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About us

One institute.
One shared passion.

MLI is an owner-managed leadership institute with a network of experienced leaders, coaches and specialists curated over many years. For every initiative we assemble the right team, and as an institute we bear responsibility for quality, course and result.

Especially amid the upheaval brought about by artificial intelligence, leadership roles need a counterpart who understands the situation and addresses blind spots.

Our stance

Welcome to the MLI Leadership Institute

Effective leadership combines purpose and structure

It gives people a direction worth striving for and at the same time creates clarity about priorities, roles and results. Both can be developed. Leadership is a practical discipline: as in competitive sports, you have to analyze the game constantly and train the standards again and again. An objective, benevolent coach or trainer helps, someone with whom you can clarify the context and practice the right moves.

Our mission is to make leaders and leadership teams more effective, and to step back as soon as they can continue the work without us.

What drives us

Leadership means encouraging people to set out and achieve shared goals. In the information flood of our time, the fleeting resource of attention has to be steered, again and again and despite the noise, toward what matters: the shared mission.

That takes people with the courage to break old patterns of thinking and accept resistance. Supporting exactly these people is our mandate.

Whoever works for MLI does so out of professional curiosity about the effectiveness of leadership.

How we work

We help leaders stay in a good, high-performing state. We make social dynamics understandable and concentrate on the ways of thinking and behaving that have the greatest influence on business success.

This creates a working environment in which people develop their potential and achieve the company’s goals with joy.

When we agree a fixed fee, it stays at that amount. There are no additional claims.

We almost always begin with an analysis phase. If it does not give you a comprehensible finding and a concrete next step, we do not invoice it.

How it began

Two months of retreat, and a question that would not let go.

How an observation inside a corporation became an institute.

Portrait of Sebastian Morgner — **Sebastian Morgner**Co-founder and Managing Partner. Personally involved in every major initiative — as sparring partner and as the person responsible for analysis and architecture.

until 2011

The observation

Sebastian Morgner spent fifteen years in the financial industry, most recently as Global Head of Marketing at UniCredit in Milan. Strategies and transformations were planned and communicated with great effort. Yet six months later, in conversations with those who were supposed to live and execute them, little of it had regularly arrived.

2011

The break

He gives up his banking job. Two months at the Frauenchiemsee monastery, then years of conversations with forward thinkers and the study of more than a hundred books and studies. The question behind it: why does leadership so often fail to reach the people involved when it comes to executing strategically important goals?

from 2013

The answer

Out of this search emerges the approach of strategy activation, and with it MLI Leadership Institut. An approach to leadership that connects insights from neuroscience and psychology with goal-oriented management. Since then, it has been applied in initiatives, developed further and verified through before-and-after surveys.

Milestones

Where we went, and whom we spoke with.

2013Vision Y with forward thinkers and students from both Munich universities

2014Interview with Nassim Taleb on antifragility

2015Leadership conference with Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser

2016Field trip to Uganda to the COBURWAS school project

2020Launch of the podcast Tiefgang (formerly New Leadership Podcast)

2022The book Expedition Zukunft is published

Founding group of the Zukunftsallianz Mensch & KI

2025Co-founding of the Zukunftsallianz Mensch & KI

The network

Around a hundred coaches and specialists. One contracting party.

Major initiatives rarely fail because of the method and often because of who is staffed. That is why we propose people instead of sending out profiles.

A selection from the network

Sebastian Morgner Managing Partner, expert in strategy activation and strategy coach

Executive advisory and top executive coaching since 2011, close collaboration with more than 150 leadership teams. Author of the book Expedition Zukunft, host of the podcast Tiefgang (Spotify), founding member of the Zukunftsallianz Mensch & KI. A person who looks for meaning — at home by Lake Ammersee.

Leadership is like an expedition. You need a destination worth striving for and a joy in adventure.

Brigitte Deden Senior executive coach with a focus on Asia

Fourteen years of coaching in Singapore and Germany, before that thirteen years of consulting at Accenture in Germany, England and Singapore. MBA, degree in mathematics, certificates from Henley Business School.

Coaching with compassion and professional distance.

Simone von Stosch Senior expert in presence and impact, executive coach

Former Berlin correspondent and presenter for Tagesschau and ARTE, studied psychology and philosophy. Works with executives on media appearances and credible communication.

