From a Small Printing Company to one of the Germany's Biggest Media Groups

There are undoubtably a lot to learn from Hubert Burda Media (Burda), which is the biggest media group in Germany today with annual turnover exceeding 2.6 billion EUR. More than hundred years ago, it was a local printing company founded by Franz Burda Snr in Philippsburg. The sucess story of Burda would not be possible without ongoing breakthrough and innovation.

Therefore, FNF Global Innovation Hub was happy to have a discussion with Burda to learn from their tips on how to be more innovative within a company and their thoughts on the business community in Hong Kong and Germany.

Apart from a discussion we also did a Q&A with Burda Media on their delegation visit to Hong Kong.

Q: Why did you choose Hongkong for your delegation?

A: The CTOs of our digital brands take a week every year to travel somewhere new to find out about the latest technological trends and developments. For example, last year’s trip went to Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou – so it was a logical step to follow up on this with visits to Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Singapore. Hong Kong was particularly interesting because of its traditional gatekeeper role to China and vivid fintech scene.

Q: What was the thing that impressed or surprised you most during your visit?

A: We’ve gained valuable insights from each city and country that we visited during this week. In general, it was a great experience how welcoming the companies reacted to our meeting requests and how open and fruitful the discussions were.

Q: What's your take-away from the exchange with FNF's global innovation hub?

A: Of course, everybody has heard of Friedrich Naumann Foundation before. It was very interesting to get a first-hand look at the institution and its initiatives all over the world. Furthermore, we had a stimulating discussion about the cultural aspects of innovation and its varying role and value to different countries and regions.