Short Bio

I have been working as independent consultant since 2003 and as coach since 2016.

As a socio-economist, I have over 35 years of professional experience in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific (ACP) and Asia in the following areas:

  • Practical work in a private horticultural business (parents' family business) explains my pragmatic and practical working style;
  • 1978 diploma thesis on renewable energies and 1985 PhD on life cycle analysis and planning of technical projects trained my analytical work;
  • Manager of private sector companies, public institutions and large projects and programmes in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP), on behalf of the European Commission, German and Irish technical cooperation (annual budgets of up to € 80 million);
  • Strong leadership skills in managing human resources, leading and motivating international teams (including up to 70 staff);
  • Consultant in thematic areas such as business development in the public and private sector and organisational restructuring, planning, implementation and evaluation of programmes, policy advice, strategy and concept development in the field of information and knowledge management;
  • Since 2003 I am working as independent consultant and since 2016 I also work as coach.

A professional highlight was my role as Director of the CTA (Technical Centre for Cooperation and Rural Development, an EU-ACP institution) with diplomatic status from 2005 to 2010. My contacts and negotiating partners were political representatives of the EU, ACP countries and the European Commission. I mastered this challenge with intensive support from various coaches.

In 2016, I completed additional training in LIFO® (Life Orientation Coaching Method). This was followed in 2023 by further training to become a Quintessence®Coach.

My guiding principle: Reduce complexity and come straight to the point.

Private life: I am married for 44 years and we have two sons and two granddaughters. I am a family man. Gardening (green thumb), cooking, baking bread, making music (guitar, bass, keyboard) and sport (endurance training, sailing) give me balance and keep me fit.

About my education and training

I graduated with a degree in socioeconomics in 1978, specialising in economic psychology, human resources, communication and marketing. I completed my dissertation on the subject of "Planning technical projects" in 1985 at the Department of Communication Sciences at the University of Augsburg.

During my professional career, I have regularly attended training courses on specific topics, e.g. communication, language awareness (Lingva Eterna), conflict management, moderation, planning, management and team building.

Since 2005, I have been learning and benefiting from working with several coaches.

2016 Further training to become a certified LIFO®-Analyst (Life Orientation - a coaching approach for the development and management of individual strengths).

2023 Further training to become a certified Quintessence®Coach.

My professional career

As a business and life coach, my many years of international experience as a project manager and director, team leader, advisor to ministries, projects and companies help me. As a facilitator, I have supported many planning, strategy and policy processes.

In the context of development cooperation I worked in Europe and overseas: 1980 - 1983 - Egypt, 1986 - 1993 - Burkina Faso, 1993 - 1996 - Djibouti, 1996 - 2002 - Ethiopia, 2003 - 2004 Germany, 2005 - 2010 in the Netherlands and Belgium as CTA Director responsible for Africa, Caribbean and Pacific, 2010 - 2011 Co-Managing Director at juwi-Bio, a then private project development company for renewable energies in Germany, 2011 - 2015 India GIZ Programme Coordinator. Since 2016 working in Germany and internationally as a business and life coach, consultant, communication trainer and workshop facilitator.

How I got into coaching

In my professional career, I have held management and advisory positions with very high demands. I would not have been able to manage these on my own. So, I sought support from very experienced coaches and was able to do my job in a highly professional manner.

In addition, more and more people in my professional and private circle of colleagues and friends asked me for advice. I was happy to do so. With my questions and suggestions, I was able to help many people to better overcome their worries and challenges.

Against this background, I completed additional training to become a LIFO® Analyst in 2016 and have been offering my experiences as a coach ever since. In 2023, I further completed my coaching toolbox with a Quintessence® training course adding systemic coaching aspects.