What our clients say

 “Katinka is an exceptionally insightful, powerful executive coach who effectively cuts through the difficult issues faced by women in the C-suite and on board level. I personally know many high-powered women whose lives have been transformed by Katinka’s work.

As the director for the Women Directors Leadership Summit, I have worked internationally with Katinka as our lead coach since 2016 and have seen first-hand the breakthrough impact of Katinka’s work. 

Katinka has been and remains my trusted coach and advisor whenever I face a challenging decision as a board executive.“ 

Dr. Herta von Stiegel 
Member of the Board, 
London Metal Exchange 

„I started working with Katinka when I had just joined the executive board of a global player as Chief Marketing Officer. As one of two women board members, I was confident in my new role as I had always been a strong performer - but for some reason, I was not getting the traction I needed as a board level executive. And balancing my far-reaching responsibilities with the needs of my family and kids was a real challenge!

I had been a successful leader so far, but somehow was using a lot of energy and not getting the needed leverage with the men around me. Katinka’s unique science-based perspective on the different neurological wiring of men and women was not only an eye-opener and an absolute game changer in how I approached my interactions, but her extensive experience in the navigation of corporate politics at the top made her my “compass pointing North” within the complex world of business pressure and male power games.

Within a short time, I was able to clearly understand the masculine C-level dynamics at work around me - I started intentionally using my new insights to generate respect, attention, and influence. I am no longer exhausted or frustrated, have established myself as a trusted advisor for our CEO, and my division is winning industry awards and has been recognized as a global benchmark for strong performance within the group!

If you are a woman on C-level or getting near to the top, I strongly recommend getting Katinka as your coach - do not go on this journey without her!”

Chief Marketing Officer, Global Food Group  

“Katinka started working with me as my personal executive coach in 2014 when I was first promoted to an HR director role for EMEA, and she remained by my side over many years for ad-hoc leadership supervision and as an HR Strategy sounding board.

With Katinka as my coach I could grow to my full potential in demonstrating a candid straightforwardness in the world of C-suite management while keeping my own authenticity. Katinka accompanied me in many difficult and tricky situations of corporate politics with her positive energy, clever savviness and her breadth of vision. At the same time Katinka was rigorous with me not take the easy route out of fear.

During one of the most important change processes in our company, Katinka had also taken the role as advisor for our internal communications, that included a Communication Strategy, a Deployment Plan, a Communication Guideline for Leaders, Messages to Employees and most importantly, how to manage the informal employee communication. Katinka’s work was the most professional Change Management efforts I have experienced in my career so far.

I strongly recommend Katinka for leaders who need to understand the prerequisites of systemically approaching the top management world – she stands for a direct, effective and honest way of finding your leadership personality that won’t allow fear to dominate your path! Between event and response is our freedom and accountability – Katinka shows you how to leverage it with foresight and intention!

Thank you Katinka, I am so grateful for everything you did for me!”

Head of HR EMEA, global industrial metals group

“… Katinka started working with me just after I had taken over group-wide sales responsibility. I had “inherited” a team of highly ambitious sales guys who were making my life difficult by pulling into different directions and pursuing mainly their own advantage - at least that was my perspective.

It turned out they needed me to lead with a much stronger backbone and a clear corrective as they were preying on each other and discouraging the honest performers among them. They were begging for me to lead! But I felt uncomfortable as the bad cop and kept trying to collaborate.

Katinka challenged me to step up and create a level playing field for the whole division - and we dug deep and found some old roots that were holding me back. So, I dissolved my hidden fears and called the bigger egos back into line - and as a result of more order and fairness, the team’s engagement and our division’s performance rose dramatically. Interestingly, my work got a lot easier at the same time, which is something I had not expected. By working with her weird neurological tricks, Katinka truly “graduated” me and my brain and my instincts into the higher leadership league which I now play in.”

