In the room
What is it like to have Stefan in the room when the answer isn't obvious?
Different people. Different decisions. A recurring experience of being challenged without ego, seeing further than the past and reaching clarity without having the decision taken away.
01
Next chapter
Looking inward and forward when the familiar answer no longer fits.
01
“Stefan helped me find clarity at a point when I was struggling to see what my next professional chapter should be. He brought the conversation back to what really mattered: my aspirations, capabilities, beliefs and ambitions. He has a remarkable ability to understand the person in front of him, ask the questions that matter and translate that insight into advice that feels genuinely personal. Conversations with Stefan are both challenging and inspiring. You leave understanding yourself, and the choices ahead of you, better.”
06
“Stefan makes you see things differently. Rather than anchoring on past experience, he helps you explore capability, potential and what could come next. He brings strong conceptual thinking, asks the right questions and knows how to challenge and mirror without making the conversation heavy. There is always room for humour. What I value most is the combination: he is rational and sharp, yet the conversation remains deeply human and connected.”
11
“Stefan has a refreshingly no-nonsense way of working. He encourages you to look inward and forward at the same time: what fundamentally drives you, how you are evolving and what that could mean for the roles ahead. He does not hand you easy answers. He helps you understand yourself well enough to make better choices about your future.”
The question behind this: Am I ready for a bigger role?
13
“Stefan provided a thoughtful framework for stepping back from a demanding career and asking some fundamental questions: what matters now, what creates value for me, what drives me and where do I want to go next? The process opened possibilities I had not previously considered and helped translate reflection into clear priorities and action. It is a valuable experience for any senior leader who wants to make the next chapter a deliberate one.”
The question behind this: What would a serious assessment tell me that I do not already know?
02
Future capability
Understanding what a person may be able to contribute in the context ahead.
02
“Having worked with many coaches and advisors throughout my career, Stefan’s approach stands out for its depth and rigour. He combines a thorough understanding of people with a strong understanding of organizations and the context in which leaders need to perform. That makes his guidance both insightful and practical: people leave with a clearer understanding of themselves and something concrete to work with.”
The question behind this: What makes one assessor better than another?
04
“Many advisors start with the past: what someone has done, which roles they have held and what experience they have accumulated. Stefan makes you look ahead. What could this person be capable of five or ten years from now? In what kind of complexity could they create value? That changes the conversation completely. His assessments combine accuracy and depth with an engaging dialogue, and consistently surface possibilities that a conventional review of experience would miss.”
The question behind this: How do you know whether someone is ready to become CEO?
08
“Stefan combines strong business judgement with a deep understanding of people. In several senior appointments, he looked well beyond experience and personality, examining whether a person’s capability matched the complexity of the role and the organization around it. That creates a much richer view of fit: candidate, role, team and organization considered together. He is proactive, authentic and genuinely interested in both sides of the decision.”
The question behind this: Is the problem the people — or the way the organisation is designed?
10
“We were looking for more than relevant experience. The person needed to fit the culture, operate at the right level of complexity and help take the business into its next phase. Stefan gave us a much deeper view of the final candidates: personality, values, motives and, importantly, their capacity to handle the demands ahead. It helped us understand not simply who could do the job today, but who could create value in what the business was becoming.”
The question behind this: Should we promote internally or search externally?
03
Mandate and decision
Getting beneath the appointment to the question, trade-offs and judgement behind it.
07
“As our company grew, Stefan helped me answer two connected questions: what should my own role become as owner, and what kind of leader did the business need next? He challenged my initial assumptions, translated our future needs into a clear leadership mandate and helped us make a well-considered appointment. His strength is getting underneath the obvious question. He analyses sharply, puts the trade-offs on the table and helps you reach a decision that fits both the business and the people involved.”
The question behind this: When should a founder start planning succession?
09
“One conversation with Stefan helped me unlock a decision I had been wrestling with for some time. It was one of those rare conversations that creates clarity without telling you what to do. He listened, challenged my thinking and helped me see the dilemma from a different perspective. I left knowing what my decision needed to be. One of the most valuable professional conversations I had during that period.”
The question behind this: What does it cost to get a CEO appointment wrong?
12
“Across several executive searches, what stood out was the clarity and reliability of Stefan’s approach. Communication was open, feedback came when it mattered and there was continuous alignment throughout the process. That creates something very valuable when making a senior appointment: confidence that the process, the candidates and the decision are in good hands.”
The question behind this: What does it really cost to appoint a CEO?
04
Relationship and trust
A direct, thoughtful working relationship that does not stop at filling a role.
03
“I have met many executive search consultants over the years. What stayed with me about Stefan was the quality of the conversation. There was no superficiality and no need to impress. He was genuinely interested, thoughtful and straightforward. Our meetings felt like conversations between two people trying to understand what really mattered. That combination of professionalism and humility is rare.”
05
“Over several years, Stefan supported us on executive search, assessment and the composition of our leadership team. What I valued was that the relationship never stopped at filling a role. He understood the broader context, the people around the role and what the organization needed next. Over time, he also became a trusted sounding board for my own development as a CEO.”
From the other side of the table
These are other people’s words. They describe the room better than Stefan could.
Where these voices lead
Question · CEO & senior appointments
What does it cost to get a CEO appointment wrong?
The visible cost is the exit. The larger cost is everything the organisation did not do while the wrong decision played out.
Why this next: the decision underneath the question. →PerspectiveBeyond the Leadership Brief
Are we appointing someone for the role we know, or for the organisation we are becoming?
Why this next: the wider question behind what you just read. →ConversationWhen Leaders Outgrow Their Organisations
Sometimes leadership means inviting the organisation to evolve alongside you.
Why this next: the same idea, tested in dialogue. →