Aurora Coaching │Strategic coaching for businesses and senior leaders

Are you leading through times of complexity? Is your organisation navigating a strategy reset, growth, mergers and acquisitions or change? Are you stepping into a new role or needing clarity on your leadership journey?

Aurora Coaching offers strategic insight, hands-on execution support and a calm, supportive space to pause, reflect, and move forward with purpose and clarity.

Through meaningful conversations and constructive challenge, I provide coaching and strategy advice to boards, organisations, and teams as they navigate significant business changes and opportunities. I also coach senior leaders and executives on their career journeys to help unlock insight, embrace change, and find their own authentic leadership style that inspires others.

Support for leaders and businesses navigating change, growth, and complexity

At Aurora Coaching, I provide coaching and strategy advice to businesses, boards and senior leaders. I assist organisations as they navigate growth, change and M&A processes. I coach executives to lead with clarity, resilience and aligned to their values, and support teams and boards to work together effectively to deliver on their strategic priorities.

I offer services across four key areas:

Strategy and M&A advice

Executive & Leadership Coaching

Career Coaching & Mentoring

Team & Board Effectiveness

Meet Verena.

Grounded in experience, guided by empathy

After more than 25 years in senior leadership roles, including as a Big 4 Partner and General Manager of an NZX-listed organisation, I know first-hand the pressures and complexities leaders face. Originally from Germany, my career has taken me across the UK, Europe and New Zealand which has given me a deep appreciation for the strength that lies in diverse views and backgrounds.

Clients and teams I work with value my unique blend of strategic insight, consulting, general management and governance experience and my strong, empathetic coaching approach. I have led and coached teams and advised C-suite clients through complex challenges ranging from strategy development and implementation, to merger integration planning and execution, carveouts and divestments and transformation.

Book your free 30-minute consultation

I understand that regardless of the challenge that lies in front of you as a leader, it is the right kind of support that can make all the difference during these times of transition.

I started Aurora Coaching to create exactly that support. My strategy advice is grounded in experience and focuses on practical, hands-on support for the successful execution of your strategic priorities. My coaching practice creates a safe space where leaders can pause, reflect, and see their business and leadership challenges in a new light. Just as the Aurora signals a fresh dawn, my goal is to help you find clarity and confidence in the moments that matter most.

I am experienced in coaching and advising seasoned senior executives and boards as well as new leaders and teams. Through calm, focused conversations, I’ll ask the questions that spark insight and that challenge with empathy, so that you can move forward with clarity, purpose and enhanced performance. These principles also guide my approach when supporting businesses navigate their strategic challenges or M&A projects.

Like many people, I wear and juggle a lot of hats every day. Outside of my client work, I love spending family time with my husband and our two teenage kids, exploring the great Kiwi outdoors, mountain biking, walks by the beach, hiking and camping. I am a proud soccer mum, and an eternal optimist.

Qualifications and memberships

Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Diploma in Business Studies (Finance & Marketing)
Chartered Member of the NZ Institute of Directors
International Coach Federation (ICF) certified Organisational & Executive Coach
Certified Resilience Coach

With a deep understanding of professional services, strategy and M&A, I often coach leaders in partnership structures, but also those in corporate roles and founder-led businesses. While my strategy advice spans a broad range of sectors, I have a strong passion for and understanding of the horticulture/primary/food industries, and the consumer and retail sectors.

"Verena led the set up of our strategic transformation programme. Verena’s understanding of our industry together with her strong strategy and programme management experience delivered structure and momentum. Her ability to build trust and connections at all levels at the organisation, from the packhouse to the Board, was an important cultural fit that supported the successful implementation of strategic initiatives. Verena has acted as a sounding board as we continue to navigate our growth journey. I wish Verena well in her own business and would recommend her as a strategic advisor. I have valued her insight and guidance."

- Marc Werner, CEO, Costa Group AU

"I highly recommend Verena as a coach. Verena is warmly supportive, really present and listens actively. I valued her gentle appropriate provocations that really helped me explore the issues I was working through. Verena helped me clarify and re-clarify my goals and I walked away with practical options that I had absolutely not considered before."

— Chief People Officer, Advisory Business

"Thank you so much for the career coaching and mentoring. I have so much more clarity on my next steps now".

— Dress for Success career mentee

I had the privilege of working with Verena over six executive coaching sessions, and she has been nothing short of outstanding. She guided me through a pivotal stage in my career, helping me gain clarity on my values, my “why,” and the best next step forward. What I value most is that Verena brings not only exceptional coaching skills but also a wealth of experience from her own senior leadership background. This unique perspective made her guidance both practical and deeply insightful. I would highly recommend Verena to anyone seeking clarity, growth, and direction in their career. She is an amazing coach who creates impact that lasts well beyond the sessions.

— Sabine Roberts, Director Global FP&A Commercial & Pricing, Les Mills

"Thank you for your support. I appreciate being able to be open and honest with you in our clarity session. I'm feeling in a better space today as you've helped shift my mindset."

— RG, Senior Tax Director, Professional Services

Verena brings something truly special to the professional services/M&A world: a real sense of humanity in a space that often moves fast and demands a lot. She’s the kind of mentor who doesn’t just guide with expertise, but with heart. She’s always there – whether it’s to help untangle a complex situation, offer a word of encouragement, or simply listen. Her empathy is real, and it shows in how people feel after working with her: supported, seen, and capable. Verena has a gift for making people feel safe enough to grow, and strong enough to lead. Her authenticity builds trust, and her presence brings calm. She doesn’t just support teams and clients, she lifts them.

