Speaker Review: Affiliate World Budapest’s Brightest Stars

Affiliate World is a name coated with a shiny varnish of positive comments uttered by staunch supporters and steadfast competitors alike. When it comes to a profound, well-wrought event, all discord is put aside. Even if the brand has a knot of rivals with an archnemesis at the helm, they don't have anything to add but commend the organizers of the conference on their outstanding achievements.

One such achievement is an up-to-date speaker lineup, covering all imaginable topics with the most recent insights. During diverse panels, the experts apportion the juiciest morsels of information for you to imbibe, digest, and implement into your daily working routine. Although we cannot home in on every industry savant, we will do our best to do credit to the five major players presenting their reports at the conference in Budapest.

Stefan Muehlbauer

CEO, Affpal Consulting

Meet Stefan Muehlbauer, a trailblazer in affiliate management. If you are a regular, you may have spotted his face somewhere in the crowd, sharing his expertise with covetous admirers, intrepid professionals, and meek novices. It is hardly surprising, considering his enormous experience in the field — he's been in the industry since 2002 — but the fact still leaves us agape: he shifted from sales, hiring, and training sales teams to finance and online marketing, where he continued his professional development.

In 2021, Stefan’s career took a pivotal turn as his accomplishments were noted by Affiliate Grand Slam in Dubai, where he decided to change the course: instead of the talk dedicated to the product, he brought affiliate management to the fore, mentioning that a glaring gap had been discovered: the internet was teeming with courses on making money online, but virtually no formal education on affiliate management existed at the time.

Since then, Stefan Muehlbauer has acquired even wider recognition: he has delivered over 100 presentations at major industry conferences, written a comprehensive guide for both newcomers and seasoned professionals, and received the Affiliate Manager of the Year award at the Affiliate World Forum Awards. Currently, apart from creating an educational basis for affiliates, Stefan runs two podcasts on affiliate marketing and manages an HR company, so he is sure to expose the observations du jour and present the most recent trends to the public.

Haran Rosenzweig

COO, Traffic Icons

Another renowned leader in the affiliate and ad-tech space is Haran Rosenzweig, COO of Traffic Icons, a performance-driven mobile user acquisition agency.

He has been in the business from day one, exploring various branches — affiliate marketing, native advertising, creative agencies, and more. His unique approach to work in general granted him forbearance, helped him polish his skills, refine his expertise, and unleash his creative potential. Haran Rosenzweig is your go-to guy if you want to know how to maneuver and dodge any bottleneck.

Haran is a regular speaker at top industry events, and it isn't the first time he's visiting Affiliate World: you may have seen him at Affiliate World Europe in 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024, and at some similar event in Bangkok and Dubai. Normally, he unfolds his experience across the niches and demonstrates his proven ability to scale both campaigns and teams, using his impressive expertise in business development, media buying, content funnel strategy, and performance optimization, so if you're interested in real-world growth strategies from scaling eCommerce offers to media team management, you should definitely attentd his presentation.

Nadim Kuttab

Co-Founder & CEO, Xevio

"Native ads? Been there, done that. Want to know more?"

While this isn't an actual quote by Nadim Kuttab, it is definitely something he could have uttered at some point because he is exactly what people call a native ads veteran, their voices laden with sheer awe.

Nadim is a Co-Founder & CEO at Xevio, a global performance enabler in the Native Ads space, working closely with native ads giants like Taboola. However, it is not Taboola that ensured his success as a native ads pundit— it's his quick reaction, experience, deep understanding of the subject, and passion. He simply loves doing his job, and this professional zeal has led him to where he is now, and, let's be honest, that's not too shabby: he has overseen campaigns that have spent over $100 million in more than 30 countries, helping brands achieve nine‑figure revenues via native advertising, leverage data, and optimize ROI.

Here's what you may find peculiar in Nadim's attitude to native ads: he doesn't treat them as a branding tool but as a direct response channel; he insists that it is a 'revenue machine': “If you do it right, you’re putting in $1 and getting $2 out.” To "do it right", Nadim explores the product and provides a tailored approach for each client: his campaigns begin with a clear breakdown of product economics, realistic goal-setting, and the construction of full-funnel systems — and he often brings up the most interesting details in his talks at major affiliate events, including Affiliate World Europe and Affiliate World Asia. If you're building your empire with natives and need some guidance, attend Nadim's presentation and jot down the observations with the special slant you can further adapt to your needs and vision.

