CEOs · FOUNDERS · INVESTORS
Something has shifted.
What you decide next matters.
A new leadership role, new ownership, an acquisition or a shift in strategy?
I help you examine options, challenge assumptions and anticipate what could happen next.
WHEN THIS MATTERS
Four moments when important decisions shape what comes next.
Important decisions often come when your role, ownership structure or business direction changes. The options may look clear on paper, but their consequences are harder to predict.
01
NEW ROLE
You've stepped into a leadership role with a new mandate, existing expectations and limited time to establish your direction. What do you decide first and who needs to come with you?
02
NEW OWNERSHIP
A new investor, funding round or ownership change brings different expectations and competing interests. How will the decisions affect strategy, control and the people involved?
03
M&A AND GROWTH
You're considering an acquisition, investment, expansion or exit. Which assumptions support the decision, how might others respond and what could change the outcome?
04
NEW STRATEGY
Your business needs a different direction, whether driven by changing markets, stalled growth or pressure to improve performance. Which options offer the strongest path forward?
WHAT WE WORK ON
See beyond the decision.
Every important decision affects people, priorities and the options that follow.
We examine how the situation could unfold, how the people involved might respond and what could change along the way. This gives you a clearer view of the decision before you make it.
01. POSITIONING
How you are read.
Understand how your decisions will be interpreted by investors, your board, leadership team and other stakeholders. Identify where expectations, interests or perceptions could influence the outcome.
02. MOMENTUM
What moves the business forward.
Identify which options create progress, what could slow execution and how different scenarios may affect your priorities, resources and timing.
03. AUTONOMY
Your room to decide.
Understand where decision-making authority sits, who can influence the outcome and which commitments or competing interests may constrain your options.
THE RIGHT SUPPORT FOR THE DECISION AHEAD.
Three ways to work together.
One important decision, several connected choices or ongoing strategic questions. The level of support depends on what you're facing.
DECISION
One important decision. One focused week.
We examine your options, test the assumptions and explore how the people involved may respond. You receive an independent recommendation, the key trade-offs and clear next steps to establish a clear course of action.
RESET
Connected decisions. One strategic direction.
Two private half-days in Málaga to work through decisions that influence one another. We examine the options, possible scenarios and implications, then capture the direction and priorities in a one-page Strategic Compass.
LENS
A confidential, ongoing advisory relationship as decisions evolve.
Ongoing independent advice as decisions evolve. Through regular strategic conversations, we examine new developments, challenge assumptions and work through difficult choices with the wider business context in mind.
Not sure which fits?
SELECTED WORK
Independent judgment, in practice.
Four situations from 25 years of advising founders, CEOs and senior leaders. Decisions about autonomy, strategic direction, stakeholder pressure and the limits of a leadership mandate.
“The issue was sensitive and I couldn’t think it through openly inside the company. Steven understood what was at stake, challenged the assumptions I had stopped questioning and helped me make the decision.”
A CEO'S PERSPECTIVE
CEO, Belgian mid-market company
Client identity withheld for confidentiality.
WHO YOU'RE WORKING WITH
Steven Piessens.
Independent strategic adviser to CEOs, founders and investors.
Over 25 years, I have advised more than 250 leaders across Europe. I have also built, led and exited my own company. I understand the responsibility of making difficult decisions and living with their consequences.
My approach combines strategic judgment with scenario and script thinking. I examine the people involved, their interests and motivations, how they might respond and what could change the outcome.
You work directly with me. I bring independent judgment, with no preferred outcome or implementation project to sell.
Based in Málaga, working across Europe remotely and in person.
THE FIRST STEP
What’s the decision on your mind?
Tell me what you're considering, what's at stake and where an independent perspective could help. We'll have a short conversation to see whether working together makes sense.
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Steven Piessens
Independent strategic adviser to CEOs, founders and investors.