Language: English

Valentín has experience in international consulting and multilateral organizations such as World Bank and United Nations. His specialties are social responsibility and sustainable development. Earlier in his career, Valentín worked at the firm Booz·Allen & Hamilton and had both governments and private sector clients.

With a degree in business sciences and a master’s degree in international relations from Tufts University’s Fletcher School, Valentín also holds a Master of Business Administration from the School of Business Administration and Upper Management in Barcelona, Spain (ESADE). He is also certified as an executive coach from the International Coach Federation (ICF).

Nowadays, Valentín is an academic collaborator at ESADE, where he teaches executive education, in-company training and MBA programs.

As a consultant, Valentín enjoys integrating his passion for mountain climbing in workshops and programs for businesses interested in experience learning. He uses climbing and the mountain itself as metaphors for the challenges that people and teams face within organizations.

An active climber and sportsman, Valentín made an expedition in 2004 to K2 (8.611 m), peaked the K3 or Broad Peak (8.047 m), and completed the Grand Sea of Sand trek in the Lybian Desert — all team excursions he made with the Spanish TV program “Al Filo de lo Imposible.”

He is a co-author of the book “La Cumbre Infinita — Relato de una expedición y espejo de una empresa,” which gathers a series of key learnings that are common to people who struggle to achieve their dreams, whether in a company or in the high peaks of the Himalayas.

Thierry is a senior global human resources strategy consultant and a coach for C-suite leadership development.

Thierry helps global organizations build their talent strategies, employee engagement, organization and leadership cultures, and high-performance management solutions.

Certified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®), Hogan, Life Styles Inventory™ (LSI) and as a Bandwidth Coach TM, Thierry is coach of CEOs and C-suite executives based in Spain, México, Brazil, the United States, China, Germany and France. He helps his clients build leadership and high POs assessment and development centers.

Thierry was with Hewitt and Aon Hewitt for more than 26 years. Since 2012, he has been a global senior consultant partnering with Axialent, helping organizations around the world define and align their people, culture and leadership programs with their business strategy.

At Hewitt, he held several senior executive leadership roles such as client and business development European practice leader, CEO of Hewitt France, CEO of the FISI Market Group (France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal), VP Europe marketing and branding, general manager for Mexico, member of the Hewitt Consulting Global Executive Committee as the region managing director for Latin America successively at Hewitt and Aon Hewitt.

With his multicultural experience, he is fluent in Spanish, French and English.

Thierry holds a degree in economic science (Maîtrise de Sciences Economiques, Université Panthéon Assas, Paris II) and a master’s degree in international business trade and tax law (ILERI, Institut Libre d´Etudes de Relations Internationales) as well as an executive Master of Business Administration from Harvard.

Philip has held various management positions during his career to date, including co-founder, partner and managing director of Headspace PR; marketing director of Yahoo! Germany; and vice president of Consumer and Commercial Marketing at Universal Music International. He has also been facilitating leadership trainings on behalf of Axialent since 2009.

With his background in international business management, Philip started coaching in 2005, is certified as a professional coach with ICF and CTI, and specializes in executive coaching, leadership training and personal development.

He draws on his extensive experience when working with his clients, who range from international captains of industry to CEOs and senior executives, from small companies to billion-dollar corporations. Based in Berlin, Germany, Philip coaches or facilitates in English and German internationally.

Philip integrates his corporate background, expertise in executive coaching, leadership training, leadership and personal development, and experience gained as a yoga instructor to help his clients to explore valuable perspectives with which to address potential barriers that might be impeding their own development, or that of their organizations. Over the years, he has coached and trained more than 1,200 executives, transcending all organizational levels in multinationals, including intact senior teams.

His incisive approach enables him to help his clients maximize their leadership impact on their organizations and goals. Philip’s ability to empower his clients — individuals or groups — in both a challenging and supportive role enables them to unlock their full potential as people who think and lead with clarity and vision, in tune with their own values and those of their organizations, to meet the evolving challenges of an uncertain, ever-changing and unpredictable world.

Philip holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hon) degree in business administration from the University of Pretoria. He is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coach Federation (ICF), and was trained and is a Certified Professional Co-active Coach (CPCC) through the Coaches Training Institute in London and San Francisco. He is certified in group coaching with Potentials Realized and is certified in various 360° tools from Human Synergistics, Energy Leadership iPEC and The Leadership Circle (TLC). He is also a certified leadership trainer with The Leadership Circle.

Born in South Africa, Philip immigrated to Germany in 1992 and has subsequently been based in Frankfurt, London, Munich and Düsseldorf. He currently calls Berlin, Germany, his home.

Pablo is a consultant, facilitator, coach and keynote speaker with more than 20 years of experience in leadership development and effectiveness. He has worked with an important number of executives from organizations in Mexico, the United States, Spain, France, Canada, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, the Caribbean, Central America and the Southern Cone.

