Michael Karg

After completing graduate studies in finance and accounting at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland in 1994, I secured a position with the Austrian Trade Commission in Malaysia, consulting companies on their market entry strategies. This early international career experience and cultural education set the tone for the rest of my professional journey.

Passionate about academic research, I returned to Switzerland in 1996 for doctoral studies. At that time, I also joined the Institute of Marketing to be part of large-scale European-wide research projects about best practices in marketing. Consequently, I advised industry-leading firms such as Hilti, Siemens, and Credit Suisse on customer acquisition, retention and marketing profitability strategies.

After receiving a scholarship from the Swiss National Science Foundation, I was accepted by Harvard University to continue my doctoral studies in 1999. During this time, I published several books, articles and case studies on best practices in marketing. In 2000, I joined Digitas in Boston, and in 2004 took on responsibility for the 100+ strong Strategy & Analysis teams in Boston and Detroit, leading large-scale assignments for clients including AT&T, Bayer, Ericsson, General Motors, Microsoft and SAP.

When Digitas was bought by the Publicis Groupe in 2007, I moved to London to serve global clients including General Motors and Samsung, and continued on to co-lead Digitas’ London operation with an emphasis on re-igniting its strategic and creative direction.

In 2010, the Publicis Groupe purchased Razorfish and I became Chief Operating Officer International, with responsibility for all offices and markets outside the US, and in 2011 added additional responsibilities as President EMEA. In May 2013 following the integration of DigitasLBi I was elevated to the position of CEO Razorfish International.

Experience across multiple continents and an extensive academic career have contributed many insights and learnings to my role. As well as overseeing key multinational client relationships, my focus is orchestrating Razorfish’s international network capabilities, which enable us to deliver breakthrough, award-winning work for clients across geographies.