ANDREAS STIHL’s Global Leadership Summit is the company’s key leadership format worldwide. Every year, around 2,200 executives from across the world meet online to discuss strategic direction, transformation, and developing the STIHL brand further.

Since 2020, POOLgroup has acted as the technical and creative partner for the format.  The launch took place during the pandemic as a purely online summit, hosted at POOLgroup’s Waiblingen studio in southwest Germany. In subsequent years, the format was developed further and broadcast from the STIHL Brand World center. The collaboration will continue in 2026.

The Summit brings global leaders together in a shared online space.

Discussions focus on strategic alignment, transformation, and brand identity. The digital staging has to deliver this content accurately, allow international delegates to easily participate, and enable real-time interaction.

The platform is therefore not just a broadcast medium but an integral part of the format.

Uniting 2,200 managers online across multiple time zones demands stable technical architecture and well-planned direction.

From its beginnings under COVID restrictions, the Summit has grown from a studio production to a full corporate experience from the STIHL Brand World center. With the move to a new venue, the spatial and technical framework changed but the international reach remained unaffected.

Reliable delivery depends on building redundancy in streaming systems, hosting structures, and secure access solutions.

POOLgroup is involved in all phases of the summit – from pre-production to live direction.

Overall technical delivery
Camera and media technology, lighting, audio, rigging as well as IT infrastructure for digital productions.

Streaming & hosting
Stable live streaming architecture with redundant systems and worldwide distribution. Integrating an online platform with single sign-on, aligned with STIHL’s corporate design guidelines.

Interaction & direction
Integrating Q&A sessions, voting tools, and panel discussions. Central program management to ensure the agenda runs smoothly.

Set and brand staging
Design and delivery of set and stage in the studio and then in the STIHL Brand World center. Close collaboration with the STIHL project team during every stage of preparation.

The format was enhanced with every event and adapted to accommodate new strategic requirements.

The Global Leadership Summit has become an established digital leadership platform.

The event connects international executives in a high-quality, reliable digital experience and communicates the company’s strategic direction worldwide. Content, brand presentation, and interaction combine to create a common frame of reference across international borders.

STIHL and POOLgroup’s collaboration is a long-term partnership. Since the digital launch in 2020, the format has been continuously improved.

Every lesson learned is carried over into the next iteration. A strategically sound leadership platform has emerged from a format born out of the pandemic to become an integral part of STIHL’s internal communications.