Astrid (Kühne) Benker-Co-Founder & Project Director
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Experience
Co-Founder & Project Director
UTU Food4Good
- Responsible for successful series A and B equity financing which secured USD 11 Mil
- Established governance, HR, finance and operations structures and policies
- Expanded, trained and led team from 2 to 10 full-time staff members
- Managed set up of first of its kind test kitchen in Africa
- Managed development of 3 new recipes to be launched in East Africa
Co-Founder & Project Manager
Bradora.com
- Received invitation to take part at "Die Höhle der Löwen" to pitch business idea to venture capitalists
- Assessed global market and its drivers – derived top-line potential and market needs
- Created marketing material for stakeholders and potential business partners
- Managed external communication including set up of website
Co-Founder
Financial Access Solution
- Used human-centred design approach to develop an innovative cash-free, branch-free, paper-free micro-finance model to promote financial inclusion of waste collectors
- Set up loyalty program that increased plastic waste collections from pilot group by 35%
- Conducted extensive research of bottle collectors which became basis for the creation of collection app
- Conducted interviews with bottle collectors and leadership team of recycling company to understand pain points and user experience of new collection app
- Assessed end-to-end customer and user journey and mapped key pain points for bottle collectors
Co-Founder & Director
School4Life.org
- Fundraised over USD 2,5 Mil, with 100% of funds reaching the projects
- Turned mud hut for 200 orphans and 7 untrained teachers into permanent kindergarten, primary and secondary school, greenhouse and kitchen for 800 orphans and 100 trained full-time staff members with fixed monthly overheads of USD 10 k
- Set up first school for 30 disabled children in the area
- Set up 2 orphanages for 60 needy children with permanent care
- Set up leavers program to support 100+ graduates with university and college fees
- Distributed over 3,5 Mil free school lunches
- Leading volunteer team consisting of 25 core team members in Europe and Kenya
- Managed over 250 international volunteers onsite
Industry experience
See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time.
Experienced in Education, Information Technology, Food and Beverage, and Banking and Finance.
Business area experience
See which departments and functions this freelancer has contributed to most.
Experienced in Finance, Human Resources, Project Management, Marketing, Strategy, and Product Development.
Summary
As an all-rounded Senior Strategy Consultant, certified in Change (Prosci), Project Management (GPM) and Agile (Scrum), I help leaders and organizations to embrace change, creating high performance teams and delivering long-term success. I have worked as a Manager at a top-tier consulting company for FTSE100 multi-nationals on complex, international and multi-cultural projects across various industries, business functions and countries.
Skills
- Change Management (Stakeholder Management, Change Impact Analysis, Change Strategies, Change And Communication Plans, Corporate Communications (Internal And External), Resistance, Conflict And Crisis Management, Culture Change, Change Kpis)
- Training And Development (Training Needs Analysis And Plans, Train-The-Trainer Concepts, Designing And Delivering Training Programs, Leadership And Team Development, Coaching, Team Building, Performance Development, Moderating Workshops)
- Project Management (Agile Methodologies, Risk And Issue Management, Timeline And Resource Planning, Project Lifecycle Management)
Languages
Education
Leuphana University of Lüneburg
PhD, Intercultural Teams - New Strategies on Effective Global Collaboration · Lüneburg, Germany · magna cum laude
University of Hildesheim & University of Coventry
Bachelor of Arts · International Communication and Translation · Coventry, United Kingdom
Leuphana University of Lüneburg
Diploma, Masters · Organizational Behaviour, Technology Management & Decision Modelling · Lüneburg, Germany
Certifications & licenses
International Project Management Association
Certified Problem Solver And Change Manager
GAQM
Certified Prosci Change Manager
Prosci
Statistics
Experience
Global experience
Expertise
Qualifications
Profile
Frequently asked questions
Have questions? Find more information here.
Astrid is based in Zürich, Switzerland and prefers 100% remote projects.
Astrid speaks the following languages: German (Native), Portuguese (Native), English (Advanced), Spanish (Advanced), French (Advanced), Swahili (Elementary).
Astrid has at least 17 years of experience. During this time, Astrid has worked in at least 4 different roles and for 4 different companies. The average length of individual experience is 4 years and 2 months. Note that Astrid may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.
Based on recent experience, Astrid would be well-suited for roles such as: Co-Founder & Project Director, Co-Founder & Project Manager, Co-Founder.
Astrid's most recent position is Co-Founder & Project Director at UTU Food4Good.
In recent years, Astrid has worked for Bradora.com and School4Life.org.
Astrid is most experienced in industries like Education, Information Technology, and Food and Beverage. Astrid also has some experience in Banking and Finance.
Astrid is most experienced in business areas like Finance, Human Resources, and Project Management. Astrid also has some experience in Marketing, Strategy, and Product Development.
Astrid has recently worked in industries like Education and Information Technology.
Astrid has recently worked in business areas like Project Management, Finance, and Human Resources.
Astrid holds a Doctorate from Leuphana University of Lüneburg, a Master in Organizational Behaviour, Technology Management & Decision Modelling from Leuphana University of Lüneburg and a Bachelor in International Communication and Translation from University of Hildesheim & University of Coventry.
Astrid has 4 certificates. Among them, these include: Certified Project Manager, Certified Problem Solver And Change Manager, and Certified Professional Scrum Master TM I.
The availability of Astrid needs to be confirmed.
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The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.
Calculated based on our freelancers’ daily rates as of 7 Sep 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
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