Editor in Chief & Branders CEO
René Allemann
Born in Zurich, René Allemann founded the consulting firm Branders in 2005. With 30 employees, the branding agency creates, maintains and manages brands. The Brander journal is published by the Branders Group.
Columnists
Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton was born in Zurich, Switzerland in 1969 and now lives in London. He is a writer of essayistic books that have been described as a 'philosophy of everyday life.' He’s written on love, travel, architecture and literature. His books have been bestsellers in 30 countries. Alain's latest book is titled 'Religion for Atheists'.
Columnists
Alex Capus
Born in 1961 in Normandy, Alex Capus currently lives in Olten. He published his first short story collection in 1994 and ever since wrote several other novels, short stories and reports. His publishing house Hanser last published the novels «Léon und Louise» (2011) and «Fast ein bisschen Frühling» (2012) and the Western «Skidoo» (2012). Alex Capus already received numerous awards for his literary work.
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Alicia Hansen
Alicia Hansen has worked professionally as a photojournalist and commercial photographer for the past 17 years. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and a Masters in Visual Communication. Before coming to NYC she worked for several papers all over the US and assisted for Joe McNally for two years before starting her own freelance business in Manhattan. In addition, she is the founder of the nonprofit photography program called «NYC SALT».
All articles by Alicia Hansen
Contributor
Amira Sayed El Ahl
Born in 1976 in Germany, Amira El Ahl majored in Arabic and History at the School of Oriental and African Studies. Before moving on to become the Middle East correspondent for Der Spiegel Magazine in Cairo, she worked for GEO-Magazine in Hamburg. Since November 2008, she is working as an independent journalist and has worked for Die Welt, Deutsche Welle, Goethe Institut Cairo, GIZ Cairo, NKA Journal of Contemporary African Art, amongst others.
All articles by Amira Sayed El Ahl
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Andrea Monica Hug
Andrea Monica Hug is a photographer and journalist based in Zurich. A graduate of the IAM in Winterthur, she founded her street style blog Chic in Zurich in early 2012.
All articles by Andrea Monica Hug
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Autumn Sonnichsen
Autumn's work has been published in Men's Vogue Brazil, Playboy Germany, Playboy Brazil, FHM, Maxim, Nico, Stern, Vice Magazine, Trip Magazine, TPM, ArtForum, and Men's Health. She also exhibits in galleries and museums worldwide. Originally from Los Angeles, she now lives and works out of São Paulo and Berlin.
All articles by Autumn Sonnichsen
Contributor
Barbara Markert
Working in France for celebrated magazines like VOGUE, Grazia and Myself, Barbara Markert also writes articles for the technical publication Sportswear International, and The Brander. With a degree in business administration she is co-founder of the fashion blog “Modepilot” as well as the German journalists network “Weltreporter”.
All articles by Barbara Markert
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Claudia Fessler
Claudia Fessler was born in Germany. After her studies in art history, she went on to attend the Bavarian State School of Photography. With her extensive photographic scope she has not only won several awards, but also received assignments from major companies and international magazines. She has been living in Paris since 2005, from where she also maintains her daily street style blog "Modemajeure".
All articles by Claudia Fessler
Contributor
Claudius Wirz
After completing his training as a bookseller, Claudius Wirz worked for a number of book and newspaper publishers. Over the past five years he has been writing travel articles for various media as a freelancer. Claudius has lived in Bali, Indonesia since 2008, and will be contributing articles for The Brander from there.
All articles by Claudius Wirz
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Craig Ferguson
Born in Australia, commercial and editorial photographer Craig Ferguson has been travelling and living in Asia since 1997. He's called Taipei home since 2003, and is busy photographing people, food and travel scenes.
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Cyrill Matter
Cyrill Matter was born in Zurich in 1990. He completed his media training at the Neue Zürcher Zeitung NZZ. After several stays abroad and jobs as a production assistant for renowned advertising agencies, he started his own business. Cyrill Matter works today as an established international portrait and fashion photographer.
