Philosophy
Our consulting approach is based on our understanding of our profession: experience, methodological competence, business sense and social competence, as well as a great deal of passion for 'moving organisations', allowing us to support, enable and accompany clients along the entire spectrum from goal definition to measurable implementation success.
This is always done in a spirit of partnership, because our clients bring their own industry experience and professional competence to the table, and only the combination of these two factors enables us to work together in a goal-oriented manner and is a decisive success factor. We always focus on our clients, their expectations and requirements as well as their success.
Skills
Vision & Strategy-
Development
What makes a good strategy? It is based on an inspiring vision, convinces and inspires through its content, is structured in a goal-oriented way, easy to understand, coherent, consistent, delineated for a defined time horizon, set-up to be tailored to all business areas and levels of the company.
What does good strategy implementation look like? It is essential that the strategy is supported by the entire management team, is defined for all organizational areas in sub-strategies with clear goals, is supported by targeted communication in the organization up to the employee level, and is measured in implementation by Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
We support the entire process of vision and strategy development step by step. We develop a bespoke conceptual framework according to the customer and topic. We accompany the development of vision and/or strategy with regards to process and/or content – on the level of top management as well as divisional management. We facilitate a communication that mobilizes the entire organization for strategy implementation.
Conceptualising strategy is a key strength of ours, as well as the preparation and moderation of vision engineering and strategy workshops. We also pride ourselves on the creation of convincing strategy documentation for different target groups and communication goals.
Business Transformation
A complete strategic reorientation, large-scale and complex changes of the entire company, the adaptation of the business model, solutions to digital change – programs for business transformation all have one thing in common: they are highly complex, wonderfully challenging, mostly very expensive, extremely risky and demand a lot of energy from the organization, from the top manager to the employee.
We believe in the following success factors: 1) clear, ambitious but realistic goals, 2) dedicated and explicit statements of focus, priorities and stages, 3) consistent structuring of complexity into manageable topics and projects, 4) uncompromising commitment of management ("one team , one voice") and 5) a change management that supports the entire organisation and its employees.
Immediately after defining strategy and/or objectives and mapping them onto a transformation map, we address three questions: 1) What is the hardest challenge? Here we continue to work with top management and define dedicated solutions. 2) What is the biggest change? Here we install professional program portfolio management with a clear business case. 3) What are the Quick Wins? Here we guarantee a quick win plan and its consistent implementation with clear responsibilities.
Our ethos for change management: It cannot be separated from the substance of the business transformation. We combine conceptual change approaches with practical changes in order to inspire employees for change, to prepare them for the actual change in their working lives and to enable them to successfully manage this transformation.
Change Management
'Nothing is as constant as change'. In theory – but how does it look in practice? "We haven't moved at all in the last few years – with all the change we have seen over the last few years, it comes and goes and in the end nothing changes anyway." "We’ve never had a big change – we don't even know where to start!" "We don't want to change, the way it is now, it's good!" "This change is urgent and necessary, but we can't get such a big organisation to move fast enough."
Managing change successfully is nowadays a key skill of any company – not least because of increasing digitalization and ever faster changing business models. However, professional change management is by no means part of the basic corporate toolkit. Indeed, it is often not required as such, since major changes are actually better accompanied by external partners.
For over 20 years, we have successfully acted as a catalyst and sparring partner for complex change that needs to be professionally managed. As experts in classical change approaches, which include communication as well as cultural change, our client solutions are always individually developed and tailor-made. We know that change is only successful if all employees are convinced of the necessity of change, support it and are empowered. We move organizations and accompany them through the change process by 1) strengthening the change management team, 2) working with change agents and multipliers, 3) "taking all employees with us" through appropriate mobilization events and 4) sustainably anchoring new working methods and competencies.
Programme Portfolio Management
A strategic, operational or financially ambitious goal usually leads to the definition of one or more projects. There is no customer who would not confirm that project success is a function of professional project management. Furthermore, we have not seen one complex program succeed without the following key success factor: a consistent status-overview for each individual project showing operational goals and financial effects.
Our conceptual rigour in defining programs enables target-oriented and realistic planning with clear delivery objects, milestones, roles & responsibilities, as well as dedicated financial effects in a business case that delivers against defined top-management requirements.
According to our clients, our rigorous project management with standardized methods and control instruments makes life easier for everyone. Client team members appreciate its simplicity, because we focus on the essentials and link top-down and bottom-up. Middle management value it because it enables consistent central control, encompasses consistently target-oriented monitoring and controlling, and offers status reporting at the appropriate level. Top management find it highly useful because it offers transparency at all times with regard to operational and financial goals and includes a priority matrix and risk mapping.
Our unique selling point? Our clients enjoy working with us because their projects are successful and even enjoyable.
Business Cases & Benefits Tracking
What is the raison d’être of a project? It provides a financial result – be it on the sales side or on the cost side. Even qualitative improvements always have a pay-off.
Projects cost time and money and also involve important resources beyond normal business operations.
Nevertheless, it is not a given in many companies to define a transparent and uniform financial assessment of projects and the concrete measures to achieve them, to follow up consistently and, ultimately, to combine them with regular budget planning.
Here we can offer decisive added value. With our developed methodology for the financial mapping of projects we support our customers in the definition of financial effects and their representation in a holistic business case, uniform, clear and transparent. We continuously assess the “Härtegrad” (degree of robustness) of the identified measures in terms of different entry scenarios and their temporal impact. This is also an important component and convincing instrument if the budget process involves the structured transfer of financial project effects into official financial planning.
We see the implementation of a financial impact check, including the definition of suitable key performance indicators (KPIs) for the ongoing performance review, as a further central success factor. Only in this way can deviations from the defined financial goals be measured and demonstrated, which in turn enables the development of countermeasures. As a result, we also ensure controlling and monitoring of financial effects after the project has been completed.
