Anette Schaefer

Anette Schaefer is Chief Executive Officer of EIT Culture & Creativity, a Knowledge and Innovation Community funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). She joined the organisation as Co-CEO in October 2024 and assumed the role of sole CEO in April 2025. Under her leadership, EIT Culture & Creativity advances innovation, entrepreneurship, and societal impact across the Cultural and Creative Sectors and Industries (CCSI) through six Regional Co-Location Centers in Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Austria, and Slovakia.
Anette has more than 20 years of experience in the global Telecommunications, Media, and Technology (TMT) sector in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Her areas of expertise include business case development, commercial and technical due diligence, market research, and consumer marketing strategy, with extensive knowledge of the global media, entertainment, and broadband industries.
From 2017 to 2019, she was Vice President, TV Business Europe at Deutsche Telekom AG, responsible for 5.8 million subscribers and €750 million in annual turnover. In 2019, the World Economic Forum appointed her as an expert for its Industry 4.0 Initiative in the Media & Entertainment group. She serves on the boards of Vionlabs (Sweden), AdScanner (Croatia), and other emerging technology companies.
Earlier in her career, Anette founded BIG Picture, a digital media analysis and advisory firm, and held senior roles at industry analyst firm Yankee Group in London. She began her career in the United States as a management consultant for clients including Disney, NBC Universal, Bertelsmann, Liberty Global, and AOL Time Warner.