All articles by Cyrill Matter
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Dalia Khamissy
Geboren und aufgewachsen in Beirut erhielt Dalia Khamissy 1999 ihr Diplom in Fotografie von der Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik. Ihre Bilder wurden in Europa, Südamerika, den USA und der MENA-Region ausgestellt und in Magazinen wie Aperture Magazine, Eyemazing, Zeit, FT, Le Monde, WSJ, BBC Online, Washington Post und The New Yorker veröffentlicht. Ihre Arbeit dreht sich um die sozialen und politischen Geschichten aus dem Nahen Osten.
All articles by Dalia Khamissy
Illustrator
Daniel Müller
Daniel was born in Baden in 1964 and studied at the Lucerne School of Arts and Crafts and the Zurich School of Design. His work can be found in various magazines e.g., Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), Beobachter and Spiegel-Wissen. He also illustrates for the publishing houses Kain und Aber and the Nord-Süd-Verlag. He has been living and working in Zurich as a freelance illustrator since 1993.
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Daniele Mattioli
Born in Umbria, Italy Daniele Mattioli started photography with some experiences in Toronto and Vienna. In 2000, he started to work in China with a focus on Shanghai, where he decided to live in 2004. Amongst others, Daniele Mattioli's work has been published in The New York Times, Time Magazine, Focus, GQ, Marie Claire and D - La repubblicà delle donne.
All articles by Daniele Mattioli
Contributor
Franziska Klün
After her studies in economics at the Inholland University in the Netherlands Franziska Klün volunteered at the Berlin magazine zitty, where she was responsible for the style department and managed annual reviews such as Das Modenbuch and Das Berlinbuch. As a freelance writer, she writes for various newspapers, magazines and online portals such as Tagesspiegel, Zeit online, Interview or The Mini International
All articles by Franziska Klün
Columnists
Güzin Kar
Güzin Kar was born in Turkey in 1971. She has been living in Switzerland since the age of five and studied at the renowned Ludwigsburg film academy in Baden-Württemberg. She works both in Germany and Switzerland as an author (amongst others she wrote the screenplay for “Die Wilden Hühner”) and as a director. Currently, she is writing a screenplay for the sequel of the military comedy “Achtung, Fertig, Charlie!”, and working on a new novel.
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Gian Marco Castelberg
Gian Marco Castelberg, born in Chur, formed part of the movement Gruppe autodidaktische Fotographen GAF and worked for a number of renowned photographers. A freelancer since 2002, he works for national and international media. Gian Marco is the contributing photographer to The Brander for Europe.
All articles by Gian Marco Castelberg
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Graeme Williams
Photographic assignments have taken Graeme Williams to fifty countries and his photographs have been published in major publications worldwide, including National Geographic Magazine, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine and Photography magazine (UK).
All articles by Graeme Williams
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Gustu Suparna
Gustu Suparna studied photography at Udayana University in Bali and runs a big photostudio, specialized in product photographs, in Denpasar. Besides photography, Gustu loves to travel and experimenting with his camera. Gustu’s photography is published in various magazines such as Neue Zürcher Zeitung or annabelle. Gustu is the contributing photographer from Bali for The Brander.
All articles by Gustu Suparna
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Henning Bock
The photographer was born in Hattingen, Germany, in 1965, and currently lives in Berlin. His works appear in publications such as Monocle, Wallpaper and New York Times. As an advertising photographer he works, amongst others, for Audi, SAP and Adidas. He is also represented by the gallery Lumas.
All articles by Henning Bock
Contributor
Herbert Lechner
Herbert Lechner studied German language, art history and book studies in Munich and Zurich. After an editorial traineeship, Herbert Lechner worked for various specialist journals as editor in chief or senior editor. He also developed and implemented concepts for media companies and publishers. He's worked as a writer for topics regarding «visual culture».
