Executive Sparring | Coaching You carry the responsibility. But you don’t have to walk the path alone.
Confidential 1:1 sparring for your strategic, organisational and personal decisions.
- Former CEO & General Manager
- Over 20 years of leadership experience
- Trained coach
- From small teams to more than 3,000 employees
A lot is expected of you at the top. But who is your sparring partner?
With every career step, responsibility grows. But the number of people with whom you can think openly, share doubts and reflect on difficult decisions gets smaller.
- You have to make difficult decisions. But who challenges your assumptions before you bear the consequences?
- You are expected to have the answers. But where can you think openly, have doubts and ask uncomfortable questions?
- You are under constant pressure. Between the business, people and expectations, there is hardly any room to reflect on your own leadership.
- You have to create clarity for others. But who helps you gain clarity yourself when it matters?
At the top, one thing counts: results.
But results do not happen by chance. They emerge where clarity, decisions and leadership are aligned.
- How clearly do you decide?
- How consistently do you stay focused on what matters?
- How effectively do you lead your team to results?
The goal of Executive Sparring | Coaching.
More clarity. More deliberate decisions. More effective leadership.
A confidential sparring space at eye level to organise your thoughts, question perspectives and strengthen your own leadership impact.
In this space you can
- think strategic decisions through before you communicate them,
- reflect on and sharpen your own leadership behaviour,
- handle pressure, conflict and uncertainty more professionally,
- and fill the role your company needs from you now, without losing yourself.
Typical topics
Clarifying strategic decisions
Which options are really on the table? What are their consequences? What do I communicate when and how?
Sharpening your role as CEO or owner
What is really my job now, and what isn’t? Where do I need to let go, where step in?
Dealing with resistance and tension
How do I deal with a leadership team that isn’t fully on board? What do I do with blockers in key positions?
Leading in uncertainty
Making decisions with incomplete information, without hesitating forever or acting rashly.
Your own energy & resilience
How do I stay clear, focused and able to act under pressure without wearing myself out in the long run?
Communication & impact
How do I say things so they are understood, in the leadership team, with employees, shareholders or the board?
How the collaboration works.
- 1
Introductory call approx. 30 minutes
- Your current situation, goals and topics
- Clarify mutual fit
- Discuss the framework and approach of the coaching
- 2
Start phase first 4–6 weeks
- 1 session per week (60–90 minutes, remote or on site)
- Focus on your most pressing decisions and tensions
- First quick wins: clarity on 2–3 central topics, first changes in behaviour
- 3
Ongoing support 3–6 months
- Usually 2–3 sessions per month
- Reflecting on real situations from your daily life
- Preparing important conversations and decisions
- Working on patterns, e.g. perfectionism, need for harmony, need for control
- 4
Optional: integration into your overall transformation
- Alignment with the strategy workshop series and Change & Leadership Partnership
- Making sure your personal course and the company’s North Star fit together
What you get.
- An independent sparring partner who knows the CEO and general manager role from his own responsibility, not just from books.
- Clarity in complex decisions before you communicate or implement them.
- Noticeably stronger leadership impact: clearer, more direct, yet professional and human.
- More composure in critical phases, because you don’t have to chew everything over alone.
- A structured space where, for once, it is only about your role, your decisions and your effectiveness.
Sparring at eye level. From my own leadership experience.
I know the responsibility. Not just in theory, but from my own experience.
More than 20 years of leadership experience, including as CEO and General Manager. From international corporations to SMEs and private equity portfolio companies. With revenue responsibility of up to CHF 650 million and leadership of organisations with more than 3,000 employees.
But I also know the lonely sides of leadership. The difficult decisions, the doubts and the moments when I would have wished for an independent counterpart myself. Someone with whom I could think openly, challenge assumptions and gain clarity.
How I work
Direct. Confidential. At eye level. I listen, challenge, address uncomfortable issues and bring in my own experience. Not to take decisions off your hands, but so that you can make your own more clearly and deliberately.
“Inspiring leadership, transformation expertise and excellent coaching skills set Antonio apart. His clear thinking, holistic leadership style and fair, human approach make him an exceptional leader.”
Marcel GrafHead of HR EMEA & APACFrequently asked questions.
Is this confidential?
Yes. What we discuss stays between us.
Is coaching a form of therapy?
No. Coaching and sparring serve reflection, decision support and your development as a leader. It is not psychotherapeutic counselling.
How does the collaboration work?
After an introductory call, we start with weekly sessions of 60 to 90 minutes. After that, usually 2 to 3 sessions per month over 3 to 6 months.
Remote or on site?
Both are possible, depending on what fits your schedule.
Coaching or Leadership Journey – which fits?
Executive Sparring | Coaching supports you on an ongoing basis with whatever is on your mind. The Leadership Journey is a structured 12-week programme.
What does it cost?
After the intro call you receive a clear written proposal. The intro call itself is free and without obligation.
Antonio NigroLet’s talk.
Book a no-obligation intro call, and we’ll clarify confidentially whether and how I can support you in your role.
Request Executive Sparring