My Biography

If I had to pick two leadership skills worth practicing, I’d go with kindness and curiosity.


Hi, I am Robin. I am a leadership strategist and entrepreneur operating at the intersection of strategy and organizational change… and the open ocean. I help executives develop and execute strategies for organizational transformation by combining leadership practices with an entrepreneurial mindset and technological understanding. The result: Systems that actually work in dynamic environments and develop teams that are robust enough to survive the next crisis. My philosophy is simple: Leadership starts where control ends. It's the art of activating people toward a common goal, even when the context shifts. I don’t just teach this but I live it. As a founder of the venture capital firm Njordis and the education company Global Institute of Leadership and Technology, I’m a builder first. For more than a decade, I’ve been advising leaders and executives across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas on how to develop progress-driven teams. I also work with HR teams to design organizational learning programs that not only deliver content but instead focus on behavior change and actual skill adoption. I don’t hand out generic motivation. I partner with you to fix problems, seize opportunities, and move from stagnation to progress. Over the last decade I:→ Worked with 3,000+ executives on their transformation efforts to deliver results in dynamic environments across Europe, the US Asia, and the Middle East.→ Designed leadership development strategies for Deutsche Telekom, Lufthansa, Volkswagen, and Banco Santander, among others.→ Advised 650+ founders and startups on strategy, fundraising, scaling, and organizational development.→ Taught leadership, entrepreneurship, and innovation at universities including the European Business School, Frankfurt School, the University of Barcelona and NYU.→ Advised global bodies like the European Commission and the World Economic Forum on innovation ecosystem strategies.→ Built ventures in software, education, healthcare, logistics, and retail — and am now launching an investment platform to scale innovations in the blue economy In my work, I’m most interested in what people do when things are unclear. Not what they say in slide decks, but how they sense the next step, adjust to take action, and challenge their decisions. I believe leadership should feel real and that kindness and curiosity are key skills to focus on. And that the most useful question is often: “What’s one thing we can do by the end of today?” If you’re looking for someone who brings structure without rigidity, energy without theatrics, and clarity without fluff, I’d be happy to talk. If there’s good coffee and a marker in the room, even better.

Tonight, I have to die for the mess you made

Once a year, Cologne burns the Nubbel. A ritual that is a leadership masterclass in metabolizing failure. Most teams don’t struggle with making mistakes, but they struggle with ending the story. By blaming the system instead of the person, you clear the "emotional fog" and protect trust. It is the art of burning the guilt while keeping the obligation. Stop poisoning your future with the unburied ghosts of yesterday.

Toxic Positivity vs. The Pub: A Love Letter to Reality (And a Middle Finger to Fluff)

Many organizations burn energy sanitizing the truth rather than solving it. This essay argues that the First Article of the Cologne Constitution, Et es wie et es (It is what it is), is not a phrase of resignation, but a critical leadership discipline. It proposes that admitting the raw, unpolished state of a project is the only valid starting point for progress. By swapping corporate euphemisms for "Tacheles" (straight talk), leaders stop negotiating with the facts and start acting on them. You cannot navigate a map you refuse to look at.

Mise en Place for January: What Christmas hosting teaches about leadership with standards

Lead like a good host: don’t attend the room. Shape it by deciding the tone early, engineering belonging, protecting flow over perfect plans, anticipating needs quietly, removing friction before it shows, and ending meetings cleanly so stress doesn’t linger. If your team feels “unconfident” or scattered, it’s often a hosting problem.

Say hello.If you write, I’ll respond.

Privacy Preference Center