In his work, Pablo incorporates principles stemming from conversational competences, brain preferences, the discovery of talents, strengths and skills, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), Immunity to Change, empathic listening, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence and personal leadership. He combines the personal, team and organizational dimension to the work with his clients, based on his extensive experience in the field of leadership and effectiveness.

With certifications in time management, principles-based leadership, project management, strategic planning, constructive negotiation, executive coaching and different diagnostic tools, Pablo also integrates these disciplines in his program designs to customize them to the needs of each organization, aiming to understand them systemically and propose solutions that effectively impact business results.

As a mentor of other facilitators and coaches, in the last years, he has led different TTT programs in organizational talent development.

Pablo received a Master of Science and Ph.D. in physiology in Paris and a master’s degree in Latin American literature in Venezuela. He has published numerous papers for national and international scientific magazines.

In 1987, Pablo married his wife, Cristina, with whom he has since lived in Venezuela, France, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. They have one son, Pablo Javier, who is 25 years old.

Martin is a world-class leader characterized by his drive and unique ability to integrate execution excellence and strategic thinking. With a solid track record developing and growing business in Latin America, Martin has deep knowledge and experience in strategic and business planning, execution excellence and values-based sales and marketing, working with companies ranging from large multinationals to startups.

Martin has more than 20 years of experience in the technology industry working with senior-level executives. He held several senior sales positions in Microsoft and worked as support to the Latin America VP as business manager in charge of business and strategic planning as well as corporate governance.

As an independent consultant, Martin has worked with several multinational companies including Microsoft, Mercado Libre and TIM while also participating as a board member at Infocorp. He is an active member in the Endeavor community, both evaluating and coaching regional entrepreneurs.

Martin is a graduate in business management from ORT Uruguay with a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Santa Monica, California. He has enhanced his experience through executive training on leading organizational change at Columbia Business School and competitive strategy at the Kellogg School of Management. Martin currently lives in Montevideo, Uruguay, and is fluent in English, Spanish and conversational Portuguese.

Karen is an exceptionally creative learning and development professional who, with a wealth of experience and knowledge from both the commercial world and the arena of coaching and facilitation, helps people leap beyond what is known and safely navigate toward a new future.

Karen has extensive experience leading, designing and delivering programs, from global graduate and high-potential talent groups through to senior leaders. Most recently, she has been working with a global tech organization in the United States, creating and delivering a culture change and leadership development program for their top 2 percent of leaders worldwide. This included in-person workshops, individual and team coaching, and group webinars. She has also been leading a team of consultants in the design and delivery of a large global leadership development program (2,000+ participants in the last five years) for an international blue chip financial institution. More recently, she has developed and delivered Axialent’s first, purely online, transformational leadership program for another global blue chip organization.

Her 20+ years of experience at the “pointy end” of international business ensures Karen’s consulting, facilitation and coaching is always mindful of any cross-cultural aspects, incorporates the impact of the VUCA environment, and is aligned to the organization’s core values and behavioral competencies. She stays focused on delivering to the organization’s strategic needs — optimizing the link between mindsets, skills and behaviors, and the cultural shift needed for teams and leaders to be successful today and in the future.

Equally, due to her original fields being psychology and design, Karen brings great warmth, compassion and a sense of possibility to all her clients, helping teams and leaders reach strategic alignment and effectiveness while maintaining an atmosphere of well-being.

Karen has been directly involved in the world of learning and development since 2005, working with organizations to create high-potential development programs and leadership initiatives, and facilitating teams to become highly effective. She has a passion for creativity, innovation and accelerated learning. She is a firm believer that people are more able to learn and change when the learning experience is perceived as enjoyable and safe. She is accredited in Hogan Psychometrics and Life Styles Inventory™ (LSI) and is also a neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) practitioner and an accredited coach.

Over her career, Karen’s clients have included blue-chip organizations such as PWC, GE Capital, Sun Microsystems, HSBC, Barclays, UBS, RBS, Scottish Power, Viking Cruises, housing associations, Fiat/CNHI, DLP Piper HBOS, Jaguar Landrover, the Pentland Group, Cisco, Bosch Siemens and Microsoft as well as SME, public sector and individuals. She works at all levels from graduate and fast-track development through to executive level.

With 27 years of experience in management consulting and communications, Georgina (“Gina”) is a consultant, coach, communications specialist, professor and social sciences researcher.

After starting a career in journalism, Gina went on to study organizational development and to work professionally in this area with leaders in different companies and groups, including Mexican universities. In her consulting work, she draws heavily on her dual expertise in communication and organizational development.

In her career, Gina has designed and implemented communication strategies and change processes for different clients. Most recently, she served as associate and director at Integralis Consulting Group, a company dedicated to organizational development.

Gina’s passion is facilitating co-creation processes with groups of leaders and helping them make significant behavior transformations.

Gina has worked for clients including Televisa, Liverpool, Presidencia de la República, Kellogg’s, Prodigy, Industrias Mabe, Gigante, Mexicana de Aviación, Grupo Angeles, Farmacias del Ahorro, Medicall Home and Kostal Mexicana, among others.

