Yvonne Gaissmaier
Advisory
+9% growth
Global Key Accounts, EMEA and Americas
+1.5% pocket margin p.a.
B2B Business Unit EMEA
More than 20 years
Sales, strategy, commercial excellence and procurement, at Sonova, Amcor, Kearney and others
Growth rarely fails on strategy. It fails on execution.
Too many priorities. The go-to-market model no longer fits. Teams working in silos. The organisation isn't keeping pace with new requirements. Everyone feels it, but nobody can quite put their finger on it. Plenty of effort, but not enough progress, and value creation isn't coming fast enough.
I work with the leaders and teams who own growth and have to deliver it. We look at what's actually stuck along the entire value chain: with customers, in sales, in development, in the supply chain and at the top.
Because the problems that slow growth almost always lie in how the parts work together, not in the idea or in any one function.
When we should talk
Strategy that doesn't translate
Strategy offsite, trends assessed, a solid plan signed off by the board or investor and a great product. Six months on, the day-to-day and too many local priorities have won again. The big projects achieve little.
A world of silos.
Functions, regions, experts: everyone is working hard and optimising in their own lane, plugging holes with the best of intentions. And in the end, it still doesn't add up: unhappy customers, lost market share, new products that disappoint, and the best people leaving.
The sales engine splutters.
Everyone is chasing the forecast: pull-forward, firefighting, heroics and somehow the number gets delivered. But margin and loyalty are eroding and the value creation plan wobbles. Everyone is running on empty. There must be a better way. And where does AI fit in?
Growth outpacing structure.
You are outgrowing your ways of working. The top team is still too operational. The new hires have excellent CVs, but they aren't a team yet. What's missing is not more ideas. It's following through on the urgent "we really ought to..." plans while the day-to-day carries on.
The biggest obstacle to growth is often the unglamorous thing that hasn't worked for years. Not because nobody knows how to fix it. Because something else is always more urgent, and everyone has learned to work around it. Which is exactly why it's still there.
Where I can help
It comes down to profitable growth. An experienced view from the outside and, where needed, a short diagnostic will show your biggest levers.
Grow again. Growth has stalled: missed market opportunities, lost customers, a failed product or simply the wrong markets. We get the engine running again.
Grow better. You're growing, but more slowly than the market, or less profitably than the value creation plan requires. We sharpen your ideal customer profile, offer and pricing, and improve the approach and your commercial firepower.
Go where growth happens
Growth doesn't happen in meeting rooms. It is created at customers, in project reviews, in development and in service. That's where we start. We look at where things are actually stuck and fix the root causes at the source, step by step.
I'll walk right beside you and do the work, not just advise. Until it works.
How we work together
The format and the level of commitment depend on your situation: from a one-off injection of expertise to ongoing support.
Advisory and Implementation
Strategy and focus
There is usually a strategy, at least on paper. Is it sharp enough, shared by everyone and ready to execute? The pragmatic approach: test, sharpen and prioritise. Then name the few breakthroughs and tackle them with discipline.
Available as a stand-alone mandate.
Commercial firepower
Project-based mandates, through to sustained execution. We start with a short assessment, or go straight to the prioritised weak point. Typical themes: target operating model, commercial excellence, sales optimisation or product launch.
Fractional and interim
Temporary operational responsibility for implementation: a gap in commercial leadership, a transformation that needs an experienced hand or an integration after an acquisition.
At the top table
Non-Executive Director and Advisory Board
Board work where experience in growth strategy, transformation and commercial excellence makes the difference.
Senior Advisor
Ongoing support for leaders and teams, as a sparring partner in the background. Access to experience and an outside view, over a longer period.
Keynote Speaking
Keynotes on growth, strategy execution and leadership. I speak at customer events, leadership meetings and conferences.
About me
More than 20 years in commercial roles, strategy and building Business Systems at Kearney, Sonova, Amcor, Novelis and Lufthansa. Now I work as an independent advisor, senior advisor and non-executive director.
I know the corporate world and the reality of mid-sized businesses, and I know what actually helps at both scales.