Home NEWS What event agencies can learn from KESCH’s team culture

What event agencies can learn from KESCH’s team culture

Article written by BEIC as part of the FridayClub program

Oct 23, 2025

The idea that an agency could operate like a wolf pack sounds almost romantic, something for a management workshop or a TED Talk. Yet at KESCH, a Viennese brand-experience agency with offices in Zurich and Munich, it has quietly become reality.

In an era when fatigue, burnout, and turnover too often define success as much as creativity, KESCH has built something different — a culture that feels both ambitious and sustainable.

Few agencies in Europe have managed to make culture not just a slogan, but a measurable system.

A place where people stay, grow, and seem genuinely proud of what they create together. Founded in 2011 by Thomas Kenyeri and Lukas Schütz, two producers who wanted to prove that an agency can be both commercially strong and emotionally intelligent, KESCH is now regularly listed among Austria’s top workplaces. Few agencies in Europe have managed to make culture not just a slogan, but a measurable system.

Alpha, rhythm, and how leadership actually works

When Kenyeri talks about leadership, he uses the language of energy, rhythm, and trust.
And he’s precise about the wolf-pack metaphor: there is an alpha in a pack — often one, sometimes two.

In KESCH’s case, Kenyeri and Schütz are the organisational alphas — the ones responsible for protecting the company’s values and direction. But inside a project, things shift. The project lead becomes the alpha. Authority flows to whoever carries responsibility for the result. The same producer who led one campaign may take a supportive role on the next. Hierarchy isn’t abolished — it’s contextual, living, and situational. It’s a rhythm, not a rulebook. As Kenyeri says: “Culture isn’t decoration. It’s the system itself.”

Mentorship as the engine

That system runs on mentorship. For 17 years, Kenyeri has worked with Austrian leadership coach Dr. Manfred Winterheller, whose ideas on authenticity and responsibility shaped the company’s tone.

At KESCH, every employee has a mentor — not as an HR ritual but as a daily reality. Growth conversations happen as naturally as creative briefings. “A perfect team doesn’t mean perfect people,” Kenyeri says. “It means people who are willing to grow together.”

One agency, three cities, one rhythm

KESCH’s footprint spans three countries, yet the culture stays coherent. Vienna is the headquarters with 27 people. Zurich is smaller. Munich is barely more than a room. And still, every week, all offices connect in one online meeting — a heartbeat that keeps the rhythm alive.

Each office has its own mentor to ensure consistency. “You can’t copy a system one-to-one,” says Kenyeri. “But you can copy energy.”

Recognition that compounds

At the end of each year, profits are pooled and distributed equally among all employees. Every week, colleagues hand each other thank-you cards — for creativity, teamwork, or kindness. The person with the most cards earns a symbolic prize. But the real reward is the culture of everyday recognition. It’s a small gesture with cumulative power. A ritual that reminds people: what we notice, we nurture.

Shared adversity, shared pride

Each winter, the team spends a week skiing in the Austrian Alps. Each summer, they live for a week on a boat in Croatia.

Culture at KESCH is also tested outside the office.

“At sea, you face real weather and real teamwork,” Kenyeri says. “You can’t fake collaboration when the waves are strong.” Those journeys — half challenge, half retreat — are leadership training in disguise. And they’ve become part of what makes KESCH’s team pulse feel real.

The KESCH DNA

Internally, the system is codified as the KESCH DNA, built on four pairs of principles:

– Positive worldview & trust
– Respect & discipline
– Give & take
– Competence & mentoring

Behind the words lies operational reality: no micromanagement, diversity by default, open communication, and structured learning.

– Weekly Flywheel Meetings spread knowledge.
– An internal app and newsfeed keep information flowing.
– An annual Trend Report distils insights from conferences and events attended by the team.

None of this is revolutionary on its own. But consistency turns small habits into culture.
Over time, freedom and accountability start to self-regulate.

What other agencies can take away

The KESCH model isn’t universal. It demands emotionally literate leaders and teams mature enough to handle trust. But in an industry struggling to attract and retain talent, its lessons feel urgent.

In the words of Mr Kenyeri, “you can copy a process, but you can’t copy culture.” And in today’s event industry, that might be the most competitive advantage of all.

Find out more about KESCH event agency here.