What you wish to ignite in others must burn within yourself. (Augustine)

Dr. Markus Deutschmann Neuroscientist and expert in social dynamics

Studied medicine; research and doctorate in genetic neurosciences in Munich, at University College London and at Stanford. Alongside his work as a psychiatrist and expert witness, he translates research into leadership practice.

What happens between people can be described, and changed.

Andreas Kuhndörfer Strategy activation and transformation

Twenty-five years of corporate responsibility for strategy, transformation and HR — as CSO at BSH Home Appliances and Global Head Executive HR at Giesecke+Devrient. Senior Advisor at McKinsey. Expertise: transformations from the client’s and the advisor’s perspective, sparring for board members.

Strategy is the prerequisite. People and their motivation make the difference.

Armin Willy Industrial transformation and operational excellence

Twenty-two years in plant, quality and production management at Mercedes-Benz, including plant manager in Düsseldorf with up to 8,000 employees. Today a senior executive advisor and task force lead. Expertise: leadership in industry and manufacturing, production environments, crisis and task force management.

The how is decisive for success.

Christine Schmitt Leadership culture and organizational development

Division head in sales and operations at Schindler elevators, post-merger management of several acquisitions, president of a business association in Poland. Expertise: organizational development and executive coaching after mergers, with new leadership models and in distributed teams.

Leadership by Commitment, Appreciation and Effectiveness.

Sue De’Ath Transformation, culture and high-performing teams

Founder and director of an international consulting and development firm, previously in HR and leadership development at the BMW Group. Mandates at adidas, BMW, Allianz, Porsche, RWE and Airbus, among others. Trained mediator. Expertise: the interface of strategy, culture and leadership, resolving conflicts in leadership teams.

You will not have this day again — make it count.

Twelve more specialists from the network

The same standards, the same project leadership, the same contracting party. Who actually works on the initiative, we propose after the analysis phase — matched to the situation, not to availability.

Nina Zitouni Leadership coach and expert in personal development and communication

Some twenty years of coaching. Clarity of goals, effective communication, an understanding of group dynamics and the leadership role. Conflict management. Strengthening women in leadership roles is a particular concern of hers.

Be yourself. Create your life. Achieve your goals.

Sarah Rietze Senior expert in New Work, self-organization and team development

Industrial and organizational psychologist, agile coach and organizational consultant, systemic group dynamics. Previously in strategic HR development at Vorwerk International.

Healthy New Work — shaping healthy, agile and self-determined work.

Marc Buchholz Leadership coach and trainer for sales psychology, resilience and self-management

Ten years of professional and leadership experience in sales and marketing, before that eight years in international five-star hospitality. Self-employed since 2010 as a certified business trainer, coach and facilitator.

Change begins when you discover choices for your own actions.

Dr. Stephan Gross Executive presence, rhetoric and negotiation

Ten years of management consulting at Booz & Co. in Europe and the Middle East, head of talent development at a major strategy consultancy, then Head of EMEA Learning & Development at PwC. Expertise: impact in business-critical situations — supervisory board meeting, town hall, negotiation.

Leadership is credible storytelling.

Sabine Altena Presence and impact in critical moments

Eighteen years in radio and television at Antenne Bayern, WDR and Sky, more than a thousand interviews with people from politics, sports and music, hosting before 50,000 listeners at Rock im Park. Her own training company since 2012. Expertise: presence and impact in leadership situations, performing under pressure.

It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ’n’ roll. (AC/DC)

Steven Lock International leadership and intercultural collaboration

Former Regional Technology Head Asia-Pacific at a US corporation, today an executive coach for leaders in Switzerland, Malaysia, South Africa and Singapore. Coach in the Executive MBA program of Nanyang Technological University. Expertise: leadership across time zones and cultures, intercultural decision-making.

Short, sharp, and impactful!

Gianmichele Potito Peak performance, mental resilience and neuroscience

Executive coach in more than ten countries, previously M&A manager and Senior Project Manager Corporate Development at Dr. Oetker, research at IESE Business School. Mental coach on the WTA Tour. Expertise: sustaining top performance over long periods, mental strength from competitive sports for management.

Try not to become a man of success but rather of value. (Albert Einstein)

Kristin Bub Culture change, mindful leadership and resilience

Business psychologist, previously Global Senior HR Development Manager at Webasto with responsibility for culture transformation and talent management. Lecturer at FOM and at Witten/Herdecke University. Trained mediator. Expertise: decision-making culture, collaboration under pressure, conflict resolution.

