Merlin Koene has a wealth of knowledge and many years of experience in the business sector. He worked as a journalist before joining Unilever as Director of Sustainable Business & Communications. At Unilever, he managed internal and external communications, as well as public affairs and sustainable business for the D-A-CH region, UK/IRL, the Nordic countries and Italy, and also handled global media relations and financial communications from London.
He was the founding chair of the Forum for Sustainable Palm Oil (FONAP), a cross-industry initiative launched together with the German government. He received the German Sustainability Award on behalf of Unilever. He was also a board member at the German Food Association (BLL). After holding positions as EVP Communications at ProSiebenSat.1 Media and Partner at fischerAppelt, advisors, he became Head of Corporate Communications at the Dutch discounter Action, which is active throughout Europe.
He then founded merlin and friends, a consultancy collective focusing on sustainable business, strategic communication, transformation/change and brand development for companies, products and public figures. With a combination of corporate experience in leadership positions, media background as well as in-depth knowledge of strategic communications, Merlin is a Trusted Advisor for companies seeking to build their brand presence through effective communications strategies while addressing all aspects of their business, including public image management, crisis prevention/management and sustainability initiatives. Over two decades, his innovative and creative approach has delivered successful results across a range of sectors including FMCG, retail, automotive, healthcare and finance.
