The Man Behind Germany’s Leading PR Agency

Gerdt Fehrle is the visionary mind powering Prospero PR, a Munich-based PR agency renowned for the concrete results it provides to clients through services including trade press and its leveraging of a meticulous step-by-step method to cover all the bases. Comprising a small team, a wider network of professionals, and one rigorous focus – communication – the agency’s success knows no bounds. With Gerdt being named the Most Influential CEO 2025 – Communications, Publishing & Thought Leadership (Germany) and Prospero being recognised as the Best Communications & PR Agency 2025 – Germany, we sat down with this owner to learn more.

Recognising the link between people and communication from a young age, Gerdt Fehrle studied both German and philosophy, published his first collection of poetry, and wrote a Constance Literature Prize-winning novel all before establishing leading PR agency Prospero PR in 1999. Today, more than 25 years later, the agency has harnessed the unrivalled capabilities of PR to deliver successful communications for a number of prestigious clients, including Siemens, Yaskawa, and Linde, all to name just a few.

“Since the agency was founded, we have counted the world market leader in mechanical and plant engineering among our clients”, Gerdt beamed. “We didn’t achieve that by chance.” He continued: “We have top graphic designers, videographers, and translators. We also have external copywriters, a tax consultant, and an accountant, among others. This enables us to support global corporations with a small team.” An external partner also helps the team to implement an annual fixed sales strategy, bolstering this growth.

The same focus on people and communication that Gerdt has nurtured from a young age continues to prove imperative in serving these clients, so much so that both of these areas are reflected in Prospero’s mission, as well as its core values of reliability, loyalty, transparency, and price integrity. This set of values is the driving force behind Prospero, not profit, and adherence to these traits at every turn has fuelled growth now for nearly three decades – growth Gerdt is proud to oversee and help nurture from his position.

Describing himself as an ‘enabler’, Gerdt works tirelessly to help his team be the best they can be. The end goal here is for these talented individuals to not actually need Gerdt, and given he has helped to build a small, aligned workforce comprising some of the finest experts working in the industry today – some of which are, by Gerdt’s own admission, much better than him – he is edging closer to this every day. Gerdt considers the strength of Prospero’s team to be his greatest success as a leader, and it is hard to argue.

Of course, as with any great leader, this ability is something that has been honed over time, and all of this did not always come so easily to Gerdt. For example, during the early days of Prospero, the agency was a classic example of an owner-managed company, simply as Gerdt did not know any other way. Although this almost dictatorial system conflicted with Gerdt’s own values, it took time for the company to evolve past this. A year of coaching proved imperative in Gerdt loosening his grip and embracing collaboration.

Whilst his influences as a leader have undoubtedly been shaped by the many fantastic authors and business writers Gerdt has read over the years – the sum of his knowledge across which is reflected in his book, ‘The Da Vinci Principle’, available here – the fundamental fact of the matter is that Gerdt has succeeded primarily because he has always met the real people, those who both compensate for his weaknesses and empower him by tolerating his strengths. For Prospero, the result is a agency with a culture defined by maturity.

Exploring this further, Gerdt explained: “The team is maturing, as am I. My role is becoming increasingly that of a mentor and primus inter pares. I can fulfil this role because I am the owner and managing director, but I also listen carefully when the experts correct me, which I enjoy.” He continued: “At the same time, I have always had a strong sense that I carry the company, society and, to a certain extent, the future in my spinal cord. This means that I can make decisions with far more confidence than others in our company.”

Fuelling this is Gerdt’s status as a ‘red and yellow’, this in relation to the Insights Discovery model, which is itself grounded in the work of renowned psychologist Carl Jung. The colour red is associated with making decisions and getting results, whilst yellow reflects inspiration and teamworking capabilities. During an internal analysis carried out by Prospero, it was discovered the team are mainly green and blue, favouring both relationships/collaboration and detail/structure, respectively. Naturally, this led to some clashes.

These results helped Gerdt overcome some of the alienation he felt from his team, which was at one point so bad that he considered quitting. However, following these outcomes, Gerdt told us: “We no longer had a conflict situation, but a power situation. The team realised I was behaving this way because I am red and responsible for the company. That’s why it still exists. I noticed that the team cover green and yellow – caring and loyal – and blue, meaning they are customer-oriented. That’s exactly what a service agency needs.”

With this level of understanding to boot, Prospero is better prepared to solve one of the main challenges any business must face as a result of its reliance on an economy: the phenomenon of crises. Prospero has survived a handful of major economic crises since it was founded 26 years ago, meaning it is well equipped to handle them. Some of its less-seasoned clients struggle with navigating these however, with many seeking to cut PR/marketing first when time gets tough. Despite this being a big mistake, it is all too common.

“During the economic crisis of 2007/2008, We lost 70 percent of our sales. However, thanks to our substantial reserves and loyal, long-term customers, we managed to get through the period without making any redundancies.”

Navigating these occurrences is not the only challenge for Prospero and other such agencies, as there is also the small matter of AI. Diving into the agency’s approach with this emerging technology, Gerdt commented: “As soon as I realise that a technology – AI, for example – is relevant to us, we embrace it. We did that in good time. We started early with a basic form of AI because we needed it in our PR agency, and we have fully adopted it. What I mean is: AI presented us with a challenge, but it’s here now and has boosted productivity.”

Such evolutions are only natural across this space, and Gerdt has seen more than his fair share over the course of his tenure in the field. For instance, concerning the rise of the internet, he explained how customers initially did not want websites, as they had never had them before. The same can be said for Word, PowerPoint, and every other new technology that became the ‘next big thing’. Now, it is AI. Gerdt believes the hype surrounding it will die down, it will be integrated, and things will pivot accordingly, as always.

Finally, touching on the next steps for both Prospero and his own career, Gerdt told us that the aim for this PR agency in Munich is to gain a number of new clients and provide them with the great products and services it offers, benefiting them no end in the process. As for himself, Gerdt seeks to leverage his expertise into becoming the head of a cultural foundation and a business culture. Beyond this, this award-winning business owner also seeks to reach a wider audience as both a business author and a non-fiction writer.

With Gerdt’s peerless, multifaceted expertise at the helm, Prospero has grown into a leading PR agency, renowned for delivering PR for technology and PR for mechanical and plant engineering alike. Of course, as is the common theme here, this is a joint effort, and Gerdt’s success as a leader is reflected in the strength of his team. On the back of all this, it is our pleasure to recognise Gerdt and Prospero with awards in this programme, in the process solidifying their distinction in the world of PR – across Germany and beyond.

In closing, Gerdt shared: “Surprisingly, I see myself as fickle. But when I look at my career, I have to admit it has been incredibly consistent. Ultimately, everything has always revolved around communication.” Prospero PR embodies this to the fullest extent.

Company: Prospero PR

Web Address: https://www.prospero-pr.de/