We combine former top executives and an award-winning method to accelerate transformations. This unique “double helix” of capabilities allows us to help our customers deliver results faster against demanding business goals.
We combine former top executives and an award-winning method to accelerate transformations. This unique “double helix” of capabilities allows us to help our customers deliver results faster against demanding business goals.
This is us.
- Our senior advisors & experts are located in 15 cities within 7 countries, spanning 4 continents. The team has planned, led, and supported international projects in over 30 countries.
- We have won 5 awards for our innovation & excellence.
- We are a family-owned business. Our freedom and objectivity are not restricted by anyone. We work with those who share our belief that leadership is the ultimate lever for positive change and value creation.
We are on a mission.
When René Esteban founded FocusFirst, he found that too many transformation projects take too long, waste money, and annoy stakeholders – and that there must be a way to accelerate business transformations, sustainably. This belief unites an international FocusFirst team consisting of former top executives and subject matter experts. Today, we are honoured to serve senior leaders across many of their most critical leadership challenges.
All Senior Advisors were former executives and were responsible for international organisations.
CEO, Founder, Senior Advisor
Entrepreneur, Father, Frank Sinatra Singer.
Over 20 years of experience in the global corporate environment, including several senior leadership positions. International keynote speaker, author and senior advisor for achieving goals and accelerating complex transformations.
Art Director
Sense Activator, Flamenco Dancer, Storyteller.
Over 16 years of experience in corporate design, e.g. at Merck, E.ON, BASF, Novartis, Lanxess, etc. She has already managed a design agency and is responsible for complex narratives at FocusFirst, among other things.
Transformation Strategist, Manager
Strategist, Dot-Connector, Traveller. Over seven years in management consulting in various functions, industries and projects. Holds an MSc in Management from Católica Lisbon and an MSc in Psychology from the University of St. Andrews. Rich intercultural experience and a passion for strategic change, communications, and organisational development.
Senior Advisor
Twenty-six years with Merck, SVP, global and regional roles, responsible for driving business transformation. Expert in Leadership, Communication and Stakeholder Engagement. Besides his Senior Advisor role at FocusFirst, David is Owner of Beganya Business Services Ltd.
Senior Advisor & Coach
Senior Leader and Coach with 30+ years of experience in Financial Services. Expert in sales, business growth and employee development and engagement. Highly skilled in building high-performing teams. Former CEO and Branch Manager Bank of New York Mellon, Frankfurt SA/NV. Besides her Senior Advisor role at FocusFirst, Kathie is Executive Coach for Teams and Leaders.
Senior Advisor & Coach
Executive Coach and Partner for Business Transformations, over 20 years of professional experience in the automotive and machine vision industry, including more than a decade in senior leadership roles like Head of Digital Marketing at Opel, and CMO at the SDAX company ISRA Vision. Besides her Senior Advisor role at FocusFirst, Sandra is Owner of Cameron Coaching & Consulting.
Senior Advisor
Experienced consultant with over 24 years of experience and certification who has worked with over 20,000 global leaders across the Finance, Energy, Chemicals, Retail, Tech and Pharmaceuticals sectors. Her expertise spans Leadership, Inclusion, Executive Coaching, Intercultural Competence, and Organisational Development. Besides her role at FocusFirst, Mui Hwa is an independent consultant, facilitator and keynote speaker.
Senior Advisor & Coach
Biologist by training with more than 28 years of experience in the health care, life science, chemicals, and diagnostics industry. Leading large teams in global big corporates (Hoechst, Novartis, Merck KGaA) and grown-up entrepreneurial companies (Protagen AG). Coach educted by the Coaches Training Institut (CTI) – CEO Protagen AG – VP Licensing Healthcare, Merck KGaA – Head of Business Field Performance Solutions, Merck Chemicals – Head of Technology Foresight & Scouting, Merck Central Functions – Frequent member in supervisory boards
Consultant
As a Global Communication Lead, Sarah has supported complex SAP transformation projects across Europe and the Middle East. Specializing in Change and Communication, her expertise ensures well-aligned change management and engaging communication, making her a key asset for any high-stakes project. Besides her Expert role at FocusFirst, Sarah is a freelancing business consultant.