Ciaran Finn

Co-Founder, Linear

Direct-to-consumer is a business model that seems deceivingly unsophisticated, open to every simpleton eager to become an entrepreneur. What's to know? You slap together a site, add a policy in the footer, and... wait? That's about it?

Alas, it's not that easy, and even if you do take note of the most common challenges in the niche, you might sometimes overlook smaller obstacles. This is where Ciaran Finn comes in, a leading expert in direct-to-consumer growth and the Co-Founder of Linear, a top-tier DTC performance marketing agency. In other words, he's currently holding a position that accumulates his skills, achievements, and knowledge and gives him the opportunity to analyze fluctuations in the market, trends, and shifts in the industry.

Over the years, Ciaran has spent over seven years working with the most recognized eCommerce brands and partnering with household names you've likely encountered while surfing the internet: Honeylove, MAËLYS, and Mood. He's known for building memorable creatives, nurturing high-quality affiliate networks, and developing influencer ecosystems that contribute to sustainable scaling beyond short-term ROAS wins... but is this all? Would it help him coalesce people in front of the stage of Affiliate World?

Most likely, yes, especially considering his management skills: with his creative streak in tow, Ciaran's knowledge of sustainable scaling techniques makes him a gifted director at Blue Finn Media, a consultancy known for helping eCommerce brands generate six-figure monthly revenue gains even during tough economic periods like the 2022 recession. At first, during his university years, Blue Finn Media was a mere venture, a side job that was originally intended to fund his medical school dreams, but as you can see, it evolved and became Ciaran's full-time career.

This full-time career captivated the man, and now he uses his enthusiasm to captivate others: he coaches agency owners, teaching them to adopt a profit-first approach enabled with high-quality ad creative, rigorous data analysis, and bottom-line growth. In his reports, frequently given at various industry events, Ciaran challenges brand owners to rethink their dependency on paid ads and instead build diversified marketing ecosystems. Perhaps, this is the kind of mastermind you lack?.. Feel free to take a seat in the first row at Affiliate World Budapest.

Dirk Kreuter

Europe's Leading Sales Trainer

Sales, anyone? Care to upscale your sales? No?

YES. This is the right time to do it. Luckily, there's a person who can teach you how to ace your sales, achieve growth, and transform your vision so it doesn't twist and turn trite techniques frequently employed by generations of marketers before you. Let's reinvent them. Let's rock this vapid world with outside-the-box thinking.

Dirk Kreuter is a household name if you're in the right circles: he's widely recognized as Europe’s foremost expert in sales, business growth, and digital transformation. What's interesting is that his 30 years of experience — we are having difficulty digesting this piece of information — helped the man compile a full picture of the marketing landscape changing throughout the years. He's been through it all: he's seen what people were attracted to two decades ago; he knows what people respond to now, and based on these observations and practical findings, he can forecast upcoming shifts. If you need some numbers to corroborate the words above, here they are: Dirk has helped more than 80,000 companies and 121,000 self-employed professionals achieve measurable growth through modern, results-driven sales strategies.

It would be a crime not to put this impressive portfolio to use, and Dirk, a seasoned specialist, made a gutsy move. He turned his knowledge into a book, which brought recognition and — let's face it — fame, cementing him as a business educator (that's what 500,000 sold books do to you. He's a sales expert for a reason!) For the time being, apart from his selling duties, Dirk hosts a top-ranked podcast, which continues to motivate a global audience of entrepreneurs, sales professionals, and business leaders.

And on a side note: did you know that Dirk holds the world record for the largest sales training event? It's hard to reiterate that one, but armed with the firsthand insights you will gather at Affiliate World Budapest, you might accomplish a similar goal.

Wrapping Up

Affiliate World is one of the most exciting conferences promoting unity, friendly disposition, and non-stop education in all possible forms. When you visit such a place, you expose yourself to a dynamic mix of cutting-edge insights and real-world strategies delivered by the brightest minds of the industry, some of them mentioned in our article. There's nothing that can make your experience at the conference any better — apart from maybe our special €100 discount on your ticket. Smash the link, secure your spot, and prepare to grow.