Christoph Schwager - Strategically Connecting the Dots
Recognizing and Developing Opportunities fast, while Mastering Risks
Christoph Schwager, CPA
Chairman & CEO | Investor | Board Member | Expert for Strategy, M&A, Finance, Opportunity/Risk
Christoph Schwager is a passionate creator of new ways forward and a strong catalyst for moving people and organisations.
He is a senior expert for strategy, finance, governance, M&A, and effective opportunity, risk and control systems. He is a successful transformation leader and was recognised as one of the most effective Chief Risk Officers in the industry worldwide.
Most organisations can achieve far more than they imagine - by embracing new ways of thinking and developing consistent habits in prioritisation, decision-making, and purposeful action.
His passion lies in accelerating competitiveness, successfully realising opportunities and potential for organisations and projects, while ensuring control, reducing risks, and bridging critical gaps.
This proves particularly effective in times of change and high stakes - for both organisations and individuals - especially in complex, uncertain, or crisis situations.
“It is the art of combining oversight and foresight that provides the edge - enabling more confident steering and fewer predictable surprises.“
- Christoph Schwager
Fit for a Sustainable Future:
The greatest challenge of the 21st century in not megatrends like digitalisation, technological progress, or climate change as such, but the speed of change itself - and how leaders and entire organisations recognize, prioritize and adapt to it.
In everything I do, my focus is on maximising the success of critical goals, challenging the status quo, and driving organisations with passion and purpose - equipping them for the era of sustainability, digital transformation, and technology in a world of constantly evolving needs.
“It is a great pleasure for me to confirm the remarkable quality of your work. Under your leadership, Airbus made significant progress towards a more resilient business model regarding risks.“ - Louis Gallois – Chairman Group PSA, CEO Airbus (EADS) and CEO SNCF
Leadership is expected to ensure a high degree of success. They are expected to make sound, future-oriented decisions, to manage uncertainty with opportunities and risks, to maintain oversight - and to avoid predictable surprises. But how, exactly?
The path to success requires:
Awareness. Future Viability. Agility.
- Navigating Complexity and Creating Lasting Impact
Christoph unites multiple roles: Alongside his strategic, financial, and investor perspectives, he brings deep expertise in operational, regulatory, and technological complexity. His systemic and agile mindset is shaped by a unique blend of experience - from the global corporate world, consulting, and entrepreneurship to the start-up scene. This makes him exceptionally versatile.
++ On numerous occasions, he has led transformations and built successful structures. For example, he has transformed Airbus into an opportunity- and risk-competent organisation and has developed a high-performance culture. This laid a vital foundation for Airbus's long-lasting positive development. His methods enable to sharpen the focus on success and viability, strengthen strategic thinking and decision-making, realising key opportunities while preventing problems before they arise.
++ He was a Partner at EY, responsible for the Enterprise Risk Management practice, was Airbus Chief Risk Officer, and worked in leadership finance and accounting positions, as a PwC Manager, and in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In addition, he founded several companies. He is a recognised thought leader for effective opportunities/risk management and co-founder of the international think tank beyondRM.org. For nearly a decade, he served on the advisory board of FIRM (Frankfurt Institute for Risk Management and Regulation). He leads the DRSC working group of Intangibles, and is engaged as board member, speaker, and lecturer. Christoph holds a Diplom Kaufmann degree (equivalent to MBA) from the University of Augsburg, Germany, and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), University of Chicago, USA.
++ A strategist, innovator, and unshakable problem solver with a sharp sense for people and situations, he has experienced a wide range of leaders and environments. His insight: real results stem not from endless meetings, overcomplication, or rushed action - but from clear purpose and goals, an agile mindset, quality and speed in decision-making and execution, strong collaboration and communication - with sharp skills in recognising and prioritising opportunities and risks.
++ For more than more than 25 years, he has worked in finance, business analysis, transaction services, and audit. His experience includes structuring, accounting, business diagnostics, sell-side and buy-side M&A, due diligence, portfolio and investment assessments, transaction accounting, and post merger integration.
++ For more than 20 years, he has been actively involved in projects. This includes experience in successfully steering (mega-) transformation projects, (mega-) development and production projects, as well as strategy, M&A, infrastructure, and IT projects - including critical small-scale projects.