Expert
Experienced Change and Project Manager with over 10 years of experience in consulting and working with FTSE100 multinationals in complex, multi-cultural project environments. Experienced and certified in Change Management, Scrum, and Project Management. Besides her role at FocusFirst, Astrid is an independent consultant and co-founder of Schoolf4Life.
Coach
Susann is an Agile Leadership and Brand Strategy Expert with over 15 years of experience in DAX 40 companies in the sectors Consumer Goods and Energy. Former Director of the Global Brands Head Office as well as Director of the Brand Strategy and Business Development Head Office at adidas AG. In her roles as Executive Coach and Scaled Agile Leadership Trainer she is helps high performing executives and their teams to become more focused, effective and to deliver constant value streams and immediate results. Besides her Coach role at FocusFirst, Susann is the Founder of the Lead at Life – Academy of Leadership Development.
Senior Advisor & Coach
Ali is passionate about growth, change and people. In his 15 years of leadership experience, he had executive roles in large companies (e.g. Robert Bosch) and midsize hidden champions. He is driven by a result-oriented and transformational mindset and is a big fan of emerging markets. Ali is also an executive and leadership coach (ICF) and loves to spend time with his wife and his three kids, as well as go surfing and hiking. Besides his Senior Advisor & Coach role at FocusFirst, Ali works as an independent business consultant and coach supporting leaders in change topics.
Expert
Elisabeth merges a 14-year leadership background in technology, startups, and corporations with a deep understanding of organisational behaviour and psychology. A versatile consultant and executive coach, she specialises in supporting transformative movements in organisations. Her expertise includes being an adept OKR Coach and a certified Scaled Agile Consultant (SAFe 6.0). Besides being an Expert at FocusFirst, Elisabeth is the founder and owner of Tafelmeyer Change Consulting.
Senior Advisor
Lawyer by profession. +35 years of experience in communications management, primarily in the tech industry. Former Director of Communications, Member of the Management Board, Microsoft Germany. Besides his Senior Advisor role at FocusFirst, Thomas is Founder of KommunikationNeuDenken!
Senior Advisor
Digital intrapreneur, change agent, storytelling coach.
Over 30 years of digital transformation leadership roles in global companies. Has worked across and with a wide range of corporate roles and executives in various industries. Expert coach specializing in helping executives improve their data storytelling, communications, and application of OKRs. Besides her Senior Advisor role at FocusFirst, Cinny works as an independent consultant.
Expert
Over 25 years in management consulting and training in various industries and countries. Strategy Consultant, trainer, and coach for project and transformation management. Besides her Senior Advisor role at FocusFirst, Petra is Managing Partner at DKC GmbH.
Expert
Katrin is a seasoned Project Manager with 10+ years of experience in the Healthcare and Life Science industries across Commercial, HR, and Communications. She successfully navigates complex matrix organizations through effective collaboration with a diverse and global stakeholder landscape. Besides her role at FocusFirst, Katrin is a Career Advisor & Coach for Women and a Podcast Host with a passion for shaping the future and driving progress.
Expert
Strategist, storyteller, and triathlete.
More than ten years of experience in advising on and leading in internal communications and employee engagement. Passionately dislikes l’art pour l’art, but loves listening to challenges of decision makers, developing communications strategies and delivering emotionally appealing formats. Besides his Expert role at FocusFirst, Tobias is founder and owner at Purple Storytellers.
Expert
An agile, curious, creative and empathetic leader and coach. Over 30 years of experience in the global corporate world, holding several positions, including eight years of leading a multinational learning and development team. Always striving to stretch her comfort zone through lifelong learning. Besides her Expert role at FocusFirst, Gerlinde works as an independent senior consultant with a focus on the pharmaceutical sector.
