Our global clients repeatedly describe our coaching as sharp and strategic with a pragmatic business focus. Coaching will help your people see themselves more clearly, and gain the insights they need to grow and develop.

But that’s not the whole story. We help them with the right balance of support and challenge to find their answers and the route to change. We are experts in neuroscience, including behavioural, and strategies for performance. That means it’s a long-term and sustainable transformation, and they will feel the benefit long after we have stopped working with them.

Getting the right coach for your leaders can be daunting, but we will help make it easier. Because we have been matching coaches to leaders for years, and we know what works. And our global and diverse team of coaches are the best; we carefully selected each one -all 90 plus of them.

Karla Schlaepfer

Karla Schlaepfer M.A., PCC, is an experienced Executive Coach based in Cologne. American-born and raised, living in Germany for over 25 years, Karla has consistently balanced her expat professional and personal life with grit and a dash of enthusiasm. While raising two kids, she founded her first company and completed her Master’s degree. With her rich blend of business, cultural know-how, teaching and facilitation experience, she brings over 20 years of expertise to the table. Karla has co-authored two business books on innovation and creative change processes. She has worked extensively in tech related coaching processes using AI and VR. Recently – maybe due to current stressful working environments – she has been focussing more on inspiring clients increase their resilience.

“Karla has a unique ability to blend empathy with strategic insight, making her an invaluable asset in any leader’s development”.

Karla believes that understanding and aligning with one’s core, human-centred values is the basis for growth and successful outcomes. Fluent in both German and English, she adapts to and collaborates with her clients. Karla creates impactful personalised programs that empower strengths and strategies for development, often using Hogan personality profile.

Karla’s ability to create a safe, trusting coaching relationship encourages her clients to be “100% open and honest with each other to uncover the real emotional gems”.

By combining her deep and wide skills, positive agile mindset, and science-backed tools, Karla invites her clients to increase their self-awareness and mindfulness practices as they embark on a transformative change journey.

Karla is described as insightful, supportive, and resourceful.

Get in Touch

Special Interests

Executive and Leadership Coaching
Agile Change Adoption
Role Transition
Work/life balance/Stress Management
Conflict Management
Authentic Leadership for Introverts and Female Leaders
New Team Formation and Agile Teams
Psychological Safety in Teams
Creative Problem Solving
Group Coaching and Facilitation
Sparring and Shadowing

Training & Qualifications

Solutions Focused Master Coach Credential, Solutions Academy, Frankfurt
Professional Coaching Credential (PCC) International Coaching Federation (ICF)
Systemic Coach and Change Manager Diploma, INeKO at the University of Cologne
Milton Erikson Hypno-Systemic Training (Module 1 Certificate), Phoenix, Arizona
Hogan Personality Inventory Trained and Licensed
Design Thinking Coach Credential, Hasso Plattner Institute, d-school Potsdam
Scrum Master (PSM1) and Product Owner (PSPO 1) Certificates
Digital Resiliency Expert Trained with certificate
BA. University of California Berkeley, USA
M.A. University of Freiburg. Germany

Current Clients

Industry experience: Automotive, Energy, Finance, HR, Higher Education (Uni), Legal Professional Services, Insurance, IT, NGOs, Retail, Pharmaceutical. Some notable clients include:

Aareal Bank, Aldi, Bayer, Ford, Gleiss Lutz, PWC, Roche, SNP, Telekom, Swiss Life, University of Bonn, Heirich Heine University, Düsseldorf

Pro bono coaching for Liquid Legal e.V.
Board member of the Virtual Education Cohort for the ICF
Mentor at Stanford University MBA/LEADS incubator and start-up accelerator

What Our Clients Say

Karla has been an invaluable resource in helping me navigate a new job. From our very first session, I knew that I had found someone who truly understood the complexities of my role and could provide me with the guidance and support I needed to succeed. What I appreciate most about Karla is her ability to challenge me in a way that feels both supportive and constructive. She has pushed me outside of my comfort zone, encouraging me to take risks and try new approaches, while also providing me with practical tools and strategies to help me achieve my goals. Overall, I highly recommend Karla to anyone seeking an executive coach who is knowledgeable, compassionate, and committed to helping clients achieve their full potential. She has been an invaluable partner in my professional journey, and I am grateful for the positive impact she has had on my life and career.

Coachee

Karla has the remarkable ability to helped me find my path and walked it with me. She quickly grasped new topics and introduced fresh perspectives. We have created a structured plan for my development and the time spent with her was incredibly valuable. Karla is a highly communicative, positive, and empathetic coach and I wholeheartedly recommend her.

Coachee

I am immensely grateful that Karla was my executive coach for one year. During this time she was very patient with me to fully understand what coaching is. Her observant way of asking questions helped me to discover the right path forward to achieve my goals not only in my professional but also personal life. Our discussions made me realise my own strengths and potential and let me become more confident interacting with senior management and peers. Her very positive, passionate and enthusiastic engagement became the example for me to behave around my team members driving a growth mindset. The 12 months we had together transformed me into a coach manager.

Coachee

After my parental leave, I initially had difficulties finding my place in the company and finding the right balance between work and private life. Coaching with Karla helped me to determine my own priorities and find out where I wanted to develop within the company. Thanks to Karla's coaching, I have gained a lot of clarity for myself, applied for a new position with the necessary self-confidence and have since been accepted for a promotion and an exciting further training course. I thank Karla from the bottom of my heart and recommend her without hesitation!

Coachee

The six sessions I had with my ECC Coach changed my perspective of coaching. I was initially uncertain (and possibly sceptical) about the benefits of coaching but my coach read me very well and knew when to coax a response out from me by being encouraging and when to firmly push me to see the benefits of reframing some of my previously held positions.

Head of Legal

International Property Group

I found my ECC coaching sessions incredibly valuable – for the unique and necessary space I was seeking as a sole proprietor to feel heard, understood and connected to a peer in business. My coaching experience provided a safe space where I could be the real me, and provided a relationship I could truly trust. Thank you ECC.

Manager

Creative Retail Agency

The team is a pleasure to work with, consistently bringing expert advice and guidance, energy and professionalism to the partnership.

Diversity and Inclusion Executive

Multinational Investment Bank

Both from my personal experience of ECC’s approach, and from seeing the impact on our company I can particularly recommend their pragmatic approach and their insight into our collective and individual needs.

Senior Leader

Commercial Property Management and Investment Company

The coaches at ECC are commercial, pragmatic and highly focused. The coaching they provide on an individual basis has given valuable insight and helped our senior executives to gain greater perspective in terms of managing relationships, prioritising, strategic thinking, influencing and confidence.

Senior Leader

Multinational Retailing Company

What’s different about coaching interventions?

Assumptions made about coaching

A client centric focus

What’s different about coaching interventions?

Assumptions made about coaching

A client centric focus

Region

Area of expertise

Karla Schlaepfer

Executive Coach

Special Interests

Training & Qualifications

Current Clients

What Our Clients Say

What Our Clients Say

UK Office

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