Kati Najipoor-Smith, based in Frankfurt, is a member of Egon Zehnder’s global CEO Practice and is also deeply involved in the firm’s Board Consulting Practice. Drawing on decades of global advisory and management experience, she advises chairmen and CEOs of publicly traded, family-owned, and private-equity-backed companies across all industry sectors and regions on building effective and sustainable leadership at the top of their organizations. With a global network and extensive experience with CEO transitions, Kati works closely with boards to ensure a robust, objective, and confidential CEO succession process, including facilitating the development of future CEOs. She also helps build and develop best-in-class, effective, and diverse senior executive teams and has established a private network of women in senior leadership positions to help female leaders advance.

I believe that the conventional governance model and the requirements of CEOs are changing, and I am committed to helping boards and CEOs to provide truly great leadership at the top that creates shareholder and social value.

Prior to joining Egon Zehnder, Kati held senior roles in industrial and automotive consulting firms in Europe and the United States, leading large-scale strategic, change, and benchmarking projects. She also held technical management positions at European and U.S. engineering companies.

Kati earned a PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Aachen, in Germany, an MSc in mechanical engineering from the University of California, and a BSc in mechanical engineering from the University of Portland. Kati has been a frequent speaker and panel guest on leadership topics. With a very diverse background herself, she is particularly well-positioned and is often invited to advise on global perspective on leadership.