Meet the Winners of the 11th Call for Speakers Contest
The 11th Call for Speakers contest is closed, and the experts taking the stage at E-commerce Berlin Expo 2027 are here.
The Call for Speakers contest is E-commerce Berlin Expo’s open invitation to the industry: anyone with expertise or a story worth telling can submit a talk proposal. Instead of building the agenda behind closed doors, we let the community vote for its favourites and our Advisory Board pick the winners, who earn a spot on the Expo stage.
This year, 911 proposals entered the race across 9 categories, and the community cast tens of thousands of votes. The quality bar went up again, and choosing the winners was harder than ever.
How the winners were selected
As every year, the contest ran in two stages, designed to surface both crowd favourites and hidden gems:
- Stage 1: Public voting. The community voted for its favourite proposals, selecting the finalists in each of the 9 categories.
- Stage 2: Advisory Board review. Our Advisory Board of e-commerce leaders from flaconi, Zalando, momox, Cyberport, Kellanova, Meta, C&A, BRAUN BÜFFEL, and more, reviewed the finalists. They chose the most relevant and actionable talk in each category, and handpicked 15 wildcards.
Meet the category winners
These thought leaders have secured their spot on the E-commerce Berlin Expo 2027 stage.
1. Growth, Acquisition & Conversion
Kameleoon / Waldemar Karcher / How agentic workflows will transform optimization and experimentation programs
AI already helps experimentation teams generate ideas, write copy and analyse results. Waldemar shows how agentic workflows could change something much bigger: how the entire optimisation program runs, from spotting opportunities and turning customer data into hypotheses to monitoring results and recommending what to test next. He separates practical applications from AI hype, and asks the question every experimentation leader should be asking: will your edge come from running more tests, or from knowing which problems are worth testing in the first place?
"Valuable for everyone from small D2C brands to large companies."
What the Advisory Board appreciated:
- Practical examples for every company size. The board valued the hands-on “practice” section, whose examples jurors see as useful for everyone from small D2C brands to large companies.
- Strong strategic angle: The advisors appreciated how the talk moves beyond tactical AI applications to explore how agentic workflows could fundamentally reshape experimentation.
- Thought-provoking question: The board liked how the talk challenges a fundamental assumption in CRO: that running more experiments necessarily leads to better results.
2. CX, Loyalty & Retention
Fielmann Group AG / Stephanie Weber / Your Customer Is Tired, Distracted and Overwhelmed
We design e-commerce as if customers were focused and fully attentive. In reality, people shop tired, distracted, stressed or overwhelmed, and every brain processes information differently. Using real examples, Stephanie shows how cognitive diversity and neuroinclusive design create better commerce experiences, with practical principles to reduce cognitive load and ambiguity, increase predictability and help customers make confident decisions.
"Totally resonates with how many feel nowadays."
What the Advisory Board appreciated:
- The human side of e-commerce. While much of the industry focuses on AI, personalisation and conversion optimisation, the board valued a CX talk that brings the human side back into focus. One juror loves that it is less technical and more about real human behaviour.
- Neuroinclusive design. Jurors highlighted understanding how differently people process information, and building shopping experiences that reduce cognitive overload, as an important step towards accessible, inclusive e-commerce. For one advisor, the topic is personally important.
- Cutting through the noise. In the board’s view, how brands can connect with tired, overwhelmed consumers is a key challenge in modern marketing.
- A brand obsessed with CX. Jurors called Fielmann a great company and an always inspiring brand with an extreme focus on customer experience. Several said they want to learn from it.
- Best practices, not a pitch. Brands with strong omnichannel capabilities tend to share best practices rather than make a sales pitch, a juror noted.
- Engaging, nuanced and strategic. Advisors praised the nuanced approach and strong strategic angle. One welcomed a female speaker bringing this perspective.
