Managing Director
- since 2023Jahreszeiten Publishing GroupDirector Strategic Partnerships & Licensing (part-time)
- 2021–2023University of Applied ManagementVice President
- 2012–2020Hubert Burda MediaDirector Brand Licensing, previously Director Merchandising & Licensing
- 2009–2012Gruner + JahrDirector International Brands
- 2005–2009Gruner + JahrDirector GEO International
- 2001–2005Gruner + JahrAssistant to the CEO, later Publishing Manager GALA and FRAU IM SPIEGEL
Education
- 2024Doctorate (Dr. rer. soc. oec.)Hochschulinstitut Schaffhausen, Switzerland
- 2003Preparing for OpportunitiesINSEAD, Fontainebleau
- 2001Diplom-Kaufmann (MSc equivalent)University of Hamburg
- 1995Commercial apprenticeshipBertelsmann, Gütersloh
Doctoral Thesis
Internationalisation strategies of German universities of applied sciences abroad - An empirical analysis for deriving recommendations for internationalisation and market entry strategies. Available in bookshops (among others from Amazon).
Contact
Where is your next
field of growth?
Let's talk about the potential that currently sits outside your core business. I look forward to the conversation.
Request an introductory callGet in touch directly
- Phone
- +49 160 98057200
- linkedin.com/in/moellersmann