All articles by Herbert Lechner
Columnists
Jürg Halter
Jürg Halter was born in Bern in 1980 and still lives there most of the time. A poet, performer, author, musician and publisher of a number of books and albums, he has performed at numerous international festivals in Europe, the U.S., Africa and Japan. His latest publications include a volume of poems “Wir fürchten das Ende der Musik” and the text-and-image book “Hoffentlich verliebe ich mich nicht in dich.” (Edition Patrick Frey)
Contributor
Jürg Zbinden
Following a commercial apprenticeship and training as a retail bookseller, Jürg Zbinden worked for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung for over 10 years as a proofreader, while also writing articles for the film department and the associated weekly magazine “Z”. Nowadays, Jürg works as a freelance journalist, proofreader and editor.
All articles by Jürg Zbinden
Columnists
Joey Goebel
Joey Goebel is an American author whose work centers around the peculiarities of culture in Middle America. Goebel's books „Torture the Artist“, „The Anomalies“, and „Commonwealth“ have been published in over ten languages. Goebel lives in Kentucky, with wife Micah, and is currently writing his fourth novel which will appear later this year and will likely be called «I Against Osbourne».
Contributor
Judith Reker
Judith Reker has been based in South Africa since 2007. Judith is a feature writer and analyst with a recent focus on new technologies in Africa, but she also covers social issues, the arts and politics. Before deciding to freelance, Judith was editor of politics and social issues at the award-winning German magazine "mare" in Hamburg. Judith was born in Munich, studied Arabic, Hebrew and History in London.
All articles by Judith Reker
Columnists
Juli Zeh
Is a German novelist and jurist. Her first book was “Eagles and Angels“, and was translated into 29 languages. She traveled through Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2001, which became the basis for the book “Even Silence is a Sound. Travels through Bosnia“. Amongst other novels and short stories, she also wrote “Gaming Instinct“ and “Corpus Deliciti. A Trial“. Juli Zeh was born in Bonn in 1974 and has lived in Leipzig since 1995.
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Kai Jünemann
Based in Paris, photographer Kai Jünemann works for renowned international print media e.g. magazines such as Exit, Figaro, Stern, Spiegel and the French Elle. He is also the contributing photographer for The Brander in Paris. Besides photography Kai also lectures at the University of Applied Arts and Sciences in Dortmund, Germany.
All articles by Kai Jünemann
Contributor
Karen Naundorf
A graduate of the Henri Nannen School of Journalism in Hamburg and the University of Arts in Berlin, Karen Naundorf reports for The Brander and other German-language media from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her articles appear in publications such as Der Spiegel, Zeit, Geo Special, SZ-Magazin, Dummy, Neon and Merian.
All articles by Karen Naundorf
Contributor
Katja Wölfel
Katja Wölfel has been working as a copywriter and conceptual creative for more than 11 years. After her Master in German and American Literatur and her studies at the ADC Creative School, she worked permanent and freelance for advertising agencies before joining Branders as Senior Copywriter.
Contributor
Klaus Bardenhagen
As the only German journalist Klaus Bardenhagen regularly reports from Taiwan. Since 2009 he lives on the democratic island. Klaus' experience derives from the television industry where he also worked for NDR and ZDF.
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Kristofer Hedlund
Kristofer Hedlund ist ein Fotograf aus Schweden und lebt derzeit in Stockholm. Sein Spezialgebiet sind Porträts, Editorials und Werbung. Er arbeitet ausserdem an diversen privaten Projekten und Büchern.
All articles by Kristofer Hedlund
Contributor
Lisa von Ortenberg
After graduating from the JSM School of Journalism, Lisa von Ortenberg first worked as a reporter for Die Welt, then as an editor for Glamour and finally as a head reporter for Jolie. After becoming a freelance journalist in 2005, she began reporting from Asia as a correspondent for the Süddeutsche Zeitung and the NZZ am Sonntag, amongst others.