Head of Sales, European venture capital firm

I strongly recommend Katinka as a coach to all women executives who want to realize their full potential on the corporate career track. She empathetically worked with me not to let fear get into my way, but instead to act smartly in spite of it and with time, to develop clear intentions and apply goal-oriented tactics. We also designed a healthy work-life approach as a central pillar of my lasting professional success. Her unique and highly effective approach on how women succeed in business helped me to become more secure and outspoken, and also to understand and navigate the power-driven corporate environment to drive my career to the next level!

Head of Communications, world leading optoelectronics group

“Leadership starts from within and as such one can only advance when one discovers one's true self. This is where your journey with Katinka will begin. Her coaching will help you discover your inner saboteurs to see clearly what is holding you back as a leader. She has a unique methodology to tailor her provocation and coaching around your specific personality and challenges, rather than some generalist textbook ideas of management best practice. Katinka’s coaching brought me to a place where I now act decisively and fearlessly in challenging situations, and also better understand the power of leading with love. I can highly recommend her coaching.”

A.S., CEO fintech startup, Berlin

“Katinka showed me a completely new path to how I can be successful as a woman executive. And without the effort of adapting to a power driven environment - but instead, by leveraging my true strengths. She helped me identify my leadership qualities and focus on the really important issues - and encouraged me to confront and dissolve my fears!

From decades of her own professional experience as an executive in banking and consulting, Katinka has real-life examples and cases which are also the very practical foundation of her research, and both make her a clever and “street-smart” executive coach who taught me to think like “the other side”… it works!

Her insights into corporate politics and how the game is really played, together with her own charisma and verve, make her an extremely effective companion on the executive journey to the C-suite.

Couldn't have found a better coach :-) !!!”

A.R., Head of HR Organization, Leading European Food Group

“Katinka’s executive work is focused on the woman executive in a primarily masculine management setting, and has brought me from a place of self-doubt and non-recognition by senior management to a flourishing career.

She truly unleashed my leadership strengths and performance potential while carefully balancing those demands with my role as a mother.

Katinka is a secret weapon for any woman who seeks a career breakthrough while raising a family. I continue to reach out to Katinka now that I’m navigating the pharma-ceutical industry’s top echelons.

Dr. H. L.
Director Medical Affairs, Global Pharmaceutical Group

“I found Katinka in a critical moment of my international e-commerce start-up. We were still in the advanced fundraising phase, our product was at different levels of market readiness, and our top management team had some great people, but also some serious non-performers who were put there by the supervisory board. Coming from a philanthropic standpoint I wanted to make it work and fuse everyone together in fairness and mutual hard work.

Katinka questioned my approach and challenged me immediately to correct the imbalance and to heal the underperformance of critical divisions and interfaces, which was in turn holding other areas back while the market was eagerly expecting our product, but tragically remained unharvested. Katinka boldly disrupted my comfort zone and actually got me to change my emotional landscape from self-appeasement to a form of righteous rage. By harvesting that energy, I executed some strong personnel decisions, replaced the non-performers and more boldly corrected my teams’ behaviors as needed. I forged collaboration and gave ultimatums where there had been unending conflict.

We designed a corporate culture around the values I carry deep in my heart and I rolled it out into the company with strong directives, acting as role model as best I could. In short, I experienced a true leadership breakthrough which led to a performance boost throughout the company. Katinka is the one who boldly challenged and empowered me to leverage my true alpha power while remaining the goodhearted guy I have always been. I am keeping Katinka on my speed dial as my go-to advisor going forward.“

CEO, global e-commerce start-up

Katinka is a true pioneer in her uniquely effective coaching approach for women executives. Her own decade-long experience as a lone female top executive among men make her an amazingly valuable sparring partner for the ambitious woman who wants to rise to the top. Katinka challenges my conventional beliefs and uses her famous solution-focus to surprise me with the utter effectiveness of the new tactics she encourages me to try. If you are navigating your way to the top management levels, make sure you have Katinka by your side as your executive coach. I am very thankful for the incredible difference she has made in my career.”

Global Head of HR, world market leader - mobility