Advisor by background, operator by behaviour

Roots in the family business.

It all started in my parents' business: twenty employees and five generations of family behind it. I learned early what entrepreneurship and customer focus mean, and how to adapt when your customers and markets change. Because in the end, the customer decides what they perceive as value. And a strategy only counts when it proves itself in the day-to-day and the team stands behind it.

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Large and small, from corporate to founder.​

I have worked across various industries: medical technology, packaging, software, logistics, metals processing consumer goods. In global firms and mid-sized companies. I know how it's done at scale, and what actually helps at a smaller scale, what's overkill, and what just slows things down.

Leadership experience.

Before starting Yvonne Gaissmaier Advisory, I spent more than 20 years in leadership and consulting roles. I started in strategy consulting with Porsche Consulting and Kearney, working on projects with Maersk, Ford, VW and in the steel industry. After that, I saw excellence in practice and helped shape it: more than seven years at Amcor across four commercial roles, from business unit to global key accounts and business development through to commercial excellence, with global customers such as Unilever, Nespresso, P&G and J&J. At Sonova as VP Global Growth Initiatives, plus roles at Novelis and Lufthansa Group. From sales through development, product and procurement to strategy, acquisitions and building entire Business Systems.

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I have run sales and strategy, been accountable for global transformation initiatives and led teams in Europe, North and South America, Africa and APAC. Along the way, partly through my own mistakes, I learned how critical it is to adapt the approach to the maturity and the culture of the company.

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I have also sat on supervisory and advisory boards for more than 10 years. I know first-hand how owners, leadership teams and the line effectively collaborate. More strategic depth than a pure operator, more hands-on than a big consultancy.​

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The foundation.

Studied in New Zealand, England and Germany. PhD in Management with a focus on organisational behaviour. Certified in Lean Systems in collaboration with Toyota. MIT: AI for Business Strategy. And, because it shapes the way I work: I'm a passionate mountaineer and former competitive athlete.