About me

Sonja Zawer - Akerdem

I appoint C-Level, C-1 and Board leaders in situations where leadership must have immediate impact: buy-outs, transformation, growth, succession or restructuring.

I work exclusively at senior level and personally lead every mandate from end to end.

Experience

My experience covers demanding business situations, including:

  • CFO appointments in 100-day and buy-out contexts
  • COO / VP Operations roles for stabilisation & scaling
  • CHRO appointments in carve-out and transformation environments
  • CSO roles for commercial excellence, pricing & GTM
  • C-1 leadership in Finance, Operations, HR & Commercial
  • Interim executives for critical transition phases
  • Board & advisory mandates strengthening governance

SME Focus

I support SMEs that wish to professionalise and prepare for their next chapter:

  • building the first professional leadership layer
  • relieving founders and redistributing responsibility
  • establishing governance, structure & reporting
  • preparing for investor discussions or a potential sale
  • supporting structured succession planning

How I Work

I consciously work differently from traditional search processes:

  • no research chains
  • no data systems with broad internal access
  • no uncontrolled CV forwarding
  • no double submissions

All profiles are personally curated and handled exclusively by me.
No document is ever shared without explicit candidate approval.

Personal Motivation

I am an entrepreneur, a mother and someone who takes responsibility seriously.
Discretion is a personal value to me.

In an industry where CVs are often widely distributed without control, I see it as my duty to provide a protected, respectful environment for both clients and executives.
For me, executive search is a relationship of trust — not a transactional process.