Financial
management
How can the defined strategic goals be translated into financial goals? Are these financial goals geared towards sustainable value creation? Do the financial management tools focus on the essential cost and value drivers of the company? Does the planning and budgeting process used in the company require appropriate personnel expenditure or is the level of expenditure in controlling disproportionate to the output?
These and other questions must be critically scrutinized and dealt with in the context of financial corporate management.
We support companies in optimally aligning their financial management with their company-specific business model. The availability and quality of financial information are key success factors. We work closely with finance and controlling to jointly develop a financial information system and reporting that addresses the key drivers of the business. The development of key figures and a management cockpit is an essential part of this. Here we work according to the motto "reporting as well as key figures are tailored to the relevant stakeholders" and "less is more".
A further service is the optimization of financial management and the critical review of the applied budgeting model and the defined or actual planning processes. Overly detailed planning or unclear objectives tie up too many personnel resources in many companies – we help to make the process as efficient and effective as possible, in order to increase quality and clarity, and at the same time reduce the individual planning efforts.
Organizational
Development
What is the best organizational design to implement the corporate strategy through effective and efficient structures and processes? How do we best organize ourselves for our new business model? How do we best position ourselves to react quickly to changing requirements? How can we complement our traditional hierarchical organizational structure with agile, networked structures that promote dynamic work and innovation?
We have proven our expertise in classical organizational development in numerous projects – both in large-scale company-wide reorganizations and in targeted improvements of structural and process organization or the optimization of roles and functions in an existing set-up. This allows us to combine the whole spectrum of theoretical concepts with our expertise in meaningful, target-oriented, feasible and agile solutions.
Together with our clients, we define the objectives, discuss the question "structure follows strategy" and the uncompromising link between structures and processes, and develop possible approaches. Our services include not only analysis with organizational audits and conceptual organizational design projects, but also comprehensive implementation support including necessary personnel and change measures.
Our methodology includes traditional OD instruments and workshops, but also somewhat "unconventional approaches", which have proven to be successful, especially in situations of time pressure, unclear or changing objectives and complex stalemate situations.
Pre & Post Merger
A successful merger of two companies or parts of a company can be reduced to two simple questions. What is the added value in strategic and financial terms? What degree of integration is most effective and how do we manage the integration process?
As part of pre-merger due diligence projects, we support our clients in the strategic and financial analysis of the target, the fit between the companies, and the time requirements for implementation. We cooperate with a big-data-expert: our partner collects customer and market data on a large scale, which is strategically consolidated to the essentials and prepared as a basis for decision-making for top management.
Our post-merger integration projects start with the conceptual framework for the integration. This includes: 1) strategic, operational and financial goals, 2) the approach to integration in terms of "what philosophy to what degree for what areas", 3) the organizational framework with regards to possible organizational structures and project management for integration, 4) the phases of integration and 5) a targeted change management approach. On this basis, we control program management and business case and accompany all levels of the organization through the integration process.
Top Management Coaching
The demands placed on managers are increasing every day, not least due to the tension between operational business and management tasks for employees and an ever faster changing environment.
Making good decisions in complex situations that are characterized by great uncertainty and being a role model and anchor for employees is part of our clients’ daily challenges as leaders.
As your coach, we act as a sparring partner: in a one-on-one interview, behaviour is reflected and mirrored in order to develop effective options for action on this basis. The focus is on strengthening clients’ resources, targeted further development of leadership competencies and active self-management, which also includes dealing with emotions.
Just as managers develop a vision and strategy for their company, in coaching we support mangers in developing a personal strategy for themselves that allows them to live up to their responsibilities, even in critical situations.
References
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Management Consultant and Senior Advisor for over 20 years which reflects my conviction and passion for my job.
I have been involved in many lengthy and diverse project for clients in Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain and France. This is a clear validation of the quality of my work and the value that I add for clients.
The focus of my consulting services is: complex business transformation, strategic realignment and restructuring as well as post-merger integration programs. This includes vision and strategy, organizational design, leadership development and change (including communication and culture) as well as complex program management with measurable business cases. My industry experience ranges from the manufacturing capital goods industry and logistics to consumer goods, retail, media, banking and insurance.
I started my career as a consultant at Gemini Consulting in Zurich, then Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, where I held a leading position as Senior Manager in London. Before that? Diploma in Banking, MBA in economics at the University of St. Gallen (HSG) with a focus on organizational design, PhD on 'Management of cultural differences in international strategic alliances' at the Institute of Human Resources in St. Gallen.
As a Swiss national with German heritage, I speak fluent German, Swiss-German, English, French and Italian.
I finished my master studies in International Business at Leopold-Franzens-University in Innsbruck (Austria) with main focus on international management, international economics and corporate finance. I also studied one year abroad at the School of Economics and Commercial Law in Gothenburg, Sweden.
I started my professional career in a strategy and production controlling department at Swarovski (crystal and jewellery manufacturer) in Austria. My main tasks included the operative and strategic mid-term planning, monitoring and reporting of my area of responsibility, leading cost saving programmes as well as compiling a marketing and business plan for a plant in China.
2007 I changed to a corporate finance consultancy in Zurich and 2014 to Conova Consulting. For more than 12 years I’m consulting clients in Switzerland, United Kingdom, Germany and Russia.
My consulting expertise is focused in the areas of business cases for complex projects (business transformation, restructuring, cost saving and post-merger), complex programme management, PMO and corporate finance.
Furthermore, I’m specialised in implementing value-based management concepts, optimising reporting processes, developing management information systems for monitoring and controlling (including KPIs) and financial modelling. My industry experience encompasses crystal manufacturing and components processing, media, consumer goods, real estate and construction as well as the energy sector.
I’m fluent in German and English.