Mark has recruited many senior communication, public affairs and association leaders in Brussels and around Europe over the last decade through Dober Partners since 2010. He has worked with over 100 European association leaders, right up to the President of BUSINESSEUROPE and DG of the European Roundtable of Industry. He has also worked with major corporations such as: LVMH, Europe´s largest company by market cap; MSC the world´s largest shipping company; and FedEx the world´s leading express carrier.

He was formerly APCO’s first employee in Europe and set up their Brussels office in 1995, acting as Managing Director in various roles until 2010. Mark was involved with recruiting many key positions around Europe for APCO Worldwide and its clients during 16 years of rapid growth at the company. Prior to APCO, he joined the London office of Hill & Knowlton and left its Brussels office as Associate Director.

Mark has twice been voted ‘European Consultant of the Year’ by ‘Public Affairs News’ and members of ‘The European Public Affairs Directory’. He has authored numerous reports on public affairs and communications including ‘Key Success Factors for European Associations’, ‘EU Media Relations’, ‘High Performance Secretariats’, ‘European Association Remuneration’ and ‘European Corporate Affairs Remuneration’.

Mark has taught semesters for Masters in Strategic Communications at Brussels IHECS University, and has been an occasional lecturer with a number of Universities including Maastricht. He has a Masters in Political Science from the PUC University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Mark speaks English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Natalia is a headhunter and consultant, working with Dober Partners since 2013. Natalia has been active in communications and public affairs for over 20 years. Previously she served in a number of senior roles including Director of Communications at DIGITALEUROPE, the leading European digital technology association, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB Europe), and the European Technology and Travel Services Association (ETTSA).

Natalia started her career as a broadcast journalist with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and has produced numerous radio documentaries and TV programmes, and co-authored ‘EU Media Relations’. She is a former Treasurer and Board Member of the European Association of Communication Directors (EACD). Educated at Sydney and Monash Universities, Natalia speaks English and French.

Brian Ager is a Senior Adviser with Dober Partners. He also serves as a Board Member of Iberdrola Energia International and as DG of Britcham EU. He previously served as the Secretary General of the European Round Table of Industrialists, a forum bringing together CEOs and Chairmen of major European multinationals from 2011 until 2019. He was previously the Director General of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) from 1995 to 2011. He also served as Secretary General of EuropaBio the leading biotech association from 1990 until 1995. He first came to Brussels as an Expert National Détaché with the European Commission. Educated at Essex University, Brian speaks English and French.

Christophe is a Senior Adviser providing particular support in Switzerland, France and Brussels. He also serves as the Executive Director of the European Centre for Public Affairs and is Founder of CLC Consultant. Christophe’s career highlights include heading up European Government Relations for McDonald’s and managing International Communications & Public Affairs for Yum! brands (KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell) across 100 countries. As a consultant with Leidar in Geneva, Fleishman-Hillard in Brussels and Golin/Harris in London, he had the opportunity to work in multiple sectors and industries. He also enjoyed his stint in the NGO world as Head of Corporate Communications at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) in Geneva.

Christophe started his career as an expert at the European Parliament. He is a French national and holds Master’s degrees in Political Science and International Affairs. Christophe spends his time between Geneva and Brussels. He also regularly lectures at the Graduate Institute in Geneva on international advocacy.

Michele joined the Dober Partners team in 2020 to focus on association leadership and corporate affairs recruitment. Michele is an EU funding and public affairs specialist based between Rome and Brussels with fifteen years of experience working with clients from various sectors. Since 2010 he works at Schuman Associates on the implementation of funding strategies and market assessments as well as public affairs and advocacy campaigns. Prior to this he worked in the international division of a large Italian IT company managing international projects as well as developing new partnerships.

Michele has a BA in Political Science from John Cabot University in Rome and a graduate certificate in International Relations from Boston University. Michele speaks, English, Italian and French.

Frédéric is a financial, technology and legal expert with particular experience in helping trade associations and not-for-profit organisations. Frédéric joined the Dober Partners team in 2020 but has worked closely with team members previously. Since 2012 Frédéric has fulfilled the legal, tax and annual account obligations for EUFIC, the European Food Information Council. Prior to EUFIC he worked for DIGITALEUROPE and a number of other sector groups in the energy field.

Frédéric has a BSc in Accounting from the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (EPHEC – Brussels) and studied tax law and IT. Frédéric’s accounting, legal and IT skills have helped association leaders make the right decisions, at the right time. Frédéric speaks English and French.

Florence has been active in European communications circles for some 30 years. She started her career as Project Manager for the European Commission, (1990 to 1997), setting up and running Team Europe for the Directorate General Communications. As Secretary General of the European Advertising Tripartite (1997 to 2001), Florence was in charge of the communications strategy and spokesperson of the organisation, on behalf of the European advertising sector.

She then was Head of Communications at the European Banking Federation for 12 years, 5 of which were crisis years.  She managed the communications portfolio and was spokesperson of the organisation, as well as devising the strategic developments of communications for the sector.

Florence became Director of Communications for FoodDrinkEurope in 2014, until 2018. There she defined and managed the communications strategy, as well as coordinated the various campaigns launched by the organisation.

Florence has been Chair of the Jury of the European Excellence Awards in communications for over 10 years and is a founding member of the European Association of Communication Directors (EACD), where she was Managing VP for 10 years. She was awarded a 2018 ProPR Award for her contribution to the European communication profession. She regularly speaks at and moderates events throughout Europe and is a mentor to young professionals.

Helen has worked for over 25 years in Belgium and the UK with a diverse range of organisations from start-ups and federations to multinationals and consultancies.

Helen is an ICF accredited coach who works with organisations to develop their teams. She is also a certified Harrison Assessments talent development coach.

She has a wealth of experience in moderation and the ‘Art of Conversation’, together with deep expertise in digital and social media platforms having previously worked with Microsoft, APCO and ZN Network.

Today, Helen provides coaching and moderation training services to enhance team work and team leadership.

Sam Antonio Dober is part-time receptionist and a key member of the Dober Partners team since 2021.

A cheerful little chap, he is often seen at our Brussels head office or doing odd jobs in the EU Quarter.