Dörte studied Visual Communications and started her career as an Art Director, only to switch to a Copywriter a little later.

After working in several agencies, she joined Jung von Matt, becoming a Creative Director, the first after only three years.

In 2000, she founded her own company MARIA, the first “Women`s Agency” in Germany.

In 2002, Dörte returned to Jung von Matt, became Partner and set the agency JvM/Spree in Berlin. After that, she launched the first international JvM/9 agency in Germany and several other companies in the following years (JvM/Pulse, JvM/Fleet, JvM/Elbe, JvM SAGA and JvM Hamburg). She has worked for the biggest clients of the group including BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Sixt, Nivea, Zalando, BVG and many more.

Dörte’s outstanding creative output, with plenty of award-winning campaigns over the past 20 years made her one of Germany`s best-known creative leaders and wrote advertising history together with her teams. Her campaigns shaped the face of Jung von Matt as an agency, making her also one of the best-known players in German business.

This success led to her being honored as “Germany's Agency Person 2019” at the prestigious Horizont Award and awarded the honorable title of “Braveheart” at the Best Agency Award in 2023.

Dörte has won an incredible number of awards including Grand Prixs in national and international award shows.

Jung von Matt was honoured twice as “Independent Agency” in Cannes, as well as at LIA, the NY Festival and others. Dörte and her team had a significant contribution for these achievements.

Besides creative excellence, Dörte is strongly committed to women and diversity issues and to empower the young generation. Dörte was elected the first female president of the Art Directors Club Germany (ADC). She has reformed the ADC boosting the proportion of women and moved it forward towards “diversity first” and following the motto: “Change the world with creativity.”

Dörte represents the German creative industry for over 20 years (since 2002) in all international award shows (including jury chairwoman and festival president) at LIA, Eurobest, ADC of Europe, ADC Germany and served as juror in hundreds of the most important award juries (such as LIA, Clio, One Show, Cannes, ADC*E, ADC Global). She is also on the advisory board of the D&AD and NYF.

In 2024, Dörte was appointed Non-Executive Chairwoman of Jung von Matt Group, also a first in the history of the agency. The agency is convinced “that in her new role she will make the company better with her endless energy, passion for unexpected solutions and that the next generation, in particular, will benefit from an icon like Dörte."

She loves her work; the only things she loves more are her husband Tobias Ahrens, her son Bela and the family dog Tyson. Dörte will be honored with the 2025 LIA Legend Award in Las Vegas on 27th September.