Crisis
Ready before you need it
A growing brand becomes a target. I prepare your organisation and your spokespeople ahead of the crisis, so that they have the right reflexes.
Advising scale-up leaders
Perception is reality.
I work with scale-up leaders when the company grows so fast that confusion sets in: a more exposed brand, a culture that is being diluted, a vision that is misunderstood.
Photo: Vanina de Turckheim
Services
Where I can help
Three areas of work, all aimed at aligning your stakeholders. Because in times of change, the way they see things can be a catalyst, or hold you back.
Culture
Align your teams, unlock execution
I help you evolve your culture deliberately, and turn it into an engine of alignment, execution and shared purpose.
Leadership
A sparring partner over time
As the company scales, leading through proximity is no longer enough. I work with you on how to create buy-in from larger teams and external audiences.
In practice Deliverables and engagement formats
Crisis
- Crisis management fundamentals, illustrated with real cases (half a day)
- Review of your risk landscape, crisis scenarios and escalation matrix
- A clear crisis team and decision chain, set out in a short, actionable playbook
- Team training, crisis simulation and media training for your spokespeople
Culture
- Diagnosis of the gap between what you intend to convey and what your teams actually experience
- Identification of the behaviours you expect and the trade-offs worth making explicit
- Memorable, actionable principles, and a roadmap to embed them in your people practices: managers, onboarding, rituals, performance reviews
Leadership
- Regular one-to-one sessions, paced by your own deadlines
- Preparation for high-stakes moments: board, all-hands, investor communication, press announcements
- On call for sensitive topics and judgement calls under pressure
Formats Diagnostic (2 weeks) · Project (3 to 8 weeks) · Sparring partner (3 to 12 months). Every format is built with your leadership team and the people who will carry it afterwards. Each engagement is scoped in a first conversation.
Founders
Does this sound familiar?
Your brand is more exposed, and your teams aren't prepared.
One incident can turn into a full-blown crisis and destroy trust.
Growth is accelerating, but the culture is being diluted.
The company loses coherence. Execution slows down.
You've set a new strategic direction, but it isn't understood.
Buy-in fades. Resistance to change sets in.
What you get from Perception
An outside perspective with no internal agenda, and the experience of having lived through these situations from the inside.
Are you an investor? When to bring me in
- A founder has to scaleThe way they lead has to evolve as fast as the company does.
- A new CEO has to earn credibilityBuy-in from the teams and the board is decided in the first few months.
- An acquisition has to deliverTwo cultures have to move forward together, without losing velocity.
- A raise or an exit is comingAn unprepared reputation risk can weigh on the valuation.
Flexible involvement, one-off or over time, combining the experience of an operator with an investor's perspective.
About
Verena Butt d'Espous
- 10 years
- in pioneering impact investment funds
- 10 years
- on BlaBlaCar's leadership team, from start-up to unicorn
- ≈ 200
- people managed across international teams
- INSEAD
- MBA in 2007, Chair of the INSEAD Alumni Fund
After a first decade with pioneering impact funds in Geneva and London, I joined BlaBlaCar. There I lived through hyper-growth, international expansion, acquisitions and integrations, crises and recoveries, all the way to profitability.
As a sparring partner to the founders, I shaped the company's positioning, supported leadership transitions, fostered alignment within the executive committee and kept a strong culture alive.
My remit covered corporate communications, customer relations, fraud prevention, sustainability and extra-financial reporting, as well as marketing. I set up the crisis management protocols and led the response to large-scale crises.
I hold the Sciences Po – IFA board director certification (2026) and an INSEAD MBA (2007), and I chair the INSEAD Alumni Fund.
What I care most about: that your company goes through its growth phases with clarity, and that your teams can bring their full energy to it.
I work at the intersection of:
Same situation. Two readings. Who's right?
Solid execution starts with aligned perceptions.
Contact
Let's talk about your challenges.
A few lines about your situation are enough to start the conversation.
verena@perceptionconseil.com