Andreas Heinecke, Founder and CEO of Dialogue Social Enterprise, developed the Dialogue in the Dark concept and put it into action almost 20 years ago. He has won several awards, and been named the first Ashoka Fellow in Western Europe. He was nominated as Outstanding Social Entrepreneur by the Schwab Foundation in 2007, and in 2008, appointed a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Social Entrepreneurship. In 2009, Dialogue in the Dark and Dialogue in Silence business workshops were judged by the Young Presidents' Organization to be the Global Award Winner for the best innovative and out-of-comfort zone event.