A sparring partner in Zug and the Höfe district, in English or German. From outside.

Someone who sees your situation from outside and gains nothing from any answer. Your employer has interests of its own, advisers have a mandate, and everyone in the family already has an opinion. Your question is a different one: what keeps you here, what draws you away, and how much of that also holds for your family? We sort that out before you negotiate or hand in your notice. Residence permits, tax and contracts stay with your lawyer and fiduciary (Treuhänder).

Yes. Sparring is about your question, not a company or a role. Moving for a partner’s job often costs more than a career: your network, the language of everyday life, the role people knew you in. In the conversation you work out what you want here for yourself, not only what the move asks of the family. I am neither a therapist nor a career adviser; permits, marital property and tax belong with your lawyer and fiduciary (Treuhänder). We talk in English or German, in Zug, on the Gold Coast or online.

Your specialists answer how something is done; a sparring partner helps you clarify what you actually want – before you brief the specialists. Fiduciaries and lawyers have a mandate and a liability; a bank often also earns on the solutions it recommends. That is legitimate, but not neutral. I have no mandate and no partners at banks, asset managers or law firms, I neither take nor pay commission, and I recommend no products. Often the conversation is about exactly this: putting your questions for the fiduciary and the lawyer in order first.

Give your client this page or my number and let them call me themselves. Many put it like this: “I know someone you can think this through with calmly – not a therapist, not an adviser.” I tell you nothing, not even whether we met. I neither take nor pay commission, give no tax, legal or investment tips and stay out of your mandate: specialist questions go back to you. Often your client comes back to you with clearer questions. More in the note Your client wants to talk, not therapy.

With someone who belongs neither to your family nor to the company or its advisers, and who has no stake in what you decide. First comes what you want – not to take over, to take over differently, or later – not how to say it. Only then is it about the conversation with your parents. If I already talk with someone from your family or the company, I decline, without naming anyone.

With someone who wants nothing from you. Friends turn cautious or demanding, the family starts counting, and advisers call who never called before. Then there is your own question: how much of this is really mine now, and what do I want to do with it – or without it? That is what we talk about, confidentially and with nothing to sell. I give no investment or tax advice, have no partners at banks and take no commission. More in the note Inherited or cashed out: who has no stake in you?.

With someone who does not care whether you accept. Whoever is asking wants a yes; the people around you mostly see the honour. Your questions are different: why you, and what is really expected? Do you have the time, and towards whom would you face a conflict of loyalty? I have never sat on a board myself and say so openly; I test your reasoning, not the company. Liability, contract and fees you clarify with your lawyer.

Someone who earns nothing from the handover and plays no part in the family – that is what a sparring partner is for. Before the fiduciary, lawyer or notary shape the handover, and before the family takes positions, there is a different question: what do you yourself want – sell, hand over, keep, and on what terms? That is what we talk about, confidentially and without a mandate. Valuation, contract and tax stay with your specialists; with your own position clarified, you give them a clearer brief. That holds even when the more capable person is not the one everyone expects – the daughter rather than the son.

Clarity about what you actually want – before positions harden that cannot be taken back. The shareholders’ agreement, the valuation and the buy-out belong with your lawyer and your fiduciary; the questions before that belong to no one: do you want to carry on with the company, with him or without him? What is the friendship worth to you, and what are you prepared to give for it? What will you say to him, and what is better left unsaid? That is what we talk about, confidentially and without a mandate. In a conflict I work with one side only. If you go to your lawyer with your position settled, you will usually need them for less time.

I commit in writing to confidentiality – including the fact that we know each other, and beyond the end of our work. That applies towards all third parties: family, business partners, employers – including the person who referred you. If I already talk with someone from your family, your company or the other side, I decline, without naming anyone. I record nothing, keep brief notes and destroy them no later than 12 months after we finish. There are three limits: a legally binding order from a court or authority, an acute danger to life or safety, and a threat to a child’s welfare. Even then, I speak to you first wherever possible.

Yes. Travel is included in the fee for every on-site and walking session – anywhere within 60 minutes’ drive of Wetzikon, from Zürich and Winterthur to Zug, Rapperswil and Einsiedeln. That covers the city of Zürich and both lake shores, all nine Gold Coast municipalities, Zug, Baar, Cham and Rotkreuz, as well as Wollerau and Pfäffikon SZ. You pay the same whether we meet in Küsnacht ZH, Baar or Wollerau. From Wetzikon I reach the Gold Coast in about 20 to 25 minutes, Pfäffikon SZ in about 25 to 30 minutes and Zug in about 45 to 50 minutes. Lucerne, Meggen and Hergiswil by arrangement; I tell you the travel cost in advance.

Yes. I work in English and German – and switching between the two is fine if that is easier for you. Use the language in which you can say most precisely what you mean, and change whenever it helps. For international executives in Zug and Zürich, English is often the working language while German is the language of the surroundings; I know both sides and, where useful, help you read Swiss conventions.

Site in German

Precisely because I’m not from here. I’m not part of your circle, and we’re unlikely to run into each other in everyday life. That makes it easier to speak openly about people and situations anyone local would recognise. And I’m still close by: about 45 minutes to Baar, about 26 minutes to Wollerau.