Gina holds a Bachelor of Science in social communication sciences and a master’s degree in investigative journalism, both from the Anáhuac Universtiy. She also received a diploma in innovation in organizational communication and certification in systemic coaching from the Technical Institute of Monterrey (ITESM), and she is certified in systemic family and organizational therapy from the Sowelu Institute.

Gina teaches courses on organizational change and culture, leadership, and consulting at the Technical Institute of Monterrey, Anáhuac University, and the Universidad Autónoma of Querétaro, and she has authored a number of articles on organizational development and critiques of T.V. content. In addition, Gina was the editor of the book “Método Ser +,” which targeted small business leaders’ development in Mexico.

Gina and her husband, Luis, have a 20-year-old daughter who is studying psychology. Gina likes movies, theater, reading and traveling, and she greatly enjoys being with her family.

Ekkehard is a global citizen with deep leadership experience across a wide range of roles (CEO, investor, entrepreneur, consultant, board member), industries (services, fast-moving consumer goods, media, financial institutions), countries (Germany, Spain, France, the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Switzerland) and companies (Axialent, Adecco Human Capital, Lee Hecht Harrison, Jacobs Holdings, 20 Minutes Holding, McKinsey & Company).

In his mid-forties, he recognized that he had put a lot of professional energy on the “hard stuff” (strategies, structures, numbers), and he experienced the need and the opportunity to integrate additional key drivers for success — namely, balanced relationships and cultures as well as self-actualization and purpose.

For this purpose, Ekkehard founded Sum People. Today he is helping CEOs, top executives and their teams integrate the three dimensions: It (goals, tasks), We (relationships) and I (self).

Ekkehard is also the founder of Mountain Wisdom, a Swiss foundation that takes CEOs to the mountains to explore the fundamental questions in life.

“During my corporate career, I was focused on solving problems. This is what I had learned and what I was good at. Later in my career, I asked, ‘how did I contribute to these problems?’ I recognized that my executive task focus did limit my ability to productively relate with colleagues and partners (and actually my family), and it did not allow me to explore who I was and what I really wanted to do with my life.

“I am still very passionate about business, I love strategy and high performance. Today, I am convinced that in order to achieve sustainable success, we have to apply the same standards of excellence to the human dimension.

“The corporate world is full of task-oriented, hard-working and ambitious executives. I want to work with those who are curious and open to integrate the We — and the I — dimensions at the service of a better It (results, performance). It is my purpose to help executives take their heart to work.”

Ekkehard holds an engineering degree from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany, a postgraduate degree in international management from the Université Paris Dauphine, and a doctorate degree in economics from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Ekkehard lives in Switzerland with his wife and two children.

For more than 25 years, Carlos held the positions of managing director and chief executive officer at diverse family enterprises, having the opportunity to meet all sorts of challenges and specific issues related to family businesses. He currently serves on the board of directors of some family-owned companies.

During 2009 and 2010, Carlos was president of AEI CONTRACT, an innovative group of economic interest consisting of 20 companies. They jointly participated in projects related to construction, interior design and decoration.

Along with other Asturian entrepreneurs, he prompted the creation of the Asturian Association of Family Enterprise, and he was a member of the first board of directors for a period of four years.

Carlos has studied engineering and has a degree in systems management. He has also studied sociology at the UNED and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from IEDE. He also participated in the leadership and management of International Trade course dictated by EUROFORUM El Escorial.

Carlos lives in Asturias, Spain. He is married and has two children. In his spare time, he enjoys his family, friends, traveling and playing sports, especially tennis.

Bernhard has more than 16 years of professional experience in one of the world’s leading fast-moving consumer goods corporations. Having worked in different countries across Europe, he has management and leadership experience in the consumer goods and chemical industries, working with multinational/multiethnic teams. Most of his current clients are in the pharmaceutical, aerospace, fast-moving consumer goods and oil industries. After 16 years of corporate life, he decided to become an independent coach in early 2005.

In 2008, he joined Axialent as a freelancer for coaching, facilitation and training. In these years, he has been serving clients in different countries across Europe, delivering leadership programs in English and German. Over the years, he was also heavily involved in designing and customizing programs for Axialent clients.

In the globalization of businesses, he recognized great opportunities to support leaders through programs that are based on blended learning and deliver key elements live through virtual platforms such as WebEx training center or Adobe Connect.

Bernhard has worked as a coach and facilitator for multinational organizations such as Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Liebherr Aerospace, Airbus, Sanofi, Merz Pharma and Fresenius Kabi, among others.

The main focus of his work is individual and group coaching either in person or through virtual platforms. He is very committed to high standards of coaching, thus he holds the Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential of the International Coach Federation (ICF). In his passion for professionalism in coaching, he supported the ICF over many years through voluntary work. Between October 2010 and October 2014, he was the president of ICF Germany.

Outside work, Bernhard spends time supporting the local community through volunteer work as well as working for the integration of refugees in Germany.