Michael Gambs

I am passionate about sustainable change and transformation and have been involved in driving large and complex change initiatives in multinational companies for the last 25 years, supporting senior teams in bringing their vision and strategy to life. Initially trained as a management consultant, over the past few years, I have embraced a different approach to improve effectiveness in the corporate world, focusing primarily on people rather than processes or systems.

 

My work includes:

• Stress and resource management / burn out prevention 

• Executive coaching

• Change management

• Emotional Intelligence

• Communication, including Impacting and Influencing

• Leadership Development

• Career / transition management

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I am a certified coach with the ICF (ACC level), a member of the EMCC certified at Senior Practitioner level(SPP) and specialised in solution-focused coaching (Coaching program led by Solutions Surfers / Peter Szabo). 

I also followed a rigorous training on Virtual Coaching with Ashridge Executive Education (Virtual Action Learning – Ghislaine Caulat). 

I am licensed to use several psychometric tests (Firo B, MBTI, Human Edge CORE) which I brings in where appropriate in the coaching sessions. I am fluent in French, German and English.

 

I am a father of two young daughters and live in Zürich. As a Frenchman, he’s fond of fine wines and curious about trying out new things. Other interests include: scuba diving, swimming, paragliding, playing music (keyboard/accordion) in a band and as solo performer.

 

 

Background

I founded my coaching practice and consultancy in 2017 and have since focused on coaching, group facilitation/workshops, cumulating over 800 hours of experience in coaching over the last 10 years. 

In my last role (2013 to 2017), I was in charge of Global Leadership Development at Swarovski. I am dedicated to helping organisations develop leaders that create conditions for high performing and people-focused cultures, and are equipped with the tools and mind-set necessary to thrive in an uncertain and complex world. The Leadership Academy I developed jointly with Ashridge Business School got recognized by a Gold Award from EFMD and a Silver Award from Training Journal in 2016. 

 

Industry experience

 

• FMCG and fashion: Unilever, Coca Cola, Swarovski, l’Oreal

• Media / Entertainment: The Walt Disney Company

• High end luxury brands: La Prairie, Gucci, Christian Dior, Richemont, Cartier

• Automotive and industry: Emil Frey, Franke, Lafarge Holcim

• Banking: EFG International, Pictet, Société Générale

• Telecoms: Orange, T-Mobile, OVH Cloud

• Pharmaceuticals : DSM, ALK, Centrient, Acino, Ortho Clinical

• NGO and charity: Red Cross, ICRC, Medecins Sans Frontiere, NATO 

 

What my clients say

 

“Our conversations were very useful and allowed me to challenge my personal paradigm and come to the decision that I have. You truly made a big difference in my life.”

Senior Leader, Coca Cola Group

 

"I was faced with a very important work-related decision. It took my coach (Michael) three sessions to get to the bottom of my situation, guide me through it, challenge me along the way (also emotionally) and help me make my decision by merely asking the right set of questions. It's not the quantity of sessions or the length but the quality and compassion of the coach that matters. A wonderful and inspiring experience.”

Board Member, iRewind

 

“Michael’s coaching has been very rewarding for me. He offers useful frameworks and readings to structure my thoughts and development objectives. He strikes a good balance between questioning and supporting and makes the insights from the coaching conversations actionable. He provides feedback in a way that reinforces the confidence in yourself and your ability to change.” – Board Member, DSM (Pharma industry)