PhD Candidates

Kai Klicker-Brunner

Kai Klicker-Brunner (Germany) is a seasoned Governmental Affairs and Public Relations professional with 15+ years of corporate leadership and communications management experience in various sectors. He is recognized for demonstrating a natural aptitude for public speaking, as well as for innovative strategies and campaign programme design. Throughout his career he has been responsible for contributing directly to company growth and expansion. His professional focal points include strategic leadership, lobbying and political advocacy, due diligence, economic law, campaign management, cross-functional collaboration, and stakeholder engagement. Delivering superior administration on the latter areas of expertise requires utilization of effective communication and organizational skills, as well as business acumen, team development, project management and resource management to support efficiency and maximum returns.

Under his leadership as Manager Global Government Affairs at Philip Morris International, he directed and oversaw the formulation and execution of global communication strategies and UN-related issues.

As the Head of Public Policy, Government Affairs and Communications for PepsiCo he led the team responsible for Germany, Austria and Switzerland and oversaw the repositioning and development of a state-of-the art sustainability, Government Affairs and communications strategy. As the Lead Public Policy Economic Regulation for Amazon Web Services in the EMEA Region, he was responsible for ensuring coordinated campaign outreach in the area of competition and economic policy. He also permanently joined Faktor 3 AG, where he currently serves as the Head of Corporate Affairs.

He holds a Master of Laws (LLM) in Economic Law and a Master of Arts in Public Management & Governance, a Diploma in Business Studies. And a Master of Liberal Arts in International Relations from Harvard University.

His research focuses on the intersection of international relations and management theories by examining the impact of Chinese trade policies in third countries with a focus on the automotive industry.