All articles by Lisa von Ortenberg
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Luca Gabino
Luca Gabino is an Italian freelance photographer born in Milan but living In Tokyo since 2010. Through the years he has collaborated with numerous Italian and international magazines, as well as showing his pictures in various exhibitons, such as the International Festival of Photography of Rome, at the Triennale of Milan and at the Museum of the European Culture in Berlin.
All articles by Luca Gabino
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Luis Enrique Ascui
Luis Enrique Ascui was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1966, and has worked as a professional photojournalist in Latin America, Australia, Europe, and South East Asia. His work reflects an interest in the human struggle to survive under intolerable conditions. In 2000, he received the Nikon Award for Photojournalism and now operates as a fulltime consultant photographer for clients across Asia Pacific and the Far East.
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Marc Gerritsen
Born in The Hague and with a background in design Marc Gerritsen initially specialized in interior design and architectural photography. Over time, industrial, lifestyle and corporate photography have been added to complete his portfolio. Marc is the contributing photographer from Asia and Australia for The Brander.
All articles by Marc Gerritsen
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Marco Vernaschi
Marco Vernaschi is an Italian photographer who currently lives in Argentina. His provoking and sometimes controversial work received several prestigious recognitions, including two grants by The Pulitzer Center. His photographs are published internationally by major outlets such as Newsweek, TIME, National Geographic, The New York Times, Sunday Times Magazine and GEO.
All articles by Marco Vernaschi
Columnists
Markus Kavka
“The face of German music journalism” is a TV host, journalist, author and DJ. For MTV Germany, Markus Kavka produced several programs (e.g. MTV news, MTV spin, 20 years on MTV). Additionally, he regularly reports live at the MTV EMAs and VMAs. Since 2009, he has also appeared in programs on ZDF, Kabel 1 and MySpace. Presently he is on a reading tour with his first novel “Rottenegg”.
EditorialManager
Olivia El Sayed
Olivia El Sayed studied German and French at the University of London. Initially employed by a music label in Germany, she also worked as an editor for various online media. Starting with Branders in 2008, she assumed responsibility as Editorial Manager of The Brander publication effective January, 2011.
All articles by Olivia El Sayed
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Olivier Brandenberg
Olivier Brandenberg was born 1970. He lives in Zurich and works as a photographer and director.
All articles by Olivier Brandenberg
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Pascal Mora
Born in Switzerland in 1983, Pascal Mora started his career in the music business. He then turned to photography. The self-tauht photographer initially worked as an assistant in the photo studio of the Swiss magazine «annabelle». Since 2006, he has worked as a freelance photojournalist. He currently lives in Zurich and Cairo.
All articles by Pascal Mora
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Philipp Engelhorn
Born in the Black Forest of southern Germany, photographer Philipp Engelhorn worked as a photographer’s assistant in New York City for 6 years before relocating to Hong Kong in 2002. Philipp’s photography is published in international magazines such as GeoSaison, Fortune, WallStreet Journal, Spiegel, Die Welt and Outside Magazine. Philipp is the contributing photographer from Hong Kong.
All articles by Philipp Engelhorn
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Reto Caduff
Born in Zurich and based in Los Angeles, Reto Caduff is a visual storyteller, working mostly with photography and film.
His documentaries on subjects like hard rock bands, peak oil, jazz musicians or graphic designers have won numerous international awards. Reto's photography is published in Europe and the US in magazines such as brand eins, annabelle, swiss inflight magazine, gear, discover and travel & leisure.
All articles by Reto Caduff
Contributor
Roman Elsener
Born in Switzerland, Roman Elsener has been based in New York since 1996 where he writes articles for, inter alia, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung and The Brander. Roman is also employed by the Swiss news agency SDA as a USA correspondent.
All articles by Roman Elsener
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Sari Goodfriend
Sari Goodfriend graduated from Smith College with a B.A. in Art History and French Studies and also studied at The International Center of Photography in NY and the Rocky Mountain School of Photography in Montana. Sari shoots for a variety of editorial, corporate and non-profit clients and is based in New York City.