3. Product, Merchandising & Commercial Strategy
Blackroll & Aybee / Marius Keckeisen & Florian Knieß / Blackroll’s winning formula to produce constantly new winning products
Before a single euro is spent, Blackroll simulates how a new product idea would perform on Amazon or in its own shop, with real consumers. Knowing its target group, why they would buy and what matters to them, the brand can tell before production whether a product has a strong chance of winning, and drop the concepts that don’t. Marius and Florian show how Blackroll does this together with Aybee, a product testing platform for e-commerce brands.
"I find the idea of being able to virtually test and predict a product's success before launching it to market particularly fascinating."
What the Advisory Board appreciated:
- Validating before investing. The board liked testing product concepts with real consumers before committing to production. A juror with a product management background noted how hard it usually is to predict which products will actually succeed.
- Insights tied to commercial decisions. Jurors see connecting consumer insights with product development and commercial decisions as highly relevant for e-commerce brands.
- Building premium value. Blackroll has built a premium position around products whose functional superiority isn’t always obvious to consumers, a juror noted. Advisors want to understand how it keeps creating perceived value, justifies premium pricing, turns new products into commercial successes and stays relevant in a competitive market.
- Innovation best practice. The board appreciated a best-practice look at innovation and an interesting growth path.
4. Operations, Fulfillment & Profitability
Pickware / Samuel Vogel / Operations auf Autopilot: Wie FishCandy das Tagesgeschäft an Pickware AI Agents übergibt
Many companies stick a chatbot on their help pages and call it AI. With Pickware, merchants talk to their ERP and build their own agents that put operations on autopilot: by the time you finish your first coffee, your agent has already prioritised the orders and sent them to the warehouse. FishCandy, which started in 2020 as a side project and now ships cutting-edge fishing gear from Japan to a loyal community, shows what this looks like in practice. Founder Martin Kurylo explains what AI agents mean day to day for a growing Shopify merchant, and how an AI operations platform helps optimise margins.
"I find this topic highly relevant, especially as AI is moving beyond content creation and analytics into real operational processes."
What the Advisory Board appreciated:
- AI in real operations. The board found it highly relevant that AI is moving beyond content creation and analytics into real operational processes, taking over day-to-day business.
- Efficiency for growing shops. Automating repetitive tasks, improving efficiency and increasing profitability is very interesting for growing e-commerce businesses, a juror noted.
- A relatable case. Jurors want to see how agents can optimise a smaller Shopify store like FishCandy.
5. Technology, Platforms & Payments
studio vaai / Caterina Mandel / Why try-on looks right and fits wrong – and what changed in 2026
Virtual try-on went mainstream in 2026, yet shoppers still don’t use it to decide what to order. Most try-ons simply generate a picture of you wearing the garment, without ever looking at measurements or fit. Caterina walks through the three technology shifts that now make real size-and-fit simulation possible, what still doesn’t work, and why the hardest part with a real brand is rarely the technology. You’ll leave able to tell a generated try-on from a simulated one, with three questions to ask any vendor and a clear view of the data you need on your side.
"Size- and fit-related returns are fashion e-commerce's biggest challenge and cost factor."
What the Advisory Board appreciated:
- The key to fewer returns. Jurors see technology that combines both product and customer measurements as the key to finally solving fit issues at scale.
- Fit, not just looks. The board valued that the session goes beyond impressive AI-generated visuals to the real customer problem: the gap between looking good in a virtual try-on and how a garment actually fits. That gap matters for customer experience, returns and profitability.
- Practical takeaways. Advisors singled out the three questions to ask vendors and the data requirements for implementation.
- A trend with potential. Jurors are curious how the topic is evolving and said the proposal sounds on point.
6. Marketplaces, Channels & Customer Access
Channable / Lucas Bassa / How KoRo reached 20% revenue growth through marketplace automation
Selling across many marketplaces brings operational complexity, fragmented product data and manual processes that limit efficiency. In this session, KoRo shares how it centralised and automated its marketplace operations across 10+ platforms, cutting operational workload by 75% while driving 20% revenue growth. Learn how structured product data, automation and listing optimisation can turn marketplace complexity into a lasting competitive advantage.
