About Lena & the team

Leadership Coach, VP Engineering, Facilitator, Artist

Over my 20-year career, I served as VP of Engineering at industry powerhouses such as CircleCI and Travis CI, and successful SaaS startup founder and CEO, after gaining experience in the finance industry and media. In the four years since launching my leadership development practice, I’ve had the pleasure of helping hundreds of leaders succeed in a variety of organizations from pre-founding startups and bootstrapped operations, to dynamic scale-ups on the brink of IPO, as well as expansive corporations and NGOs. 

I specialize in building and leading organizations that drive business success in high-stakes, high-change environments, and have vast experience working in cross-cultural settings, as well as hybrid and globally distributed teams.

My client base spans leaders and organizations from diverse backgrounds and cultures in Germany and across Europe, the U.K., West African countries like Nigeria and Sierra Leone, to Silicon Valley and other North American tech hotspots, as well as Asian countries like Japan and Vietnam.

My leadership journey has been driven by curiosity and a commitment to excellence. Today, my focus is on leveraging this depth of knowledge and experience to help leaders thrive and succeed. I partner with forward-thinking leaders—from technical experts to executives—in startups and established corporations alike, equipping them to thrive amidst rapid change and market challenges.

I am dedicated to sharing my knowledge and experiences with the tech leadership community. I publish practical guides for leaders and host the podcast Leadership Confidential with honest conversations about the joys and challenges of becoming an excellent leader, and leading teams and organizations. I regularly speak about leadership at industry events and host O’Reilly’s Tech Leadership Tuesday. 

I work in English and German.

My curiosity also extends into my personal life: I love to spend time in nature hiking, road cycling, or snorkeling, greatly enjoy reading poetry and non-fiction, and live with a growing houseplant collection. In my artistic work, I currently focus on the theme of grief in the context of life changes and familial relationships, with an emphasis on oil painting, photography, and weaving as my main media.

I’m queer and neurodivergent (ADHD, autism), and work remotely from Berlin, Germany. 🏳️‍🌈

Assistant, Podcast Producer

I’m a non-binary, AuDHD virtual business assistant, dedicated to helping neurodivergent, queer, creative, and driven entrepreneurs build and manage neuro-inclusive businesses.

I am also a Certified ADHD Virtual Assistant and hold a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in business management.

You can learn more at ADHDVirtualAssistant.com.