Gregor Ghirmay – Executive Search & Board Advisory.
On people. Leadership. And the right questions.

01 · LISTENING

You are an advisor. So why do you talk so little?

Because I am probably doing my job right when the other person talks more than I do. If I talk a lot, I learn little. If I listen and ask the right questions, at some point I understand what it is really about.

A good question can change a conversation. It takes us to the point where the real issue becomes visible.

The more questions I have in a conversation, the clearer it usually becomes to me that we are having a good conversation – and not infrequently a mandate grows out of it.

02 · PEOPLE

Where does this interest in people come from?

It was there early on. I learned to adapt to very different personalities. Along the way I realised: people do not have to be good at everything. Almost everyone is particularly good at something.

What interests me is finding out what that is.

A CV shows positions, titles and areas of responsibility. I am interested in the person behind it: What has made this person successful? How do they think and decide? How do they lead? What drives them? And in which environment can they be truly exceptional?

03 · INFLUENCES

Who shaped you professionally?

Early on, I was impressed by individual executive search consultants who stood for a clear stance and personal presence far beyond their mandates. That showed me that excellent advice does not live from methods or processes alone, but just as much from personality, judgement and trust.

I developed a substantial part of my professional understanding during my years at an international management consultancy. Two mentors were particularly formative: they showed me early on what good advice still means to me today – listening carefully, truly understanding people and organisations, giving clear assessments and taking a stand even when the easy answer is not the best one. Much of this still shapes my work today.

04 · EXECUTIVE SEARCH

And that led to executive search?

Yes. I have worked in executive search and leadership advisory since 2014. Almost ten years of that at an internationally leading management and executive search consultancy with a strong focus on professional assessment and management consulting, most recently at equity partner level, followed by three years at a Frankfurt executive search boutique – and today as founder and owner of Gregor Ghirmay Executive Advisory.

Over the years, the mandates became more senior – CEO, CFO, managing director, executive board and other key leadership roles. The starting question has hardly changed:

Who is not only suitable on paper – but the right person for exactly this company, this situation and this moment?

05 · GOVERNANCE

How did board advisory and governance come in?

Quite organically. The more senior the positions I filled, the more often it was no longer only about who leads. It was also about: Who appoints leadership? Who oversees it? How do the supervisory board and the executive board work together? How is succession organised?

I found a second way in through sport. At some point I was no longer only interested in what happens on the pitch, but increasingly in what happens behind the scenes: Who decides? Who carries responsibility? Why does one organisation work – and why does another not, despite money, talent and big names?

Over the years, governance developed into an important pillar of my advisory work.

06 · POSITIONING

Why top-level career positioning as well?

Because suddenly the other side of the table was sitting in front of me.

More and more often, very successful executives approached me who wanted to reorient themselves professionally. I noticed a pattern: an outstanding leader is not automatically outstanding at positioning themselves.

Anyone who has led companies, international divisions or large teams for years is not necessarily used to offering themselves – and understandably does not want to ingratiate themselves either.

That is how my Top Level Career Positioning came about: not artificial self-promotion, but clear positioning built on track record, personality, target market and perspective.

07 · SPORT & ENTERTAINMENT

And sport and entertainment – how does that fit in?

Better than I would have thought at first. Through contacts and conversations in professional sport, music and entertainment and the modelling business, I found that many of the questions are surprisingly similar.

Where do I want to go? What do I stand for? Whom do I trust? Which decision is right in the long term? And what comes next?

The environment is different; the strategic question behind it often is not. Anyone expected to deliver top performance does not automatically have the time to manage their entire career strategically at the same time.

08 · THE COMMON CORE

What connects all these areas?

The person.

Executive search, board advisory, top-level career positioning and my selected work with personalities from sport and entertainment look different at first. For me, they begin with the same questions:

• Who is this person?
• What is this person exceptionally good at?
• What drives them?
• What do they want to achieve?
• In which environment can they have their greatest impact?

And sometimes the most important question is: What have we not asked yet?