"It combines a recognized merchant with a measurable outcome and an operational how-to."
What the Advisory Board appreciated:
- Replicable learnings. For an audience actively selling across marketplaces, the board expects learnings they can repeat in their own business.
- Scaling across markets. Jurors find it fascinating to see how brands like KoRo successfully expand across multiple markets via marketplaces.
- A love brand on stage. Advisors called KoRo a super relevant love brand and think it would be great to see it on stage.
- Ambitious with AI. Channable was described as very ambitious with AI and automation.
7. International & Cross-Border Growth
Glow25 / Marcele Guimarães / Don’t Reinvent the Wheel. Adapt It for the Road.
International expansion is often treated as a launch project, but go-live is only Day 1. Drawing on three years of testing, learning and growing across European markets, Marcele covers the full journey: turning growth ambitions into a strategy teams can execute together, Day 1 hypercare, and the critical first six months, when assumptions meet the reality of a new market. No secret formula, but a clear view of what to standardise, what to question and where to look when building the growth loop for a new market.
"What a claim! And absolutely right in my opinion."
What the Advisory Board appreciated:
- An inspiring brand. The board valued learning from Glow25, which has set a great example of how to build and scale a successful business in beauty and cosmetics. One juror was simply glad to finally see a brand among the finalists.
- Lessons others can apply. Glow25 expanded rapidly and successfully across Europe. Jurors expect insights into its expansion strategy and the adaptations made along the way, which other players can transfer.
- Adapt, don’t reinvent. Advisors liked the pragmatic angle of adapting proven approaches, and understanding what to standardise, what to question and where to look when building the growth loop for a new market.
- Focus when resources are tight. When entering a new country, a juror noted, you don’t have the time and resources you have at home, so you have to stay focused on driving on the road.
- Expansion as a learning process. The board appreciated treating international expansion as ongoing learning rather than a one-off launch project, with a focus on the first six months, when assumptions meet the reality of a new market. One juror noted how hard it is to turn a strategy into something different departments can execute together.
- Niche product, wide relevance. Jurors called it a real-world use case with plenty of strategic insights, built on an extremely niche product but highly relevant. One welcomed a female speaker sharing her perspective.
8. Strategy & Business Transformation
NO SHORTCUTS / Nathanael Ziegler / From €30M in revenue to shut down: What building and losing “apfelband” taught me about shortcuts in ecommerce
Nathanael built apfelband into one of Germany’s best-known D2C brands for Apple accessories: €30M+ in revenue, 500,000+ customers and seven-figure months back to back. By September 2024, the company had to shut down. Not because the product or the ads failed, but because of shortcuts you don’t notice while growing: overstock instead of proper forecasting, revenue instead of contribution margin as the steering metric, and cash planning by gut feeling. This is the honest story, plus the framework he now uses to help founders link purchasing, ad spend and liquidity so growth doesn’t become a trap.
"Finally a topic about fails and learnings!"
What the Advisory Board appreciated:
- Lessons from failure. The board agrees we often learn the most from failures, yet failure stories still get too little attention, even though that is where the true lessons lie. A candid keynote on e-commerce and D2C missteps was seen as particularly insightful.
- It stands out. In a sea of agentic AI titles, jurors found a failure story refreshing and interesting.
- Inspiring and courageous. Advisors called the talk inspiring and courageous, and the speaker great.
- A potential highlight. One juror wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be the most interesting session on stage.
