For Businesses
Strategic talent advisory and leadership coaching for organisations serious about senior talent, built on fifteen years doing this work from every seat: agency search, in-house, leading the team and partnering with the Management Board and the Supervisory Board.
Most organisations can't hire the right leaders effectively, and it's rarely down to one cause. Sometimes it's agency dependency: a 25-35% fee on every appointment and a process you don't control. Sometimes it's no succession plan, so every departure becomes a crisis hire. Sometimes it's a leadership team that got you to your last funding round but isn't the team for your next one. All of it comes back to the same gap: no internal capability to identify, assess and attract senior leaders on your own terms.
I work with businesses to build the in-house executive hiring capability that closes that gap: developing your team to identify, assess and attract exceptional senior leaders, with senior hiring fully connected to your business strategy rather than operating as a standalone recruitment function.
Not anti-agency. Genuinely neutral. A strong in-house function leverages external partners where they genuinely add value, and uniquely, I can tell you when that is, which firms are right for your brief and how to get full value from the relationship.
"Kate doesn't simply help organisations hire great leaders; she helps leaders make better decisions. I made better decisions because Kate was willing to ask the questions others often wouldn't."
Steph Warnery SVP People & Organisation · Zalando SEExecutive hiring and advisory experience across Benelux, CEE, the Nordics and UK&I, with further reach into APAC and MENA, spanning EMEA end to end. I've advised founders directly on their own leadership teams, not just filled roles beneath them, and worked directly with Supervisory Boards as well as Management Boards on senior governance and succession decisions.
Whatever your market, growth stage or governance structure, I've most likely seen a version of it before.
Diversity is not a bolt-on. It is built into how I approach every search, from how briefs are written and where candidates are sourced, to how success profiles are defined and interviews structured. 56% of executive hires made at Zalando were diverse, with a deliberate focus on building leadership teams that reflect the breadth of the businesses they serve.
Building internal capability is also an opportunity to hardwire inclusive practice into your process from the ground up, not retrofit it later.
AI is making hiring faster and more efficient, and that's genuinely useful. But at senior level, people don't choose to work for a company because of its process; they choose it because of the people. The more hiring moves AI-first, the more the human read, the interview, the judgement call, the sense of real fit, becomes the actual differentiator, not less of one.
I use AI to speed up research and process. I don't let it make the call on a leader.
A business making 8-10 senior hires per year at €180k+ is spending €400-500k annually on agency fees. Building internal capability systematically reduces that cost, and the saving compounds every year.
"Through my work with Kate I was able to bring an experienced senior hire into our team. She has deep expertise in salary negotiation, employee motivation and conducting conversations with potential hires."
Caspar Gerleve CEO · Taxforce Holding GmbHSenior leaders carry disproportionate weight. Their decisions shape culture, team performance and business outcomes across entire functions. And yet most organisations invest heavily in talent below leadership level, leaving their most influential people to navigate their greatest challenges alone.
Delivered individually. Typically four to six months. Structured around the leader's real challenges, live decisions and the specific shifts in mindset, behaviour, or positioning that will deliver the greatest leverage for their role.
Corporate sponsorship available. Many clients have this programme sponsored by their employer. We provide full documentation for internal approval processes.
This is not off-the-shelf leadership development. It is a rigorous, confidential partnership, with measurable progress assessed throughout and outcomes agreed in advance.
On the approachBespoke 1:1 coaching for Director, VP and C-suite leaders, designed around your organisation's objectives, not a generic framework. Every engagement begins with a stakeholder alignment session to ensure coaching serves both the individual and the business.
A 30-minute call. No pitch, no obligation, just a straightforward conversation about where your organisation is and whether there's a way to work together.
All enquiries treated in confidence · Typical response within 24 hours · Connect on LinkedIn