Holger von Ellerts · Lecturer, Speaker & Entrepreneur · Zug
AI lecturer at six Swiss educational institutions. Entrepreneur running two companies. Founder of the open-source infrastructure Nexbid. What I explain in the lecture hall, I have first built, sold — or discarded — myself.
Teaching at
HSLU since 2017 · FHNW since 2019 · HFLU since 2022 · WBZ Kanton Luzern since 2025 · KBZ Zug since 2025 · SIMAKOM since 2026
Projects for
Coop · Betty Bossi · Flughafen Zürich · Rivella · SOS-Kinderdorf · Hine Engineering
since 2017
teaching at Swiss educational institutions
6
educational institutions where I currently teach
2
companies — consulting and AI product development
1
open-source project: Nexbid, MIT-licensed
Awards: Best Online Advertising Provider 2015 (d.core) · twice nominated «Digital Marketer of the Year»
Marketing-Mix-Modeling, attribution and AI workflows that put budget decisions on a factual footing — with real cases from projects for Swiss brands such as Coop, Rivella and Flughafen Zürich.
CMOs, marketing and analytics teams · Keynote 30–60 min · half-day workshop
AI agents are taking over search, comparison and the purchase decision. When machines do the buying, protocols decide instead of advertising budgets: open, platform-neutral standards such as AdCP versus the platform-bound standards from OpenAI (ACP) and Google (UCP).
Commerce, retail, media, associations · Keynote 30–60 min · panel
Prompts, workflows, governance: how teams bring generative AI into daily work responsibly — in line with the Swiss FADP, the GDPR and the EU AI Act. Drawn from the AI programme at WBZ Kanton Luzern.
Executives, HR, learning & development leads · Keynote · half-day to multi-day workshop
RAG systems, productisation, open source: what worked when building my own AI products — and what I discarded. Honest workshop notes instead of success folklore.
Product teams, founders, innovation units · Keynote 30–45 min · workshop
My thesis
When AI agents research, compare and buy, it is no longer the advertising budget that decides but the protocol. I call this field Protocol Commerce: the race for the standards that will define the next decade of commerce — open and platform-neutral, or tied to the ecosystems of individual providers.
Nexbid
I don’t just talk about it — I build it. Nexbid is MIT-licensed open-source infrastructure for Agentic Commerce: transparent scoring, open auctions, built from the publisher’s perspective.
Keynotes and panels with a thesis, not hype.
Four signature topics — clear enough for the executive board, substantial for specialists — in German or English.
View topicsIn the lecture hall since 2017. On my own account since 2019.
CAS modules, programme leadership and course development for universities and educational institutions.
See teachingI make companies AI-ready — in the project, not on slides.
AI workflows, AI governance and data-driven marketing: from analysis to independent implementation.
Request a first call«An excellent course leader: highly motivating and convincing, engaged — and he could explain complex things well.»
«The course leader was outstanding at involving even participants with little prior knowledge. Compliments to Holger!»
«Holger has superb subject expertise. The perfect person for this course.»
12 out of 12
top marks for subject expertise and engagement — course evaluation, AI Basic course, WBZ, June 2026
4.0 out of 4.0
across all six criteria — teaching-staff evaluation, Artificial Intelligence course, KBZ Zug, 2026
And the loveliest entry under the heading “negative points”:
«The course should last more than 4 days.»
All quotes are taken verbatim from anonymous course evaluations at the respective institutions (translated from German).
Walchwil on Lake Zug — where things are thought through, built and corrected.
I have taught at Swiss universities since 2017 — today at HSLU, FHNW and four further institutions. Alongside that I run two companies: digital nalu advises firms such as Coop, Rivella and Flughafen Zürich on data-driven marketing, digital opua develops its own AI products.
This dual role is deliberate method: what I explain in the lecture hall, I have first built, sold or discarded myself. Corporation, publisher, ad marketer, my own company — I know every side of the table.
More about HolgerWhether it’s a keynote, a teaching assignment or an AI project: send me a short note about what it’s about — you’ll receive a reply within two business days.