My name is Karsten Drath and I am a published author of several management books, a podcast host as well as an executive coach, and an international keynote speaker. Furthermore, I am one of the Managing Partners of Leadership Choices, a consultancy focusing on leadership development for our international clients.
Before my career as an executive coach, I was a manager in senior roles in companies such as Accenture, Bombardier and Dell.
Today, my area of expertise and passion is the capability of humans to overcome crises and setbacks and to even grow in the face of adversity. The term we use for this today is “resilience” which is also at the center of my fundraising initiative.
About 30 years ago two zis study grants allowed me to travel to Scotland and later to Iceland. These great experiences had a lasting impact on my life.
In 2017 I started raising funds for the zis-foundation by cycling long distances. After some years the idea was born to cycle around the world with one major trip per year.
In 2021, after major flooding in Germany with many casualties, our company started to provide free coaching for a local aid organization in the Ahr Valley. We were all very inspired by this work but also saw the conflict of interest when working pro bono and operating a for-profit business at the same time.
As a result, my partner in crime Uwe Achterholt and I founded the Cosmikk-Foundation in 2022 with the goal to provide leaders of purpose-driven NGOs with funding for coaching, leadership workshops, and organizational development interventions.
Purpose-driven NGOs are nonprofit organizations whose goal is to bring at least one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into the world.
The charitable trust Cosmikk Foundation is providing support through financial means only. Legally, it is a trust of the foundation “Stiftung für Stifter” in Munich, Germany.