9. People, Leadership & Organisation
Fuchs Devils Wild / Kristin Ottlinger / Der stille Preis der KI-Effizienz: Was Produktivitätsgewinne mit Führung und Organisation machen
AI promises huge productivity gains in e-commerce: content is created faster, processes are automated and teams get more done in less time. But time saved doesn’t automatically become time gained. Kristin shows how quickly efficiency gains disappear into more output, faster cycles and higher expectations, while work intensifies and mentoring comes under pressure. Using an e-commerce case, she reveals where the hidden costs of AI efficiency arise, and which decisions leaders and organisations can make so that productivity gains truly benefit the business.
"We have to look after the negative aspects of the transformation. Not everything is fancy."
What the Advisory Board appreciated:
- What productivity metrics hide. The board valued that the talk looks beyond the usual AI efficiency narrative at what productivity gains actually mean for leadership, teams and organisational culture.
- The overlooked side of AI. While everyone celebrates AI’s productivity gains, a juror noted, far too little attention goes to what they mean for organisations, leadership and quality control.
- A challenge for every leader. Jurors agree that virtually every business leader will have to address this. They called it highly timely for organisations restructuring around AI and still balancing technological progress with the human side of work.
- The right angle on your people. Advisors called this angle on staff super important, and expect an interesting keynote on the watch-outs of AI optimisation.
The wildcards: 15 more talks handpicked by the Advisory Board
On top of the category winners, the Advisory Board handpicked 15 wildcards: proposals that stood out for their creativity, originality and forward-thinking ideas, regardless of how many public votes they received.
Here are this year’s wildcards:
- HomeToGo / Marta Tumelero / Converting high-intent searchers: A data-backed framework for performance marketing – See the proposal
- Kloster Kitchen / Julia Schrobenhauser & Sabrina Oehme / Insolvency – Lessons, Opportunities & F*** Ups from E-Commerce – See the proposal
- Pets Deli / Pascal Hänle / Unit economics first: How Pets Deli went from insolvency to exit, and scaled along the way. – See the proposal
- TikTok Shop / Max Burianek / Can Germany Go Live? What It Takes to Make LIVE and Video Shopping Work – See the proposal
- Pinterest / Vesselina Markova-Kauffmann & Josef Springl / How taste fuels your sales – See the proposal
- ahead / Victoria Robinson / Stop Selling to Everyone: How Demand Spaces Changed Our Marketing – See the proposal
- 506.ai / Work After AI / Gerhard Kürner / The great misconception of AI the job killer. What is actually changing inside commerce teams. – See the proposal
- Breuninger / Rehan Saleem / From Ranking to Curation: Turning Behavioral Signals Into a Business Lever – See the proposal
- Jack Wolfskin x Anyland / Sandie Pilongery-Eckert & Björn Schneider / From Cutout to Cart – How We Turn Busts into Model Shots, Product Videos and Conversions – See the proposal
- neuroflash / Dr. Jonathan Mall / Synthetic shoppers on trial: a Volkswagen x Kantar head-to-head and the three ways digital twins can make and break your offer success – See the proposal
- Holy Energy / Benedikt Pestel / From D2C to Omnichannel – How brands move offline – See the proposal
- Women in Commerce Media / Emma Helsloot & others / Panel: Scaling Commerce Media Across Borders: Lessons from the Women Leading It – See the proposal
- buah / Jessica Krauter / Emotionaler ROI – Warum Gefühle der wahre Performance-Hebel sind – See the proposal
- ABOUT YOU / Julian Jansen / How ABOUT YOU Cut Content Production Costs by 90% with Generative AI – Inside SCAYLE STUDIOS – See the proposal
- LeGer by Lena Gercke / Vivian Knijn / You Own the Room: Turning Customer Identity Into Brand Direction – See the proposal
Congratulations to all the winners, and a huge thank you to everyone who submitted a proposal, voted, and to our Advisory Board for their time and thoughtful feedback. We can’t wait to see you on stage.
See it all live in Berlin – February 2027
Catch all 24 contest talks, plus dozens more sessions at E-commerce Berlin Expo on 17-18 February 2027. Get fresh insights, meet the innovators shaping e-commerce, and network with thousands of industry professionals.
