Astrid (Kühne) Benker

Co-Founder & Project Director

Zürich, Switzerland

Experience

Jan 2019 - Dec 2020
2 years

Co-Founder & Project Director

UTU Food4Good

  • Leveraged post-harvest loss to build low-cost, healthy food products addressing nutrition challenges for low-income consumers.
  • Secured USD 11 million equity financing through series A and B investment rounds.
  • Established governance, HR, finance, and operations structures and policies.
  • Expanded team from 2 to 10 full-time staff.
  • Managed setup of test kitchen and development of 3 new recipes for East Africa.
Jan 2015 - Present
9 years 6 months

Co-Founder & Project Manager

Bradora.com

  • Developed and marketed a patented beauty bra preventing cleavage wrinkles and relieving back pain.
  • Received invitation to “Die Höhle der Löwen” (German Dragons' Den).
  • Conducted global market assessment and created marketing material for stakeholders.
  • Managed external communication including website setup.
Jan 2014 - Dec 2015
2 years

Co-Founder

Financial Access Solution

  • Developed an innovative, cloud-based financial solution for waste collectors.
  • Set up loyalty program increasing plastic waste collections by 35%.
  • Conducted extensive research and created an app for bottle collection process optimization.
  • Assessed customer journey and mapped key pain points for waste collectors.
Jan 2009 - Present
15 years 6 months

Co-Founder & Director

School4Life.org

  • Co-founded NGO to alleviate poverty and create sustainable livelihoods in rural Kenya.
  • Fundraised over USD 2.5 million with 100% of funds reaching the projects.
  • Turned mud hut for 200 orphans into permanent schools, greenhouse, and kitchen for 800 orphans and trained staff with fixed monthly overheads.
  • Set up schools for disabled children and orphanages for needy children.
  • Distributed over 3.5 million free school lunches.
  • Managed over 250 international volunteers onsite.
  • Organized volunteer team of 25 core members in Europe and Kenya.
Jan 2009 - Jun 2016
6 years 6 months

Consultant

Accenture Management Consulting

  • 6.5 years of experience as Consultant.
  • Specialized in Change Management, Business Transformation, Learning and Development, Diversity and Culture Management, and Communication and Conflict Management.
  • Worked on complex, international, and multi-cultural projects across industries, business functions, and countries.

Employee Engagement Consultant

Accenture

  • Supported campaigns to raise emotional commitment from 8,000 employees and improve branding.
  • Initiated and published employee blog gaining top readership across three countries.
  • Participated in "Be Yourself - Make a Difference" campaign inspiring team members.
  • Published articles encouraging women leadership.

Operating Model Design Consultant

Accenture/Global Beverage Company

  • Analyzed as-is/to-be operating model and identified stakeholder challenges.
  • Recommended change roadmap reducing business leaders from 32 to 7.
  • Developed innovative change management toolbox showcased as best practice.
  • Developed communication strategies for all stakeholders, including c-level.
  • Designed and moderated workshops and townhalls for 300+ employees.

Conflict Management Facilitator

German NGO

  • Conducted trainings on institutional strengthening and board capacity building in rural India.
  • Conducted conflict resolution and team-building workshops with donor and beneficiaries.
  • Designed and implemented Behavioral Change optimizing vocational centers for sustainability.
  • Guest lectured schools on leadership topics.

IT Implementation Consultant

Global Car Manufacturer

  • Implemented dealer in-house retail management system to improve effectiveness.
  • Developed communication material for external stakeholders.

Change Lead

Global FMCG Company

  • Responsible for change and training for pilot region Nordics in SAP S/4 HANA implementation.
  • Conducted stakeholder and change impact assessments.
  • Developed engagement and communication plans.
  • Conducted training needs analysis and developed training plans and materials.
  • Revised generic role descriptions.

Cultural Diversity Office Head

Global IT Company

  • Re-structured Cultural Diversity Office enhancing cultural change for 8,000+ employees.
  • Developed digital one-stop solution for new hires and conducted induction trainings.
  • Designed sessions on cultural diversity and awareness.
  • Created culture cards for distribution and handbook "Creating Culture Change."
  • Organized yearly culture day and informational events.