People do not grow at the goal but on the way to it.

Thomas Füreder Sales leadership, negotiation and leadership development

Head of sales, head of marketing and managing director in industry and retail, self-employed as a consultant, trainer and coach since 1998. Mandates at ratiopharm, Bayer Vital, Pfizer, KfW and BayWa. Graduate in business administration, NLP master coach, ski instructor and mountain coach. Expertise: sales organizations and negotiation.

People will forget what you said … but people will never forget how you made them feel. (Maya Angelou)

Brigitte Murr Leadership, collaboration and mediation in an international environment

Head of Global Talent Management and Head of Global Academy at the Webasto Group, previously head of HR at Dürr and ABB. Today a systemic consultant, coach and certified mediator, in German and English. Expertise: leadership programs from the client’s and the provider’s perspective, resolving conflicts where positions have hardened.

Impact begins with connection.

Mounir Zitouni High-performance teams, culture change and business coaching

Professional footballer and Tunisian international, then a journalist at the sports magazine kicker. Today a systemic business coach, author of Teams erfolgreich führen, host of the podcast LEADERTALK. Culture change at a Bundesliga football club, teams at the German Football Association (DFB), Lufthansa, Ergo and Swiss Life. Expertise: leading teams under public scrutiny.

Those who swim with the current never reach the source.

Fritz Tracker

Good intuition, expert in animal relaxation, best follower. Personally inspects every guest at the institute first and lies under the table during strategy retreats.

Seek and you shall find.

Staffing by fit

Two to three proposals, a first meeting at no cost, a change at no extra cost if the chemistry is not right. German and English, several locations in parallel.

One contract, one standard

Everyone works within a shared impact architecture and to binding quality standards — owned by Sebastian Morgner, delivered by a named project lead. You do not manage ten suppliers, but one institute.

Future of Leadership conference in Tutzing on Lake Starnberg.

What quality means to us

A network is only as good as the philosophy and the process behind it. Six aspects decide who works together within MLI, and who stays.

Selection processPersonal leadership experience at the level one works for, a recognized coaching qualification or proven expertise in a contemporary leadership competency.
Personal recommendationWe only work with experts and coaches whom members of our network personally vouch for. In a personal meeting we compare philosophy and cultural fit.
Client feedbackDuring reviews of ongoing projects and after every mandate, coachees and clients are surveyed. This feedback helps us refine staffing case by case. The experts and coaches clients consider particularly effective continue to be deployed by us.
Regular supervisionWithin projects and as part of coaching practice, we make sure our experts and coaches regularly question and examine their own approach, their stance and their effectiveness.
Shared standardsAll members of the MLI network share the philosophy of neurosocial leadership and the wish to strengthen people in leadership in their effectiveness. We share the values of trust, reliability, focus on results and appreciation of all life, whoever is in the room.
AccountabilityEvery undertaking has a person from the institute responsible for the project. They are accountable for staffing, course and result — your contractual partner remains MLI.

How the institute works

Five questions procurement and HR ask.

Who is responsible for the engagement?

MLI. We assemble the right team for every project and, as an institute, take responsibility for quality, progress and results.

How are the specialists selected?

Personally, from a network curated over years. We propose people instead of sending profiles, and we staff by topic, not by availability.

Who ensures quality and results?

MLI is responsible for selection, quality standards, impact architecture and the contract.

Why is MLI not a brokerage platform?

You have a contact person, not a platform. MLI is your only contracting party, even when several coaches and specialists are involved.

Who remains your contact?

Your contact at MLI, from the first conversation to the evaluation.

Contact

Three ways to begin the conversation.

All three lead to people, not to a queue. We answer e-mails within two business days.

30 minutes

Conversation with Sebastian Morgner

No presentation and no sales routine. We sort out your situation and name the central lever, even if MLI is not the right partner for it.

Choose a time in the calendar

PDF

Institute dossier

Services, approach, evidence, expert profiles, fees and terms — for forwarding internally when an initiative still needs to be justified.

Download the dossier

Five fields

Contact by e-mail

Describe your topic briefly: one or two sentences are enough. We reply within two business days.

Or write directly to info@leadership-munich.org. No newsletter, no disclosure to third parties, no tracking.

Prefer to talk? +49 8807 244446-0

Go to the contact form

Questions about contract, fee model, data protection and supplier qualification are answered in the section For procurement.

One institute.One shared passion.