Q: How do you define innovation?

A: To dare something the mainstream does not like.

If there’s a sentence that aptly sums up RCKT. Founder and Managing Partner Andreas Winiarski, it’s his answer to the question above. Andreas was recently named to the Holmes Report Innovator 25, a who’s-who of storytellers, thinkers, creators and decision makers in European, Middle Eastern & African PR.

The list, the first for Holmes Report in the region, was curated to present a current state of the communications industry in the modern, digital era. Candidates are nominated from peers and media members and then selected based on a number of different criteria, such as “challenging the industry’s existing boundaries of influence or engagement.”

Andreas, together with Co-Founder Nils Seger, founded RCKT. in January 2015. In just a few short months the agency hit the ground running, transforming itself from the former Rocket Internet communications department to a full-service agency focused on digital and creative projects. In addition Andreas, who also serves as the Senior Vice President of Communications at Rocket Internet, is a frequent speaker on panels and conferences.

The entire interview with Andreas is available on the Holmes Report’s website. Inside he discusses where he finds inspiration (morning runs), his toughest critic (his wife) and the best digital campaigns from last year (a back-and-forth between Dill Restaurant and Freezing Child), among other topics.

The honour is the second for RCKT. in a short time span. In April, Communications Manager Markus Oettig topped the PR Report’s 30u30 list.