MY WAY - QUITE DIFFERENT

I grew up with people who did not so much talk about but created success: entrepreneurs, self-employed people, individuals who pushed boundaries and thought out of the box. It's people who worked harder than others, who thought ahead, who made the most of what life had to offer. They challenged many things, especially themselves. They weren't afraid of new things or of being different. They didn't play it safe. They took risks, proved their courage, and trusted in the future. These people have shaped me. I owe them a debt of gratitude, and honouring the way they lived is part of what motivates me.

My path took me from Würzburg to Chicago and Munich to Hamburg – and from there I cast the lines to the sea. Not a straightforward journey for sure, but intense and satisfying. Every corner, every hick-up taught me about life – often in painful ways. Thus I learned to appreciate that change and growth are never easy, but possible and hidden behind the most decent failure. This is how, for me, both change and growth became the cornerstones of a balanced, independent, and self-determined life. It wasn't a book or a seminar that got me there, but my life's crises. I have experienced how everything can fall apart in a blink: security, structure, meaning. Privately and professionally as well - existentially, even. I went down, I got up. Over and over again. I accepted support, did question myself profoundly, and dared to try new things. This process will probably never be complete. And that - for me - is a good thing, I wouldn´t have it any other way.

As for today, all this makes me feel as a more complete person. Clearer in my ways, stronger in my decisions and more mature regarding life in itself. No, life has not become easier, but I become succinctively sufficient in accepting that there is no such thing as certainty. That is true for decisions, business, relationships and - of course - me about myself. Today I can appreciate, that what matters is how I deal with what comes my way. For me, dealing with uncertainty instead of hoping for certainty is both a challenge and an opportunity and that is what I call ownership.

My sanctuary: the sea.
Since 2020, I have been living with my husband and our cat on board of our sailing boat (a sturdy, reliable Malö 50, 39 feet). Living on the move grants me the power and magic of the ocean. Our way of life gifts me the opportunity to be inspired by the sea. To nurture myself out there, where I find the space to reflect, to feel the power of silence. The sea, the wind, living aboard - all of this nourishes humility, gives me peace, and new energy. Thus, I can think, write, make music, meditate — for me this is being alive. The sea doesn't judge - it listens patiently while life goes on. Usually differently than expected. But always with all the new impulses, I do hold so highly.

„I moved – I didn’t drop out.“
Firstly being a spontaneous response in 2020 this sentence became a summary of how I moved aboard our sailing vessel. A life on the water, underway. Yes, it’s unusual and being underway is exactly the difference, is what makes me “different.”

With this step, I have deliberately chosen a challenging environment by which – for me – life took a turn to the better - less stressed, more energised. For several years already, my husband and I have been living and working aboard our ship. Although our life is similar to the one we had before, it still is so very different. Sharing the adapting to the new and the experienced changes with clients and friends is utterly rewarding, joyful and motivating. Sometimes, even some totally unexpected solutions find their way aboard. This is living and working the different way.

I am a headhunter for over 25 years and as such I work self-employed since 2012.

Over all these years, my clients entrust me to find and convince this very executive the corporation is looking for.

That is because they share my conviction regarding growth. I deem growth as the sum of trust, courage, success and the willingness to fail. I observe and experience this being true over and over again. If necessary, I fight for my results and recommendations — sometimes my keenness comes as a surprise for my clients, but if it is the right thing to fight.

Thus, I am continuously on the lookout for personalities who dare to fail in order to achieve extraordinary success. These people are true leaders, which own their decisions. These executives have a proven track record of overcoming crises and, of course, enabling companies and employees to achieve the extraordinary.

Finding such personalities gives me the satisfaction of contributing to cultures and environments of growth. This personal experience is what drives me.
Long-lasting.Responsible.Effective.

Executive Search

All these years of professional advisory on board and ownership level result in a quite genuine, new demand: Executive Enhancement. Executives who feel the need for another decisive step in their careers entrust me their goal - working in this setting makes me an experienced, keen und decisive sparring partner and - in a way - trainer.

Offering my own life experience and making use of my own life path with all its breaks, changes, hick-ups and - finally - my very personal successes and failures form a quite unique baseline of cooperation.

Looked at from today perspective, Executive Enhancement is kind of a genuine consequence of my path. Once again different. Once again personal. Another part of my journey that challenges me again and again. And it gives me the chance to make a difference - again.

Executive Enhancement