Ram Charan
Global CEO Advisor | Bestselling Author of Execution & China's 90% Model | Thinkers50 Hall of Fame | Harvard Business School Faculty
Lars Silberbauer
Award-Winning Global CMO | Former LEGO · Olympics · Paramount MTV · Nokia/HMD | Emmy & Cannes Lions Winner | 2025 McKinsey Marketing Academy Fellow | Digital Transformation
Lars Silberbauer built LEGO into the world's most engaging brand on social media, led marketing for the Olympic Games, and repositioned Nokia for a new generation — earning Emmy, Cannes Lions, and a place among Europe's 25 most influential marketers. Selected as a 2025 McKinsey Marketing Academy Fellow, his keynotes translate world-class brand-building experience into practical strategies for digital transformation, content marketing, and the future of human attention.
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Lars Silberbauer biography
Lars Silberbauer is one of the world’s most recognized marketing executives — an award-winning brand builder who has led digital transformation at some of the most iconic organizations on the planet: LEGO, the International Olympic Committee, Paramount’s MTV, and Nokia. With a career spanning consumer technology, entertainment, broadcast media, branded play, and global sports, he brings to every stage the rare credibility of someone who has actually done what most marketers only theorize about.
Marketing speaker Lars Silberbauer first came to global attention during his tenure at the LEGO Group, where he led the company’s digital and social media transformation from scratch. When he joined, LEGO had no official social media presence. Under his leadership, the brand became the most engaging in the world on social media according to Mediapost, was named the number one toy brand on YouTube and social media by Adweek, and accumulated over one billion annual views across its YouTube channels. He launched LEGO TV in 40 markets in 2014 — a native mobile content platform for children — and built a global team of social and search marketers who engaged consumers in real time at a scale the industry had never seen. His work earned Cannes Lions, Lovie Awards, and an Emmy, and he was named one of Europe’s 25 most innovative and influential marketers by the Holmes Report.
From LEGO, Silberbauer moved to Paramount’s MTV Digital Studios as Senior Vice-President, where he oversaw the creative development of digital originals and the management of MTV’s social channels — including the revival of iconic formats like Cribs and TRL for digital-native audiences. He then joined the International Olympic Committee as Global Head of Brand, Marketing and Digital, leading the organization’s marketing strategy across one of the world’s most watched events. His most recent corporate role was as Chief Marketing Officer at HMD Global, home of Nokia Phones, where he led a full brand repositioning and architected a series of high-profile global partnerships — including the viral Barbie phone collaboration with Mattel, a strategic alliance with FC Barcelona, and the Heineken-backed Boring Phone campaign, a centerpiece of The Better Phone Project that ignited a worldwide conversation about digital overconsumption and screen addiction.
From CMO to Catalyst: Building the Future of Brand
In 2025, Silberbauer was selected by McKinsey & Company as one of just 25 global CMOs to join the Marketing Academy Fellowship — a highly selective, invite-only program designed to accelerate senior marketing leaders toward CEO-level impact. He is also the founder of WAVE7, an advisory firm that helps global brands navigate disruption and digital transformation. He holds an MA in Media Science, a BA in Film and Media Science, and a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration, and spent eight years in broadcasting — including as Head of Social Media for the Danish Broadcasting Corporation — before his corporate marketing career began.
As a speaker, Lars Silberbauer delivers what few in his field can: the hard-won perspective of an executive who has built digital powerhouses from the ground up, not once but repeatedly, across industries. His sessions are direct, evidence-rich, and immediately applicable — covering everything from social media strategy and brand storytelling to digital transformation, sustainability in tech, and the future of human attention in an AI-saturated world. For organizations that want a marketing speaker who has been in the room where it happened, Silberbauer is an outstanding choice available through Aurum Speakers Bureau.
Lars Silberbauer Speaking Videos
Lars Silberbauer - E-waste, sustainability in tech and digital detox
Lars Silberbauer at Cannes Lions - LEGO's Social Media Strategy
Lars Silberbauer Keynote Topics
When Lars Silberbauer joined LEGO in 2011, the company had no Facebook page, no YouTube channel, and was losing the digital battle to its competitors. Within a few years, LEGO had become the most engaging brand in the world on social media and was accumulating over a billion YouTube views per year. In this keynote, Silberbauer deconstructs the strategic thinking, team-building decisions, and creative choices behind one of the most celebrated brand transformations of the social media era — and extracts the principles that any organization can apply to build a brand that earns genuine attention, loyalty, and love from its audience.
The biggest challenge facing every brand today is not creativity or budget — it is attention. People are more connected, more distracted, and more skeptical than at any point in history. In this keynote, Silberbauer draws on his experience across LEGO, MTV, the Olympics, and Nokia to map the new landscape of consumer attention — how it is won, lost, and sustained across platforms, generations, and cultural moments. He covers what AI and the creator economy are doing to brand communication, why purpose-driven storytelling cuts through where advertising no longer can, and how marketing leaders can build strategies that are both commercially rigorous and culturally resonant.
