Karen is an exceptionally creative learning and development professional who, with a wealth of experience and knowledge from both the commercial world and the arena of coaching and facilitation, helps people leap beyond what is known and safely navigate toward a new future.

Karen has extensive experience leading, designing and delivering programs, from global graduate and high-potential talent groups through to senior leaders. Most recently, she has been working with a global tech organization in the United States, creating and delivering a culture change and leadership development program for their top 2 percent of leaders worldwide. This included in-person workshops, individual and team coaching, and group webinars. She has also been leading a team of consultants in the design and delivery of a large global leadership development program (2,000+ participants in the last five years) for an international blue chip financial institution. More recently, she has developed and delivered Axialent’s first, purely online, transformational leadership program for another global blue chip organization.

Her 20+ years of experience at the “pointy end” of international business ensures Karen’s consulting, facilitation and coaching is always mindful of any cross-cultural aspects, incorporates the impact of the VUCA environment, and is aligned to the organization’s core values and behavioral competencies. She stays focused on delivering to the organization’s strategic needs — optimizing the link between mindsets, skills and behaviors, and the cultural shift needed for teams and leaders to be successful today and in the future.

Equally, due to her original fields being psychology and design, Karen brings great warmth, compassion and a sense of possibility to all her clients, helping teams and leaders reach strategic alignment and effectiveness while maintaining an atmosphere of well-being.

Karen has been directly involved in the world of learning and development since 2005, working with organizations to create high-potential development programs and leadership initiatives, and facilitating teams to become highly effective. She has a passion for creativity, innovation and accelerated learning. She is a firm believer that people are more able to learn and change when the learning experience is perceived as enjoyable and safe. She is accredited in Hogan Psychometrics and Life Styles Inventory™ (LSI) and is also a neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) practitioner and an accredited coach.

Over her career, Karen’s clients have included blue-chip organizations such as PWC, GE Capital, Sun Microsystems, HSBC, Barclays, UBS, RBS, Scottish Power, Viking Cruises, housing associations, Fiat/CNHI, DLP Piper HBOS, Jaguar Landrover, the Pentland Group, Cisco, Bosch Siemens and Microsoft as well as SME, public sector and individuals. She works at all levels from graduate and fast-track development through to executive level.

Bernhard has more than 16 years of professional experience in one of the world’s leading fast-moving consumer goods corporations. Having worked in different countries across Europe, he has management and leadership experience in the consumer goods and chemical industries, working with multinational/multiethnic teams. Most of his current clients are in the pharmaceutical, aerospace, fast-moving consumer goods and oil industries. After 16 years of corporate life, he decided to become an independent coach in early 2005.

In 2008, he joined Axialent as a freelancer for coaching, facilitation and training. In these years, he has been serving clients in different countries across Europe, delivering leadership programs in English and German. Over the years, he was also heavily involved in designing and customizing programs for Axialent clients.

In the globalization of businesses, he recognized great opportunities to support leaders through programs that are based on blended learning and deliver key elements live through virtual platforms such as WebEx training center or Adobe Connect.

Bernhard has worked as a coach and facilitator for multinational organizations such as Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Liebherr Aerospace, Airbus, Sanofi, Merz Pharma and Fresenius Kabi, among others.

The main focus of his work is individual and group coaching either in person or through virtual platforms. He is very committed to high standards of coaching, thus he holds the Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential of the International Coach Federation (ICF). In his passion for professionalism in coaching, he supported the ICF over many years through voluntary work. Between October 2010 and October 2014, he was the president of ICF Germany.

Outside work, Bernhard spends time supporting the local community through volunteer work as well as working for the integration of refugees in Germany.