Henri de la Barre

Henri de la Barre is the Strategy Planning Director at MARK/BBDO. Henri has 18 years of experience in advertising, marketing communications and branding. He is a board member at MARK/BBDO and part of the faculty of the BBDO University where he has been teaching for 5 years.

Henri is a voracious reader and is interested in anything that can bring some light to the way this world works – or doesn’t. Despite his quiet appearance, on weekends he plays rock’n’roll drums with his band in the dodgy bars of Prague.

Antony Poole

As the Director of the BBDO University, Antony has worked with over 3000 students in more than 50 countries. He has run Branding, Communication Strategy and Organisational Development/Leadership workshops for clients such as Pepsico, Sarah Lee, La Caixa, Bayer, Ikea, Masterfoods, Wrigley's, Gulf Bank, Kao Corporation, KBC and the Royal Mail.

Now an independent consultant, he continues to run workshops around the world and is a visiting speaker at the IESE Business School in Barcelona and Columbia University. Antony currently lives in Barcelona but has been occasionally spotted in Prague enjoying a Pilsner or a glass of Becherovka.

The MARK/BBDO College

The MARK/BBDO College is the local training program of MARK/BBDO. It complements the training provided by the BBDO University at a global level for the BBDO Network and adapts it for local needs.

The topics we deal with have to do with basic strategic and managerial skills – what makes good communication, how to understand client’s businesses and brands, how to brief creatives. On an operational level we also run smaller sessions on account management, production techniques, media etc. This year we have turned the focus towards digital media and how it is affecting our business.

The overall philosophy, and this is true of BBDO in general, is not to teach people a “how to do it” manual. We provide them with stimulus and challenge them to think of their own solution. As we try to gain an unfair share of the most talented people in the market, our job is to manage and grow this talent.