All articles by Sari Goodfriend
Columnists
Sibylle Berg
Sibylle Berg, born in Weimar, Germany, currently lives in Zurich. She has published twelve books to date. Sibylle Berg’s latest novel “Man, Asleep” was published by the German publishing company Hanser in the fall of 2009. Plays by Sibylle Berg («Helges Leben», «Hund, Mann, Frau», «Hauptsache Arbeit!», «Nur Nachts», etc.) are being performed in a number of theaters at home and abroad. (Photo: © Katja Hoffmann)
Contributor
Simone Ott
A freelance author Simone Ott divides her time between Los Angeles and Switzerland. She writes for such publications as Architectural Digest, NZZ am Sonntag, Annabelle and Tages Anzeiger. As a columnist she writes for the American online music platform The Comet. She will be contributing to The Brander from Los Angeles.
All articles by Simone Ott
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Stefan Falke
Stefan Falke startet as a photographer's assistant and silk-screen printer in Munich and Hamburg. He moved to New York in 1985 where he photographed for European magazines. Starting in the mid 90s major German movie studios hired him as a set photographer in the US, Europe and Africa. He became a member of the German photo agency laif in 1999. Still based in New York he now works for international magazines and film production companies.
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Stephanie Füssenich
Born 1979, Stephanie Füssenich lives in Munich where she graduated from the State Academy of Photographic Design. As a freelance photographer, she works for such publications as Neon, Nido, SZ Magazine, ZEIT, the ZEIT Magazine, BMW Magazine and Brigitte.
All articles by Stephanie Füssenich
Translator
Tessa Pfenninger
Born in London, Tessa Pfenninger studied linguistics and translation at the SAL in Zurich. She grew up bilingually and, as a professional language services specialist, is in charge of all translations and text adaptations for The Brander journal.
All articles by Tessa Pfenninger
Contributor
Thomas Escher
Thomas Escher is an information architect and freelance journalist who currently lives in New York. He reports, inter alia, for Spiegel Online. He studied media and communications management at the university of cooperative education in Ravensburg, before he started with the Burda publishing house in 2004.
All articles by Thomas Escher
Contributor
Thomas Garms
Dr. Thomas Garms (53), a publicist and media manager, has, amongst other things, been responsible for a number of major magazines such as Die WELT am Sonntag, Men's Health, and Fit for fun. In 2010, he founded his own publishing company to distribute the German edition of the Brazilian lifestyle magazine TRIP. In September 2011, he started as Head of Corporate Media with Axel Springer Switzerland AG.
All articles by Thomas Garms
Interactive
Thomas Hausheer
Thomas Hausheer develops interactive communications solutions. He specializes in developing sophisticated applications based on PHP/MySQL. At The Brander, he is in charge of programming and maintaining the website.
Columnists
Thomas Meyer
Thomas Meyer was born in Zurich in 1974. He worked as a copywriter and concept developer in advertising agencies and as a reporter, columnist and chief editor for various publications. In 2007, he started his own business as an author and copywriter. Thomas Meyer's debut novel, "Wolkenbruchs wunderliche Reise in die Arme einer Schickse" was published in March 2012.
Contributor
Urs Steiner
Urs Steiner, born in Zurich, holds a degree in German literature and linguistics, and has been employed by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung since 2001. Previously he worked in editorial management for the weekly business journal Cash and as an editor for Werbewoche in Zurich.
All articles by Urs Steiner
Contributor
Wilma Fasola
Initially Wilma Fasola wanted to become a detective superintendent. In the end, however, she decided that her thirst for knowledge would be better served by a career in journalism. In the meantime she has worked in this discipline for over 15 years and focuses on a combination of business and lifestyle topics. She finds the articles about brands especially intriguing, because there’s often more to the topic than meets the eye at first glance.
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Xyza Cruz Bacani
Xyza Bacani is an award winning Filipina Photographer who was recently chosen as one of Forbes 30Under30 The Arts Asia 2016, BBC 100 Women 2015 and Magnum Foundation Human Rights Fellow.