Project Management Lead

Global Pharma Company

  • Led change and communication workstream impacting 3,600+ associates.
  • Developed change and communication strategy driving customer-centricity.
  • Supported agile framework implementation including Jira setup and agile coaching.

HR Cost Efficiency Consultant

Insurance Company

  • Evaluated HR cost structures defining strategic options for business positioning.
  • Designed project plan and achieved 20% cost savings in one year.
  • Identified operational efficiency potentials, restructuring team of 20 FTEs.
  • Defined reporting lines for 50 employees and calculated business case impact.

Stakeholder Mapping Consultant

International NGO

  • Developed toolkit supporting in-country innovation in Kenya and Tanzania.
  • Prepared stakeholder map and identified potential partners.
  • Consulted key stakeholders including Ministries and Prime Minister's Office.

Strategy Consultant

Leading Bank

  • Defined rollout strategy for PMO as shared services across 3,600 employees.
  • Designed targeted communication strategy and training programs.
  • Developed KPIs and conducted interviews measuring employee change readiness.
  • Launched internal magazine increasing buy-in from 8% to 72%.

SAP Implementation Consultant

Leading Beverage Company

  • Implemented global learning and development strategy for SAP HR go-live support.
  • Coordinated training schedule of 100 sessions across 10 global locations for 1,000 staff.
  • Designed and moderated SAP training sessions for decision-makers and top management.
  • Designed and implemented knowledge academy and learning network for 6,000 end users.

Business Consultant

Logistic Company

  • Performed competitive landscape analysis and benchmarking.
  • Developed communication and marketing strategy reducing costs by 50%.
  • Analyzed governance and ways of working for cost reduction.

Leadership Workshop Facilitator

Microfinance Company

  • Moderated and trained leadership workshops on management topics.
  • Organized team-building workshops focusing on intercultural team composition for C-level.

Communication Strategy Designer

Tourism Company

  • Created online communication and marketing strategy for US travel market.
  • Developed expert analysis and quantitative modeling of market size and growth trends.

HR Consultant

Various SMEs in East Africa

  • Designed and implemented HR structures and policies for several companies.
  • Implemented full talent management cycles including branding and KPIs.
  • Set up knowledge academy and talent strategies handed over to local staff.
  • Facilitated HR cycle including hiring, engagement, training, monitoring, and handover of tools to directors.

Summary

As an all-rounded Senior Strategy Consultant, certified in Change (Prosci), Project Management (GPM) and Agile (Scrum), I help leaders and organizations to embrace change, creating high performance teams and delivering long-term success. I have worked as a Manager at a top-tier consulting company for FTSE100 multi-nationals on complex, international and multi-cultural projects across various industries, business functions and countries.

Profound expertise in:

  • Change Management (Stakeholder Management, Change Impact Analysis, Change Strategies, Change and Communication Plans, Corporate Communications (internal and external), Resistance, Conflict and Crisis Management, Culture Change, Change KPIs)
  • Training and Development (Training Needs Analysis and Plans, Train-the-Trainer Concepts, Designing and Delivering Training Programs, Leadership and Team Development, Coaching, Team Building, Performance Development, Moderating Workshops)
  • Project Management (Agile Methodologies, Risk and Issue Management, Timeline and Resource Planning, Project Lifecycle Management)

Languages

German
Native
Portuguese
Native
English
Advanced
French
Advanced
Spanish
Advanced
...and 1 more

Education

Leuphana University of Lüneburg

PhD, Intercultural Teams - New Strategies on Effective Global Collaboration · Lüneburg, Germany

University of Hildesheim

International Communication and Translation · Hildesheim, Germany

University of Coventry

International Communication and Translation · Coventry, United Kingdom

Certifications & licenses

Project Manager

International Project Management Association

Problem Solver and Change Manager

GAQM

Professional Scrum Master TM I

Scrum.org

Prosci Change Manager

Prosci