Steffen Gentis is a creative force with an instinctive ability to move between worlds — equally at ease in London boardrooms, Paris fashion studios, or alongside African kings, Hollywood celebrities, and directors of UNESCO, the FEI, or the IOC. With over 40 years of experience, he brings a proven track record of delivering innovation, production excellence, and growth for top global brands across markets and platforms. His career is driven by deep curiosity, transformation, and collaborative leadership.

Today, Steffen leads the global MCA production team at Reckitt, where he designed a production ecosystem that integrates hi-tech into the content supply chain. His work is central to Reckitt’s Marketing Excellence program — raising creative and production standards while driving agility, efficiency, and scale.

For 17 years, he served as Chief Production Officer at BBDO Group Germany and Managing Director of CraftWork, leading output across eight agencies. Under his leadership, BBDO reached the #1 creative ranking in Germany. He produced 40+ Cannes Lions (including a Grand Prix for Good), and helped win 6 Grand Prix, 100+ Gold, 100+ Silver, and 100+ Bronze awards across The One Show, Clio, LIA, Eurobest, NYF, ADC, Red Dot, and the German Design Prize.

In 2010, he pioneered the CUT!CO₂ carbon calculator, reducing production emissions long before sustainability was a standard.

Steffen has been published in leading trade media and served on top juries including Cannes Lions Film Craft (2016). He’s spoken at SXSW, Cannes Lions, Boards Summit, AICP, APA, GWA, and ADC.

Born in South Africa, raised between Malibu and the African bush, he studied photography and began his career shooting for Vogue and other European magazines in the 1980s. He moved into film with a Martini campaign in Italy and Rammstein’s first video in Berlin, ha also founded the city’s first TV commercial film company in the ’90s. He’s directed/produced 300+ commercials, music videos, and TV shows.

A committed creative community builder, he founded the GWA Forum Film Production, Regielounge, and was the first agency Head of Production in the German Art Directors Club. He also founded the Royal Lesotho Horse Riding Society in Berlin — a meeting point of art, sport, and African heritage.

In 2018, he earned a Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Business (MIT/Columbia), reinforcing his belief that creativity, technology, and culture must evolve in symphony.