Welcome Gunnar Stenzel to the IOTA Foundation
Gunnar joins the IOTA Foundation as Director of Communications. In his role he will lead the communications department, oversee, guide and expand its activities and further improve IF’s communications.
Gunnar lives in Germany and for the most part of his career worked as a digital concept developer and information architect at the intersection of marketing, product development, IT and design, in different roles and settings.
After starting his career during the dotcom boom in the early 2000’s at Spiegel Online, he ventured into the world of advertising. At BBDO he ultimately served as a Creative Director and team lead, being responsible for various types of user facing applications, customer touchpoints and communication campaigns for an illustrious assortment of Fortune500 clients across all industry sectors. In the past 10 years, Gunnar worked as a consultant for various digital agencies and corporations.
In his 20 years as a professional on both sides of the table he has developed a broad expertise in digital communications and the technological underpinnings most user facing products are developed in. He has lead digital product development, creative teams, marketing campaigns and their execution, communication strategies and established procedural structures for brands and organisations in Germany and for a few years in China. In addition, he is a trained software engineer, although a mediocre one, as he says.
On joining IOTA
As a teenager I spent countless nights diving into an early, chaotic, dangerous but exciting, digital world, hopping across BBS’ with a ridiculously slow modem while being glued to a tiny green-screen CRT monitor.
The digital realm has changed over the decades to a great deal. My fascination for information technology and its basis of raw code that transcends into added value for someone or something, hasn’t.
For me, IOTA carries the same feeling the early internet once did: it is a raw, early stage, chaotic realm, opening up a vast space of uncharted territory. It is a void of endless opportunity, awaiting to be conquered.
When I stumbled upon IOTA in 2017, I was captivated by its vision and the massive potential it could unleash - technologically and on a societal level. I quickly became an avid contributor to the IOTA community by doing what I do best: communicating. Some people might know me under the pseudonym “Elchwurst” from IOTA’s early Slack days, or Reddit and Discord.
What has been laid out as a vision in 2017 is now very close to starting to become reality. Getting the opportunity to directly contribute to a disruptive technology that might turn out to have a similar impact as the internet itself is truly humbling. I am honoured to become an official part of IOTA’s journey and hope to be able to contribute substantially in shaping the communication around it, to make it easier accessible, known and understood - far and beyond.
We are very happy to officially announce Gunnar joining the project. His extensive experience in communications, being a true veteran and long-term companion on IOTA’s road to success, combined with the ability to understand complex technology like IOTA and its products will greatly benefit further professionalizing IF’s communications. Additionally, his advertising experience in the Chinese market will reduce the entrance barriers and allow us to accelerate our communication plans for the asian markets. Give him a warm welcome.
