ICTA International Mentoring Programme

Mentee Spotlight: Stefan Vogels, Senior Design Director, CinemaNext

The International Cinema Technology Association (ICTA) Mentoring Programme brings together experienced senior leaders and emerging talents from across the global cinema technology ecosystem. Over the course of one year, mentors and mentees work closely together to reflect, challenge assumptions, and accelerate professional and personal growth.

Applications are now open for the third cohort of our international mentoring programme, which will begin in June (note: ICTA also provides mentoring opportunities to US based candidates). Interested candidates from across the industry are warmly encouraged to apply here.

Below, 2024-2025 mentee Stefan Vogels, Senior Design Director at CinemaNext, shares his experience. His mentor was Peter van Kessel, VP Cinema Technology, Dolby Laboratories.

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“While every meeting we had was insightful, what truly shifted my thinking was not a single dramatic moment, but rather the recurring pattern of stepping out of the daily operational chaos and deliberately reflecting on the bigger picture.”

You took part in a mentoring programme as a mentee. What originally motivated you to join, and what were you hoping to gain from the experience?

My primary motivation for joining the mentoring programme was my continuous drive to challenge myself and grow, both in terms of my technical expertise within the cinema industry and, equally importantly, in the human aspects of leadership, such as communication, collaboration, and understanding organizational structures.

As I progress toward senior technical leadership and increasingly engage with strategic thinking and execution, I felt a strong need to learn directly from someone with extensive real-world experience in this domain.

Specifically, I wanted to gain insight from a CTO’s perspective: how they balance the operational demands and unpredictability of daily work with the responsibility of shaping and executing long-term strategic vision.

My goal was not only to deepen my professional capabilities but also to grow personally, developing the mindset, leadership qualities, and strategic clarity required to eventually take on a CTO role myself one day.

The mentoring programme represented a valuable opportunity to accelerate that development by learning from someone who has successfully navigated that path.

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How did you find your mentor, or how did the matching process work in your case? What made this mentor–mentee relationship particularly valuable for you?

I met my mentor, Peter, during a brief meeting at CineEurope.

He was leading a session focused on clarifying Dolby Laboratories’ vision for the next phase of their HDR and immersive audio rollout within the cinema industry.

Although the meeting lasted only about twenty minutes, it left a lasting impression on me.

What stood out most was Peter’s ability to engage a mixed group of highly technical professionals in different expertise area’s and align them behind a common vision.

He communicated complex strategic and technical concepts with clarity, confidence, and inspiration.

His leadership style created immediate alignment and motivation within the group, transforming what could have been a purely technical discussion into a compelling and unifying direction forward.

In that moment, I recognized in him the exact type of technical leader I aspire to become, someone who can bridge deep technical expertise with strategic clarity and inspiring leadership.

When I later entered the mentorship programme, I specifically and strongly requested Peter as my mentor.

This made the relationship particularly valuable, as it allowed me to learn directly from someone whose leadership approach and professional role closely reflect my own ambitions toward becoming a CTO.

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Looking back, what were the most important learnings or “aha” moments you took away from the programme?

One of the most important learnings I took away from the programme was, in hindsight, a deceptively simple but profoundly impactful insight: you must tell your story in the language of the audience you are addressing.

As a technical professional, I naturally tend to communicate in technical terminology and structured, detail-oriented reasoning.

However, Peter helped me realize that clarity is not determined by how well I understand my own message, but by how well it is understood by the receiving party.

If I communicate in purely technical language to a commercial, financial, or executive audience, the essence of the idea risks getting lost, not because the idea lacks merit, but because it is framed in a language they do not speak fluently.

The key insight was this: do not expect your audience to adapt to your language; adapt your message to theirs.

If you want alignment, you must resonate with their professional context, priorities, and vocabulary.

When you translate your story into terms that reflect their world; risk, ROI, customer value, strategic positioning, you create connection, clarity, and shared ownership.

Another important shift for me was learning not to become overly attached to the way I prefer to present an idea.

The goal is not to preserve the technical purity of the message; the goal is to ensure it lands effectively.

If you want your story to be embraced and carried forward, you must invest the effort to frame it in a way that enables others to understand, align, and act.

That realization fundamentally changed how I approach communication and has been instrumental in my development toward senior technical leadership.

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Was there a particular moment or conversation during the mentoring process that really shifted your thinking or approach?

While every meeting we had was insightful, what truly shifted my thinking was not a single dramatic moment, but rather the recurring pattern of stepping out of the daily operational chaos and deliberately reflecting on the bigger picture.

