<< Love it, change it, or leave it >>
About me
“Love it, change it, or leave it” is my personal motto. It describes some ingredients for personal happiness and professional satisfaction that I find relevant: an ongoing drive for meaning, identification and satisfaction with what you are and do (love it – or at least accept it), an openness and responsibility to learn (change it), and a determination to move on when loving or changing does not work (leave it). Privately and professionally, I am a very curious and active person and have been through several periods of loving, changing, and leaving.
I am a real “fishhead” – as people from my childhood home in Schleswig-Holstein are called. I currently live with my wife and two children on the beautiful Rhine River in Bonn and whenever possible in our second home directly on the Adriatic Sea on the Dalmatian island of Korčula. When I am near the water or outdoors in general, I feel energized and grounded. Ideally in combination with walking, swimming or cycling.
- Since 2013 founder and owner of Axel Kersten Consulting
- Since 2013 Vice President and Senior Consultant (Senn Delaney Leadership Consultants / Heidrick Consulting)
- 6 years Vice President and head of department for personal and organisational development (Deutsche Telekom AG / T-Mobile)
- 5 years head of department and senior consultant for recruiting, employer branding and talent development (SAP AG)
- 4 years team lead and consultant for higher education marketing (Gate Germany / DAAD)
- 4 years Member of the Supervisory Board of the Berlin School for Professional Studies
- Lecturer, e.g. for the WHU Business School in Vallendar
- Professional Certified Coach (PCC, International Coaching Federation)
- Loop Approach Fellow – integral and agile transformation of teams and organisations (the dive, Berlin)
- Certified user and coach for personality, leadership styles and systems climate diagnostics (XLNC Leadership, Köln)
- Outdoor Facilitator (walkaboutyou)
- Search Inside Yourself (SiY Cologne)
- Systemic consulting (ZFSB Heidelberg)
- Change manager (Henley Business School, Reading)
- Coach and facilitator (Senn Delaney Leadership Consultants, London)
- Agile strategy development (dark horse)
- Agile team and organisational development (Veränderungskraft)
- Agile experience (Veränderungskraft)
- Deep democracy – Conflict management (the dive)
- Design Thinking (brainbirds)
- Decision making (Steinbeis University Berlin)
- Leadership excellence (esmt Berlin)
- People management (mafowi Wiesbaden)
- Project management (University of Mannheim)
- M.A. in political science, history and public law (Universities of Freiburg, Boston and Austin/USA)
- Research semester in Chiapas/ Mexico
- Postgraduate studies in environmental science (University of Basel)
- Senn Delaney Leadership Consultants / Heidrick Consulting
- the dive
- XLNC Leadership, Köln
- Deep Skill
- bettercoach
- Deutsche Telekom AG
- T-Mobile Niederlande
- T-Systems International
- SAP AG
- Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst / GATE Germany
- Deutsches Wissenschaftszentrum Kairo
- Deutsche Universität für Weiterbildung
- Lurgi / Air Liquide
- Proximus/Belgacom
- ITT
- USAA
- Infineon
- DZ Bank
- Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz
- Aktion Mensch
- bpost
- IBA Group
- Hochschule Rhein Waal
- DIE ZEIT
- Reckitt Benckiser / Indivior
- Congstar GmbH
- Detecon International GmbH
- Rolls Royce Power Systems / MTU
- Fiskars Group
- Primetals
- Deutsche Bahn
- Marquard und Bahls
- Inmarsat
- TÜV Rheinland
- Vaillant Group
- Delphi Technologies
- Weatherford
- Stryker
- Aspen
- Venator
- Allied Irish Bank
- DHL Express
- Radlabor Freiburg
- Henkel
- Rhenus
- UBS
- Valeo
- AIDA
- Apleona
- Greiner / Neveon
- JDC
- VP Bank
- HanseYachts
- nolte
- Mazars
- Volocopter
- Peek & Cloppenburg
For personal recommendations and publications, please see my