Over the past 15 years, Verena has built a track record of supporting leading global firms along a full range of management issues. She works as an advisor, facilitator and coach at the intersection of strategy, leadership and culture.
Based on significant exposure to highly quantitative fields, Verena is able to rapidly extract the essence of complex businesses and help specialists with managerial challenges. Verena’s unique combination of analytical thinking with her thorough understanding of the people issues at play in organisations, have made her a trusted partner to many senior leaders.
Verena has extensive experience in transformation at the organisational and leadership level, in senior team effectiveness, executive coaching and in providing high-impact management capacity.
Her clients include leading organisations in the fields of professional services, private equity, financial services, life sciences, technology, law and multilateral organisations. Examples of her recent work include designing and delivering a multi-phase capability building programme for a private equity house, conducting in-depth bespoke 360-degree feedback for senior investment professionals, coaching the CEO of a multi-billion Euro asset management business, and establishing and leading the formation of strategy and business development for the first European subsidiary of a global economic and financial research firm.
Previously, Verena was a Managing Consultant at The Trium Group in New York, where she led projects on organizational transformation, leadership development and strategy alignment & execution. Her work included building capability an increasing the effectiveness of a senior team at a life sciences company at a critical time in the company’s growth, based on a thorough strategic and cultural diagnostic. She also supported the new CEO of an insurance company to realign his team around a new vision and strategy and to roll out a cultural change programme.
Before joining Trium, Verena was a consultant for McKinsey & Company, where she worked with leading European organisations in the fields of finance, insurance, telecom, and media on post-merger integration and strategic realignment. While at McKinsey, Verena shaped the integration process of two global financial institutions and got first-hand experience in managing the impact of two very different organisational cultures on the merger. Verena began her career as a derivatives sales trader for a hedge fund.
Verena holds an MPA from Harvard University, as well as a PhD and an MBA from the University of Vienna, Austria and Georgetown University. During her time at Harvard, Verena focused on topics of leadership and adult learning, and worked as a teaching assistant for Ron Heifetz’ experiential leadership class, “Leadership: Mobilizing Group Resources”. Verena is trained as an executive coach through Columbia University’s Coach Certification Program. In addition, she is certified as a Vinyasa and Hatha Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance in the US and UK.
Verena speaks English, German and Italian. She lives in London with her family.