Björn Ognibeni

Björn Ognibeni is a digital strategist and long-standing consultant specialising in digital transformation, AI and Chinese digital innovation. With more than two decades of hands-on experience, he is best known for helping Western organisations understand and apply innovation impulses coming from China in a way that is commercially relevant and operationally realistic. As Founder of ChinaBriefs.io and a trusted advisor to major global brands, Björn has built a reputation for turning complex technological change into clear strategic direction that senior leaders can act on with confidence.

Björn’s early career laid the foundations for this pragmatic approach. He studied Physics before completing a Master’s Degree in Economics at the University of Göttingen, where he was part of the Institute for Marketing and Commerce’s New Media research group. This academic grounding was quickly complemented by real-world consulting work, initially advising on organisational and IT projects, including quality management initiatives for suppliers to Volkswagen. He went on to hold senior roles at Icon Medialab, GoViral in London and trnd International, where he helped shape digital strategy, business development and innovative communication models at a time when many organisations were only beginning to grasp the impact of digital change. A particularly formative period was his involvement in launching some of Germany’s first social media customer service channels for Deutsche Telekom and Deutsche Bahn, experiences that embedded a deep understanding of large, complex organisations and their constraints.

Over the course of his career, Björn has delivered a series of notable achievements that underpin his authority as a keynote speaker. He is Co-Founder and former Managing Director of BuzzRank GmbH, a leading social media analytics company that he successfully led to a strategic acquisition by dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur in 2017. In 2019, he launchedChinaBriefs.io, an online think tank designed to provide Western executives with fresh, unfiltered insights into China’s digital ecosystem, from super-apps to AI-driven business models. Alongside his consulting and speaking work, Björn is Lecturer in Digital Strategy at Hamburg School of Business Administration and Co-Founder and Strategic Director of the XRLab at the University of Münster, roles that keep him closely connected to both academic research and executive education. 

Organisations hire Björn Ognibeni because he offers a perspective they rarely find elsewhere. He is deeply embedded in Western business realities while being intensely focused on Chinese digital innovation, allowing him to translate what is happening there into practical lessons for European and international audiences. His keynote topics include digital innovation and transformation, AI strategy beyond efficiency gains, e-commerce models shaped by China and the real business value of XR and immersive technologies. Björn’s talks are valued for their clarity, relevance and strategic depth, leaving leaders with concrete ideas they can apply immediately. For companies seeking orientation, challenge and inspiration in an increasingly complex digital landscape, he delivers insight that is both credible and actionable.