Senior Advisor & Coach
Systemic Executive Coach and Master in Organizational & Clinical Psychology
Former Global HR Manager Leadership Development at a Fortune 500 company, COO Bellenet.net. Besides his Senior Advisor & Coach role at FocusFirst, Darius is Owner of Commitis.
Expert
Systems Thinker, outdoor enthusiast, passionate surfer. Over 20 years of experience in digital environments, including project management, HR and senior leadership roles. Agile leadership coach and expert in mindful transformation and organizational design. Mindfulness and resilience trainer, New Work enthusiast, and podcast host. Besides her Expert role at FocusFirst, Susanne is Founder of ICH & WIR.
Expert
Twenty-five years of successful IT project management worldwide, from the telecom industry to the automotive industry. Passionate in the field of digital communication and web-based information technologies. Besides his Expert role at FocusFirst, Matthias is founder and owner of Finke Consulting.
Senior Advisor & Coach
Hands-on, innovative technology leader with 30+ years (including ca. 15 years in senior leadership positions) of wide-ranging technology consulting, systems integration and outsourcing experience in international, multi-lingual environments across industries and 15+ countries in Europe and Asia. Akhil focuses on IT transformation strategy and implementation, IT organisation design, delivery and sourcing models, leadership and personality development, communication skills and intercultural competence. Besides his senior advisor role at FocusFirst, Akhil is owner of XCEL Transformation Coaching.
Expert
Experienced Change Consultant and Interim Manager with a strong hands-on mentality and over 10 years of project experience in operational change initiatives in the Pharmaceutical, Life Science, and Service industries. Expertise in Change Management, Training, and Agile Leadership. In addition to her role at FocusFirst, Natalie is an independent consultant and founder of BeMoved.
Senior Advisor
Internationally savvy with over 15 years of leadership experience in the life sciences and chemical industry, most recently as Group CEO of Pulcra Chemicals. High expertise in stakeholder engagement, communication, and leadership. Besides his role as a Senior Advisor at FocusFirst, Ümit is an independent consultant.
Expert
Skilled Change Facilitator and Moderator with over 10 years of experience in the global corporate world. Background in Organizational Sciences and trained in Systemic Consulting with high expertise in Change Management, Multilingual Workshop Moderation, and Management Trainings. Besides her role at FocusFirst, Anne-Cécile is the founder of acG Management Solutions.
Senior Advisor & Coach
Executive Coach, Change & Transformation Consultant and Communication Expert with over 20 years of experience in multinational companies in the sectors Chemicals, Energy, Industry, Software & Digitalisation. Former Head of Change & Transformation at Körber AG, and Head of Corporate Communications at tesa. Besides her Senior Advisor role at FocusFirst, Carolin is Founder of Carolin Adler Coaching. Change. Communications.
Expert
Expert, Senior Strategic Program Manager
Program ownership and delivery of transformational & strategic change founded in lean six sigma principles. Expert in delivering accelerated change in a range of environments & across disciplines. Sectors covered: Banking, Chemicals, Healthcare, Financial Services, Energy, Technology, Medical, Automotive, Commercial and Professional Services. Besides his Expert role at FocusFirst, Tim works as a Programme Management Consultant at BJSS.
… and many more Senior Advisors & Experts.
We would be honoured to help.
Frankfurt
Neue Mainzer Straße 66-68
6th Floor, Eurotheum
60311 Frankfurt
Germany
Fon +49 69 870 078 740
hello@focusfirst.com
London
Golden Cross House,
8 Duncannon Street, London,
Greater London, WC2N 4JF
United Kingdom
Fon +44 20 3928 8285
hello@focusfirst.co.uk
Singapore
Level 19 & 20, Tower 2,
1 Raffles Place
SINGAPORE, 048616
Singapore
hello@focusfirst.sg
Phone: +65 3105 2005
Transformation success by design... not by chance.
