Language: Español

Elena Ortega leads cultural transformation projects for clients in Spain and Latin America. She also designs and facilitates innovative leadership programs for global organizations.

As a consultant in cultural transformation, she helps clients achieve business results by analyzing their current culture and its impact on the company’s strategy. Using this information, she guides them in designing a cultural plan to bridge the gap between their current culture and the desired one that will drive their results. Finally, she works with leaders to enhance cultural change.

In the realm of leadership, Elena helps individuals take their leadership to the next level, becoming more productive, influential, and purpose-driven. She shares with her clients the strategies and questions used by the world’s most successful and influential people to manage their emotions, plan their projects, positively influence others, and keep their purposes clear and alive. Her commitment also extends to female executives and entrepreneurs with teams, whom she accompanies in developing their own leadership style with courage and heart.

Elena has worked with clients such as P&G (Spain), BBVA (global), Facebook (Mexico), Sanofi (Argentina), Mastercard (Southern Cone), Porvenir (Colombia), TGS (Argentina), Médecins Sans Frontières (Spain), and Stellantis (Spain).

She holds a degree in Law from the University of Valencia and a Master’s in Business Legal Advice from the Instituto de Empresa (Madrid). She completed the Executive Program in Human Resources at the Centro Garrigues (Madrid). Elena is certified in Life Styles Inventory (LSI), Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI), and Organizational Effectiveness Inventory, all diagnostic and measurement tools of Human Synergistics. She is a certified Executive Coach and Team Coach by the European Coaching School, as well as a certified High Performance Coach. She is also trained in neuroscience and compassion cultivation.

In her free time, she enjoys traveling and has a passion for photography, leading her to collaborate with brands as a travel photographer on Instagram. She is recognized as one of the travel influencers of 2019 by Forbes Spain.

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.

Anabel has over 20 years of experience in the field of human capital consulting. Her focus has always been on the human aspects of business transformation and how they foster or hinder effective execution of a company’s strategy. She has worked primarily with multinationals from a variety of sectors, ranging from Technology, Pharma, Chemical to Financial Services and FMCG.

Prior to joining Axialent, Anabel was director of compensation and talent consulting at Aon Hewitt Spain. She joined the former Hewitt Associates in 2004 after contributing for seven years as a management training consultant at Ernst & Young. Alongside her generalist human resources consulting experience, she project managed human resources due diligence and post-merger integration projects for more than 20 corporate transactions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Currently she is Partner at Axialent, and in this role she manages the end-to-end relationship with some of our largest clients and ensures we seamlessly deliver on our promises when a company engages our services.

Anabel holds a double degree in law and business economics from Universidad Pontificia Comillas (ICADE E-3), Spain.

Based in Madrid, Spain, Anabel has working experience in Europe, Latin America and China. She was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. Besides her work, she is passionate about creating handmade greeting cards for family and friends.

Albert Durig is a seasoned management consulting professional specializing in executive leadership development, cultural change management and strategic planning. Over the past two decades, he has worked with numerous leadership teams and developed long-term visions and short-term execution programming with senior-level leadership teams.

In the past, Albert held positions as president of United States operations for Axialent as well as chairman of Burson-Marsteller’s technology practice for both Latin America and the United States, director of Mexican operations for Retail Planning Associates, and general manager of L.I.A. Limited’s Caribbean operations.

Albert has published numerous articles in several countries, including the United States, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. His publishing and public speaking endeavors have focused on corporate communications, leadership in times of change and business agility.

Some other companies Albert has worked with include Microsoft, Yahoo!, Google, Motorola, VISA, Glidden, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), LAN, TAM, UNFPA, Hewlett-Packard, NCR, Sun Microsystems, SAP, Qualcomm, Comercial Mexicana, Banco Mexicano, BanPais, Banco Internacional, Banco del Sureste, Playtex, the Mexican Ministry of Culture, the Mexican Ministry of Tourism, the National Museum of American Art, a Smithsonian Institution, and the National Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Property.

Albert received his Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and his Master of Arts degree in sociology with an emphasis in statistics and research methodology from the University of Louisville. He is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Today, Albert lives with his wife and two children in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Founding Partner of Axialent, Richi is a seasoned executive with more than 20 years in global organizations and extensive experience in leadership development, organizational effectiveness and the corporate world.

During his tenure with Axialent, Richi worked with senior leaders and their teams, coaching and facilitating processes that helped these teams significantly improve their own and their organizations’ performance. He is also a culture expert and helps clients develop the behaviors, symbols and systems required to accomplish the desired business strategies.

Richi made career strides during his years of work for EDS, a global IT services enterprise. As a senior vice president for human resources in Latin America, he led a culture transformation effort for the top leaders, personally coaching and mentoring the senior executives of the region. The sales growth and total contract value increase were outstanding, and EDS Latin America became an icon of success in EDS global.

After earning a degree in industrial engineering from the University of Buenos Aires, Richi participated in IDEA’s Executive Business Program, an experience that enriched his practical skills in conscious business philosophy related to coaching, teaching and facilitation.

Richi is an intense sportsman and has participated in several international marathons, holding three 05’ mark in the 26.2 miles. Among his many outdoor activities, Richi also runs adventure races and eco-challenges in teams, experiencing teamwork to the maximum. One of his accomplishments in outdoor sports has been summiting Aconcagua. Richi works at integrating the physical, cognitive and spiritual realms into a successful and balanced life.

He lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with his wife and daughter. He has three older boys living in Europe and Argentina.

Timothy (Tim) has developed his professional career through more than 30 years in senior leadership positions, including 10 years as CEO, in the fields of consumer packaged goods, life sciences and management consulting.

Tim is a consultant at Axialent, as well as the managing partner at Efficax, a high-level executive coaching and consulting firm in Los Angeles, California and a senior partner at KC&D, a management-consulting firm focused on strategy and strategy execution. He specializes in providing solutions and coaching to top-level executives in industry-leading companies.

Tim is certified as an executive coach by the Hudson Institute of Coaching in Santa Barbara by ICI, CCL and ICF (ACC). He is an elected director (International Relations) of ICF Brazil.

In his roles as president at Ducoco Alimentos S.A. and business unit head for Medical Nutrition (Brazil at Novartis), Tim led organizational and divisional restructuring and change management. His management experience also includes serving as president of Bacardi-Martini do Brazil Ltda. and as general manager for Budweiser Brazil Ltda./Anheuser-Busch International, for four years each. In addition, Tim held a number of positions in business development, marketing, product management and sales early in his career.

Tim is a professor of leadership development and strategy at Insper and other leading business schools. He serves on the Board of Directors for Hospital Samaritano and ESPM Consult, among others.

With a Bachelor of Science in economics from Lehigh University, Tim also holds a Master of Business Administration in finance from New York University.

Tim is married and has two lovely daughters. He is fully dedicated to and extremely proud of this loving and caring family. In his free time, Tim enjoys running, reading, traveling and rooting for his favorite soccer and football teams.

Managing Director of Axialent and author of the book “Be the Change: The art of becoming our own innovation Project”.

Fran Cherny is a business leader, inspirational speaker, and advisor to executives driving cultural transformation processes. Born in Buenos Aires and currently based in Barcelona, Fran leads Axialent Global, an international consulting firm pioneering conscious change in organizations. Fran is recognized in the industry for his ability to facilitate change processes that last and produce real business results. His methodology is based on agile and innovative practices applied in real day-to-day situations and has proven eective. He generates sustainable transformations, and helps leaders and teams to align business strategy with their values and practices. His proven methodology is based on agile and innovative practices applied in real day-to-day situations.

Experience

For over 15 years and in more than 20 countries, Fran has supported leading multinationals — such as Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, Facebook, and AXA — through cultural transformation projects, conferences, direct coaching to executives, and facilitation of leadership teams. Fran was responsible for opening Axialent’s European market. As CEO (2012-2017), he led global expansion eorts, developed new markets, and expanded the Axialent Advisory board bringing the most relevant content clients needed. He also led the recruitment and development of hundreds of consultants and inspired many others through his speaking engagements.

His book

BE THE CHANGE THE ART OF BECOMING OUR OWN INNOVATION PROJECT.

Both personally and professionally, we are sometimes faced with new challenges that require us to change to overcome them. Sometimes, this change is much more complex than it seems, and thus the obstacles become limits. Other times the change does take place, but we do not manage to sustain it over time. Thus, the change is diluted and the original problem resurfaces. Be the Change invites us to reflect on the diculties we may encounter when undertaking any change, and to transform ourselves into a person capable of innovating on ourselves successfully in all of our fields of action. From his experience as an international consultant, Fran proposes that each of us become our innovation project and find, in each situation, the next “best version” of ourselves.

Jose Suarez is the former CEO of Axialent, and currently serves as a member of the board and strategic partner.

With nearly 30 years of experience in management and general administration, José has worked in both the private sector and public administration. He spent the majority of his career in the corporate world. As a consultant, he focuses on strategy, management, and business development.

Until early 2011, José served as a councilor for the City Council of Oviedo, Principality of Asturias, Spain. In addition to overseeing the areas of culture, sports, and youth, he also served as president of the Sociedad Ovetense de Festejos, which is responsible for organizing various festivals in the city. Furthermore, he served as vice president of the Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias and the Campoamor Theater Lyrical Awards Foundation. Currently, he remains a member of the General Council of CajAstur/LiberBank, a leading bank in Asturias.

Before becoming a councilor for the City Council, José was the director of international business development for the Inmark Group and a member of the company’s board of directors, where he led projects in both Europe and Latin America. Previously, he served as the corporate director of Makeateam, a Spanish consulting firm dedicated to executive training that was acquired by the Inmark Group in 2005. Prior to that, José served as a director of Ernst & Young in Spain and Latin America, where he was in charge of overseeing strategic consulting, human resources, and change management areas in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico.

José earned a bachelor’s degree in geography and history from the University of Oviedo and a Master’s in Business Administration from the IEDE, Institute for Executive Development. Furthermore, he attended courses on topics such as administration, marketing, service strategies, competitive leadership, and strategies and implementation at the London School of Economics, the Disney Institute, and the University of California-Berkeley, among other institutions.

In addition to his other activities, José has been a press contributor since 1993. He was also awarded the Grand Cross for Humanitarian Merit in Barcelona in 2010.

Although he currently resides in Asturias, Spain, José has also lived in Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil. He is married, has two children, and enjoys reading and walking.