Team

These are the people that make your ideas become reality

The combination of public relations and political issues characterizes Dagmar Hemmer’s CV. After studying history and political science, she started her professional career as a research assistant at the Society for Policy Advice and Policy Development (ÖGPP). In the following years, Dagmar worked as a parliamentary assistant in the Austrian Parliament. This was followed by six years at the agency Ecker & Partner, three of them as head of the municipalities and institutions unit. In 2009, Dagmar joined communication matters, where she has been a partner since 2012 and the agency’s sole managing director since 2024. In an honorary capacity, Dagmar has been on the supervisory board of Südwind – Association for Development Policy and Global Justice for ten years.

Her studies in political science and international relations, as well as a strong interest in the role of communication and the dialogue between politics, business and society, form Anna Jonas’ theoretical foundation. So far this has led her into the practice fields of cultural and public diplomacy, most recently as support to the Austrian team at the United Nations in New York. Since 2019, Anna has been supporting communication matters as a senior consultant. In addition she is head of the public affairs team and a member of the management team.

Franciska Göweil studied Political Science in Vienna and International Politics in Leuven (Belgium). Working in the European Parliament and in an international company in the pharmaceutical industry gave Franciska direct insight into the field of public affairs at national and European level. She joined communication matters in October 2022 and supports the public affairs team as a senior consultant. In June 2024 she became the interim head of the public affairs team.

The fields of media and politics have fascinated Iris Eibelhuber since her youth. That’s why she decided to study journalism and communication science as well as political science at the University of Vienna. Alongside her studies, she gained her first editorial experiences in various media fields. After completing her master’s degree, Iris worked at APA DeFacto in the area of media monitoring for three and a half years and has been supporting the public relations team at communication matters as a senior consultant since February 2021. In addition she is a member of the management team.

The interdependence of economics and politics have fascinated Felix Schwimann since school, especially the interaction between national and European levels and its communication about it in the public sphere. This interest led him to study economics and political science at the University of Kent and political science at the University of Vienna. Since January 2021 he is a senior consultant in the public affairs team of communication matters. In addition he is a member of the management team.

Christian Kollmann began his career in the communications sector in the early 1980s as a communications consultant, agency manager and managing director at Agentur Pubrel, later Pubrel Hill & Knowlton. Ten years later, he stepped into self-employement, initially alone with CKC – Christian Kollmann Communications. In 1999, he founded the agency communication matters together with Meta Raunig-Hass and Peter Menasse. He ran the agency together with co-partner Dagmar Hemmer until 2023. Christian has been working for the agency as an external consultant since 2024. For ten years he was active in leading positions at the Public Relations Verband Austria (PRVA) (two years as president, eight years as a board member) and worked as a lecturer at the universities in Vienna and Salzburg as well as at the Danube University in Krems. Christian was also Chairman of the international agency network ECCO, based in London and has been involved in the Austrian Ethics Council for PR for many years.

During her studies at the Vienna University of Technology Dana Doppelhofers already developed her interest in politics and public communication. After transferring to the University of Vienna, she retained the analytical and “outside-the-box” thinking of technology, which she then on learned to apply to her passion of political communication. Initially, Dana got involved with voluntary journalistic work, since August 2022 she supports the public relations team of communication matters.

Edeltraud Günthör’s passion for literature and language led her to study German at the University of Vienna. During and after her studies, she completed various internships, including one at a magazine editorial office. She developed a passion for journalism, which led her to pursue a degree in the field at FH Wien. Building on her experience in science communication and project-based roles in the cultural sector, she joined the PR team at communication matters in February 2025.

Malin Günther first combined her political interest with her passion for writing and the desire to contribute to the formation of social opinion as a blogger. In addition to her studies in political science at the University of Vienna, she already gained experience in leading positions in an NGO. Since September 2022, she has been working as a junior consultant in the public relations team of communication matters.

Berfin Kalayci studied Political Science at the University of Vienna and earned a master’s degree in Int’l Human Rights, along with a certificate in public diplomacy from the Josef Korbel School in the USA. By the age of 21, she had already gained significant political experience, working in offices of politicians as a public relations officer and political advisor. In addition, she worked independently in public relations and campaign management for NGOs and various initiatives. Since September 2024, Berfin has been part of the communication matters team, contributing as a junior consultant.

Michael Steger has always had a keen interest in the interface between politics, business and society, as his curriculum vitae attests. Driven by his interests he managed to gain experience in public relations (published for German- as well as Italian-language newspapers), in the economic sector (for an automotive company in Japan), in the political (Italian Senate) as well as in the financial sector (Austrian National Bank). Michael has been part of the communication matters public affairs team since May 2023.

In addition to her studies at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, Alexandra Reiseneder gained practical experience at a laboratory service provider. Since December 2021, she has been a junior consultant at communication matters, supporting the public relations team in the implementation of projects and taking on administrative tasks.

Anna Strahl studied Political Science and Public Law in Germany and is currently in the final phase of her master’s degree in Journalism and Communication Studies. During her undergraduate studies, she was particularly interested in the intersection of political and communication processes. Alongside her studies, she gained practical experience at an environmental protection organization, where she actively supported campaigns.

In 2009, Aleksandra Vasic graduated from business school in Vienna. During her work experience in the medical industry, Aleksandra discovered her great interest in numbers. Therefore, she started an apprenticeship as a certified accountant and personnel accounting clerk. With enthusiasm, she was able to put what she had learned into practice at the Viennese advertising agency pi-five. Since 2014, she has been supporting the communication matters team in accounting and as an assistant to the management.