In my day-to-day work, it is easy to equate progress with hard work, solving problems, responding quickly, delivering results.

However, through my conversations with Peter, I began to understand that career growth toward senior leadership is not achieved by simply working harder on operational tasks.

It requires clarity of direction and intentional development.

He consistently challenged me with questions I had rarely taken the time to explore in depth:

What do I truly want from my career?

What does the next step actually require of me in terms of competencies?

Where are my strengths, and equally important, where are my blind spots?

Those discussions forced me to move from reactive execution to strategic self-assessment.

Peter has a remarkable ability to clearly articulate how technology, business functions, and leadership roles interconnect, and how each function contributes to a larger organizational system.

He helped me see that the role I aspire to is not simply a more senior technical position; it is a fundamentally different vantage point within that system.

The most significant shift for me was basically understanding the transition from “doing a lot and thinking little” to “doing less, but thinking far more deeply.”

Senior leadership is about making fewer decisions, but decisions with significantly greater long-term impact.

It requires thinking not only about solving today’s problem, but about where today’s decisions will lead the organization in the future.

That reframing, from operational intensity to strategic intentionality, has fundamentally influenced how I approach both my current responsibilities and my long-term development toward a CTO role.

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Did the mentoring experience change the way you look at your role, your career path, or your place within the cinema industry? If so, how?

The mentoring experience profoundly changed the way I view my role, my career path, and my place within the cinema industry.

While it is natural to aspire to the next promotion, I realized that progression is not automatic, simply staying in a role or executing daily tasks effectively does not prepare you for the next level.

Growth requires deliberate reflection on what you are doing now, identifying areas for development, and understanding the skills required to succeed in a more senior capacity.

Through my mentorship with Peter, I gained clarity on the distinction between technical execution and leadership.

Excelling in your current role does not automatically translate to being an effective manager or strategic leader.

The next level demands a broader perspective: the ability to see how technology, teams, and business functions interconnect, to make fewer but higher-impact decisions, and to think strategically about the long-term direction of the organization.

Peter also challenged me to reflect deeply on my unique skill set and personality, beyond what is commonly expected for the role, and how these can contribute to driving the business forward in a senior position.

He encouraged me to consider how my strengths can create real value for the company while simultaneously addressing areas where I need to improve.

This personalized perspective helped me understand that leadership is not just about meeting standard expectations, but about leveraging your individual qualities to create impact.

Overall, the experience reshaped my approach from being primarily task-oriented to thinking strategically about the bigger picture, the connections between different functions, and how my personal strengths can drive meaningful outcomes while continuing to grow as a leader.

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What advice would you give to colleagues who are considering becoming a mentee in a mentoring programme for the first time?

If colleagues are considering becoming a mentee in a mentoring programme for the first time, my strongest advice would be to first find your own “why.”

Many of us know what we want, whether it’s a promotion, a new role, or to grow in a certain skill, but far fewer have deeply reflected on why achieving that goal matters to them.

Understanding your “why” gives clarity and purpose to your journey.

It allows you to distinguish between goals that are externally driven versus those that genuinely resonate with your values, ambitions, and vision for your career.

Once you are clear on your “why,” a mentor becomes an invaluable partner in translating that clarity into action.

A mentor is not a teacher, master, or someone who dictates your path, they are a guide, a sounding board, and a source of perspective.

They help you identify the skills, mindset, and experiences necessary to move forward, challenge assumptions you may not even realize you hold, and show possible paths you might not have considered.

Crucially, they ask the right questions, sometimes difficult, sometimes simple, that push you to think more deeply and strategically about your goals.

In my experience, my mentor Peter became far more than a professional guide; he became a lifelong friend and a companion in navigating the complexities of career and growth in particular.

He has climbed the ladder himself and still continues to evolve, which made his guidance grounded, practical, and inspiring.
The mentorship was as much about sharing experiences, perspectives, and reflections as it was about receiving concrete steps to follow.

For anyone considering mentorship, the key is to come with curiosity, self-awareness, and openness.

Inspiration for growth is the fuel, and a mentor is the guide who helps you channel that fuel in the most meaningful way.

You don’t need a mentor to provide answers; what matters most is having someone who can help you explore, reflect, and find the path that aligns with your own purpose and aspirations.

Mentorship is about partnership in growth, regardless of where you are in your career, and the rewards extend far beyond immediate professional development.