Strategy Consulting
Institutional transformation for universities and academic alliances — where getting the architecture right matters as much as getting the stakeholders aligned.
Twenty years building and running international academic organisations — as an executive, a statutory officer, and now an independent advisor. I work with university leadership teams on the decisions that are both structurally complex and politically difficult, where knowing how institutions actually work is as important as the strategic answer.
Helping universities and academic alliances clarify how decisions get made and by whom — designing governance bodies, drafting constitutional documents, resolving authority disputes, and building the decision-making structures that allow institutions to act decisively. Grounded in nine years of statutory authority at the CEMS Global Alliance and current advisory work with other European and global consortia.
Helping university leadership teams translate internationalisation ambitions into institutional reality — including market strategy, alliance development, partnership architecture, and the organisational design needed to deliver at scale. Grounded in nearly two decades of building and running international academic networks across five continents.
Working with institutions on portfolio decisions that require strategic clarity alongside careful stakeholder engagement — market positioning, competitor analysis, demand assessment, and the faculty alignment needed to translate strategic intent into a changed academic offer. Includes direct experience of portfolio reform at ESMT Berlin and curriculum strategy work with Studyportals.
Senior resident expert for a public university transformation. Defined the internationalisation roadmap and redesigned governance accountability from national legislation to Vice-Presidential remits.
Advising a 12-country academic alliance on the transition from informal network to registered entity. Work covers legal structure options, governance design, membership frameworks, and senior leadership engagement across member institutions.
The CEMS Global Alliance operates across 100 member organisations — 33 academic institutions and 70+ corporate and NGO partners, each with formal voting rights. As the alliance grew in size and geographic reach, its governance structures were redesigned to remain clear and workable: simplifying decision-making authority, streamlining committee mandates, and preserving institutional cohesion across a significantly more complex membership. Delivered without disruption to ongoing operations.
Advised a leading London business school on the launch of a suite of online Master's programmes. Work covered market research and competitive positioning, pricing, and the operational model needed to enter the online postgraduate market effectively.
Translating global student demand datasets into portfolio optimisation recommendations and recruitment strategy for university leadership teams across Europe and Latin America.
Twenty years in higher education, working at the intersection of strategy, governance, and international development — first as an operator inside some of Europe's most complex academic organisations, now as an independent advisor to university leadership teams.
The career high points: scaling the CEMS Global Alliance from a European club to a global network of 100 member organisations across five continents; leading constitutional reform of a deadlocked General Assembly to unanimous endorsement; restructuring ESMT Berlin's Master's portfolio while simultaneously merging four organisational units; co-founding Innova Europe, now a 12-country academic consortium for sustainable entrepreneurship.
Fluent in four languages. Equally comfortable in a boardroom and a faculty meeting. Based in Germany, working globally.
Open to new mandates in governance design, internationalisation strategy, and academic portfolio development — working directly with university leadership teams and as a senior associate to specialist consultancies.