— CB, Transaction Strategy & Execution Manager, EY

Service offering

Navigate strategy development and reset, merger integration, separation or carve-outs, complex projects and business growth with clarity and humanity. Drawing on my deep experience across the strategy and transaction lifecycle, this offering blends strategy and M&A advice with practical execution support. Supporting boards, senior leaders, and teams through strategy development and implementation, pre-deal M&A planning, post-deal integration or separation management, and the human side of change.

Programmes are bespoke to your context and may include strategy facilitation, operational advice, pre-to post deal planning, project and change management as well as leadership and team coaching.

Who it’s for:

Boards, executives, founders, organisations and teams involved in resetting strategy and leading through mergers and acquisitions, divestments, or major transformations.

You’ll gain:

Clarity and hands-on support for successful strategy development and implementation
Operational pre- to post-deal M&A integration and separation advice and implementation support
Transformation and change project management
Aligned and supported senior leaders and teams, confident to manage through uncertainty and complexity
Clear strategic priorities, roles, ways of working and decision pathways

Lead with clarity, authenticity, and courage. This coaching builds awareness of your leadership style, strengthens confidence and values-based decision-making, communication, and presence. It allows you to step into your next leadership challenge with certainty and guide others through change with integrity. It can also help you build resilience during periods of pressure and change, including life events that require a reset at work.

Who it’s for:

Senior executives, emerging executives and new managers taking on expanded responsibility and complex challenges. Professional services leaders navigating the path to Director and Partner promotions.

You’ll gain:

Insight on your behavioural and communication style and strengths through an Extended DISC® assessment
Assurance on your unique values- and strengths-based leadership approach
Clarity for leading through complexity
Confidence to inspire, influence, and deliver
Strengthened confidence, impact and presence
Tools to manage pressures, protect boundaries and build resilience

Navigate change with a clear head and a practical plan. Whether you’re stepping into a new role, returning from parental leave, or exploring a shift in direction, this coaching creates space to reflect, decide, and move forward intentionally.

Who it’s for: Individuals at a career crossroads, new role transitions, or returning to work.

You’ll gain:

Clarity on direction, options, and fit
A confident transition plan with milestones
Support and accountability as you step forward

Strengthen trust, alignment, and collective leadership. This work supports teams and boards to build effective collaboration and strong governance. Through facilitated conversations and practical frameworks, it helps groups navigate differing perspectives, improve decision-making, and align around shared priorities.

Who it’s for:
Leadership or project teams and boards seeking stronger alignment, clearer decision-making and more effective ways of working. Particularly valuable for organisations navigating growth, strategic change, governance challenges or leadership transitions.

You’ll gain:

Greater trust and openness within the team or board
Clearer roles, responsibilities and decision-making practices
Alignment on strategic priorities and ways of working
Improved ability to navigate conflict and differing perspectives constructively
Stronger collective accountability and ownership of outcomes
Practical tools and frameworks to sustain effective collaboration

How we work together

Every engagement begins with a conversation to understand your context and goals. Coaching and consulting are confidential, empathetic, and commercially grounded—and each programme is tailored to meet you or your business where you are at. Diversity, empathy, and inclusion shape how meaningful, sustainable change is supported.

Ready to explore fit? Book your free 30-minute consultation or head to Packages to see how we can work together.

Find the right level of support

Whether you need strategy or M&A advice for your business, a targeted clarity coaching session for you or your team on a specific challenge, or a structured coaching journey, packages are designed to create space to reflect, gain clarity, and take confident action. Each programme is tailored to meet you where you are.

Includes strategy facilitation and reset, pre-to post-deal M&A integration or separation planning and execution support, transformation programme management, all supported by coaching and mentoring for leaders and teams.
Best for boards, management teams, sponsors, deal teams and transformation leaders who need strategic insight and execution support.

For individuals

Option 1: A focused deep-dive on a specific issue, including a 1-hour coaching session, notes and reflection prompts and a follow-up accountability call.
Best for quick clarity and a practical plan.

Option 2: An Extended DISC® behavioural and communications style assessment. Extended DISC® is a behavioural assessment tool that provides practical insight into how you prefer to communicate, make decisions and respond under pressure, helping you to lead and collaborate more effectively. Includes a 10minute online assessment, a 1-hour debrief, and a detailed, personalised Extended DISC® report.
Best for self-awareness and insight.

For teams and boards

A bespoke session designed to help leadership teams and boards pause, reflect and reset how they work together. Tailored to your specific needs, this session may include an Extended DISC® behavioural and communications style team assessment, individual interviews and a facilitated team or board workshop, as well as a review of existing team or governance processes.
Best for teams and boards seeking to strengthen trust, improve communication and establish clearer ways of working.

A structured 6-month journey including an Extended DISC® behavioural and communications style assessment, regular coaching sessions, goal-setting, written reflections, and accountability support.

When offered in an organisational setting, this programme will also include engagement with sponsors and stakeholders, as appropriate.
Best for executives and leaders taking on increased responsibilities, preparing for a more senior role (including path to Director/Partner) or navigating change or complex operational environments and projects.

Space to reflect. Conversations to bring clarity.

Support for leaders and businesses navigating change, growth, and complexity

Meet Verena.

Qualifications and memberships

Service offering

How we work together

Find the right level of support

Let’s start the conversation

Space to reflect. Conversations to bring clarity.

Support for leaders and businesses navigating change, growth, and complexity

Meet Verena.

Qualifications and memberships

Service offering

Strategy and M&A advice

Executive & Leadership Coaching

Career Coaching & MENTORING

Team & Board Effectiveness

How we work together

Find the right level of support

Strategy and M&A Advice

Clarity Session (Individual or Team)

Clarity Coaching Programme

Let’s start the conversation