I spent 30 years in multiple executive roles from hands-on IT delivery, strategy development to executive coaching and training of large teams.
Andersen Consulting (later Accenture) was my starting point after my master in economy and computer science. Coding, Post Mergers, Process Design, Global Strategic Responsibilities - I had the pleasure of a broad range of experiences throughout my consulting time.
The change from consulting into the Insurance industry was a fascinating time. Inhouse Consulting, COO, Head of Information Management - my time with Zurich Insurance and Swiss Re was thrilling. And gave me the experience to understand stakeholder management, sales and leadership from the "other" side.
My move into independent consulting, coaching & training (my "3rd career adventure") allowed me to follow my real passion - people development. I was (and still am) able to use my long-year experiences to help my clients to become more successful - may it be in leadership roles or in sales situations.
Professional Background
+ Founder of lakecon (Zürich)
+ Partner at steercom GmbH (Switzerland, Germany)
+ Global Head Management Reporting, Information & Data Management, SwissRe CorSo (Zürich)
+ Head of Operations, Zurich Insurance, Global Specialties (Zürich)
+ Member of Executive Staff, Zurich Insurance, Inhouse Consulting (Zürich)
+ Senior Manager, Management Consulting Accenture (Munich)

May it be in sales pitches or in leadership roles - being convincing is your key goal.
BUT HOW?
The answer lies - for us - in 4 factors:
1. Structured, to-the-point and easy-to-understand communication
2. Understanding how your addressee / stakeholder "ticks" to build the right "chemistry"
3. Presence - not just content counts - but your entire body needs to convince
4. Understand and implement the key "WIN tactics" for successful sales pitches
We help ypur team to communicate in a more convincing and successful manner. It's about approaching complex topics, better understanding your addressee, defining easy-to-understand messages and logical storylines, communicating to-the-point and convincing through your presence. Our workshops do enable participants to become more successful - written and verbally.
Time and budget available for half a day, one day, or a high-impact 3-day training workshop? Onsite or remote? 2 days in a row or 4 x 4h? High interactice sessions with 6-10 people or a big-room format with 20+ participants?
WE DO ADJUST TO YOUR NEEDS AND AVAILABILITIES!
Do you have a pitch or important presentation to prepare? You don't feel well when presenting at top executive level? You want to do the next career step and don't want to leave it to the coincidence? You want to improve your chance of success with your clients?
We help you to structure and develop your case along proven approaches and methodologies. Putting yourself into the shoes of your stakeholder, understanding what he/she really wants, developing a well structured „storyline“ with addressee-specific compelling messages is key for success.
30 years experience in executive roles combined with well structured thinking & communication skills enable us to help you prepare yourself.
Sales is always a challenge - may it be for a small or big company, may it be for a small or big pitch, and regardless of the industry.
Do you know about the 5 WIN tactics? Do you know the value of a "killability analysis"? Do you know how to better understand your clients decision process? Do you wonder how to press the right buttons in your pitch document?
Let's talk!
Your success is our success - that's why we always build in success-fees into our pricing. To make your sales pitch a truly joint effort.
Change is everywhere - always. But random, un-managed change is a waste of time and becomes even dangerous.
We focus on the people's side of change - culture, behavior, mindset. This interlocks with our expertise focus around structured and method-driven problem-solving, convincing communication and stakeholder management.
As a co-founder of steercom, Wolfgang Hackenberg channeled his expertise in structured communication and his didactic skills into a company that now trains business experts across the globe and across a wide range of industries. He shared his knowledge worldwide through hundreds of training workshops and also delivers lectures at the University of Passau and the Hertie School of Governance.
Complex issues are her daily business, structured solutions her answer. Ruth Mengede works as top management consultant around strategy development, restructuring and organizational development for technically oriented industries. She studied mechanical engineering and worked for Lufthansa Technik as well as Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.
A master of the art of presence. Sibylle Wolf brings a wealth of experience from her long career on stage as an opera singer - Vienna, Bregenz, and elsewhere - to her work, which is inspiring, well-grounded, and highly practical. She has spent many years advising board members, middle management, and anyone else interested in the art of public presence.
Christian Fenner internalized and perfected successful communication approaches early on in his consulting career, allowing him to apply it successfully on a daily basis later during his time as Group HR Chief Operating Officer at Credit Suisse. He still supports his clients in strategic development and people development topics.
A business professional, a consummate communicator, and a passionate proponent of "pyramidal thinking,". As a co-founder of steercom Carsten Leminsky leverages his exceptional systematic and communicative skills gained from his previous roles as a strategy and change consultant at PwC and as a managing director of german SMEs.
Ingo Kett is a consultant, coach, and investor who, over the past 30 years, has led major initiatives in digital transformation, merger integration, and technology integration.
Ingo served as Executive Partner at Accenture, Managing Partner at IBM and led the consulting business at Publicis.Sapient in Germany.