Digital transformation fails not because of technology, but because of people. In this keynote, Silberbauer shares the leadership and organizational lessons from driving transformation at scale — from building LEGO's first digital team to repositioning an iconic hardware brand for a new generation. He covers how to build digital competence inside traditional organizations, how to empower teams to act with speed and confidence, how to align C-suite stakeholders around a digital vision, and what separates the brands that successfully navigate disruption from those that don't. A session grounded in real decisions, real mistakes, and real results.
What does it mean to build a brand with a point of view — not just a product? Drawing on his work at HMD Global where he led the Boring Phone campaign with Heineken and The Better Phone Project, Silberbauer makes the case that the most powerful marketing of the next decade will be built around genuine social purpose. He explores how brands can credibly enter conversations about mental health, digital overconsumption, sustainability, and human wellbeing — and shows, through specific case studies, what separates authentic purpose-driven marketing from cynical greenwashing. A keynote that challenges marketing leaders to think differently about what their brand is actually for.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Lars Silberbauer
Why Lars Silberbauer?
Booking Lars Silberbauer for your event means bringing one of the world's most credentialed and battle-tested marketing leaders to your audience. Silberbauer doesn't speak from theory — he built LEGO into the world's most engaging brand on social media from zero presence, led marketing for the Olympic Games, repositioned Nokia for a new generation, and created viral global campaigns including the Barbie phone and the Heineken Boring Phone. He has won Cannes Lions, Lovie Awards, an Emmy, and was named one of Europe's 25 most innovative marketers by the Holmes Report. In 2025 he was selected as a McKinsey Marketing Academy Fellow — one of just 25 CMOs globally. His sessions give audiences a direct, story-driven view of what brand-building at the highest level actually looks like in practice. To book Lars Silberbauer for your event, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
What did Lars Silberbauer accomplish at LEGO?
Lars Silberbauer joined LEGO in 2011 as Social Media Strategist when the company had no official social media presence. Over his tenure as Senior Global Director of Social Media and Video, he led a complete digital transformation that made LEGO the most engaging brand in the world on social media (Mediapost, 2016) and the number one toy brand on YouTube and social media (Adweek). He launched LEGO TV across 40 markets, built a global team of social and content marketers, and grew LEGO's YouTube channels to over one billion annual views. The work earned multiple Cannes Lions, Lovie Awards, and an Emmy, and is widely studied as one of the most successful brand digital transformations of the social media era.
What is the Boring Phone and the Better Phone Project?
The Boring Phone was a campaign Lars Silberbauer led during his tenure as CMO at HMD Global (Nokia Phones), in partnership with Heineken. It introduced a deliberately stripped-back mobile device designed to reduce digital distraction — part of a broader initiative called The Better Phone Project, which aimed to spark a global conversation about smartphone dependency, digital overconsumption, and the value of disconnecting. The campaign generated widespread international media coverage and resonated strongly with audiences concerned about technology's impact on mental health and attention. It is one of several purpose-driven marketing initiatives that Silberbauer has become known for alongside his commercial work.
What topics does marketing speaker Lars Silberbauer cover?
Lars Silberbauer's keynotes cover the full spectrum of modern brand leadership: digital transformation and social media strategy; building brands from zero to global leadership; the future of marketing in an AI and creator-driven world; purpose-driven brand campaigns and sustainability in tech; consumer attention, digital detox, and the human side of technology; content marketing and platform strategy; and leadership lessons from building world-class digital teams at LEGO, the Olympics, MTV, and Nokia. His sessions are tailored to each audience and grounded in specific, first-hand case studies from the world's most recognized brands. To discuss the right topic and format for your event, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
How to book Lars Silberbauer as a keynote speaker?
Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Lars Silberbauer as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Lars Silberbauer's availability for a speaking engagement. One of our booking agents will respond to your request immediately and contact the speaker to let them know you want to hire them. We will assist you with obtaining speaking fees, booking information, and confirming availability for Lars Silberbauer or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
How much is Lars Silberbauer speaking fee?
Lars Silberbauer speaking fees are determined by several factors, including the event's date, whether it's a virtual or in-person event, the duration, format, preparation required for their speech, and more. The same applies to the cost to hire any other top expert speakers and celebrities. The Speaker Fee Range listed on our website is simply a guideline and is subject to change without notice. If you would like to hire Lars Silberbauer to deliver a keynote speech for your event, please fill out the contact form or email us at info@aurumbureau.com with as much detail as possible. One of our experienced agents will get in touch with you and let you know exactly how much it will cost to book Lars Silberbauer.
How can I contact Lars Silberbauer?
We only work with Lars Silberbauer on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Lars Silberbauer and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Lars Silberbauer speak at your event. We will be your sole point of contact throughout the process. Get in touch with Aurum Speakers Bureau today, and we will reach out to any motivational speaker or celebrity you want to enquire about speaking at your event. If you wish to contact Lars Silberbauer for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
Can I book Lars Silberbauer for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Lars Silberbauer is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Lars Silberbauer for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
