Positive Leaders that work for you

Our unique team and skill composition, combined with a shared knowledge of Positive Psychology, Mindfulness and Behavioural Science, delivers to your needs. Meet our founders and learn more how these leaders transformed into Positive Leaders.

Armin Forstner

Managing Partner, Co-Founder

Armin is a creative personality with a talent for getting and holding people’s attention. 20+ years ago he started his career in Austria working for one of the country’s largest private finance education companies, Controller Institute, product managing training, seminars, and conferences. He moved to London, where he still lives, in 2004 to work first in financial media planning and buying, before quickly moving on to develop, grow and lead European finance media and event brands, delivering sustainable growth throughout the recession and in the face of major changes in the publishing industry.

Armin’s passion is about the paradigm shift in leadership and management, towards human-centred, 21st century organisations. He is one of the Co-Founders and Managing Partner of Serrano 99 Management Consulting, the publisher of positive & mindful leader magazine. At Serrano 99, Armin provides strategic facilitation – consulting, coaching, and education to help teams, companies, and organisations to perform, grow, and improve.

Armin holds a Master’s degree in Positive Leadership and Strategy from IE Business School in Madrid, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Economics and Business Administration in Vienna and completed University of Oxford’s Summer School in Mindfulness and Mindfulness Cognitive Therapy. He is a certified Gestalt coach. He speaks German, English, and some Japanese. And Portuguese.

Declan Noone

Senior Partner, Co-Founder and Adjunct Professor, IE University

Declan is a passionate advocate for the continuous development and evolution of leaders, of all ages, within communities, society and organisations. He is one of the co-founders of Serrano 99 Management Consulting, the publisher of positive & mindful leader magazine.

Declan is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Masters of Talent Development & HR at IE School of Human Sciences and Technology, the Masters in Law for Corporate Compliance at IE Law School, and a contributor to IE Business School Executive Education programmes. In 2019, he received the IE Prize for Teaching Excellence, and it currently involved in the development of programmes for the IE Centre for Health, Wellbeing and Happiness.

In his previous career, he was a military officer in the Irish Defence Forces, a leader of everything from small to large-scale teams, across multiple organisational functions, and direct command roles both at home and during international deployments. He was a full time instructor in the Irish Military College, specifically on the areas of Strategy, Leadership, Peacekeeping and Peace Support Operations.

Declan holds a Master’s degree in Positive Leadership and Strategy from IE Business School in Madrid, a Master’s degree in International Relations from Dublin City University, and a Bachelor of Science from the National University of Ireland, Galway. He is a graduate of the Irish Defence Forces Military College, and a certified Gestalt coach.

Natasa Kazmer

Associate Partner, Co-Founder

Natasa is all about reaching the skies. Quite literally. She started her career in the airline industry, working in the fields of marketing, sales, and communication. A few years later, her drive and entrepreneurial spirit led her, together with 5 colleagues, to set up Wizz Air, which is currently one of the most successful airlines in Europe. While she was busy setting the pace in a highly dynamic and competitive environment, she was inspired by great leaders and passionate people all around her. She became intrigued by the human aspect of corporate success, and began to delve deeper into this area. The most interesting questions were: what is the next step for corporations when it comes to motivation and efficiency? How can people continue to deliver at a high level, or even step up, when the dynamics of the company intensify? What is the ultimate leadership style that keeps people motivated through bad times and from becoming complacent in good times? What constitutes a sustainable competitive advantage? What is the face of the next generation corporation?

Natasa holds a Master’s degree in Positive Leadership and Strategy from IE Business School, a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Amiens, and a Diploma in Financial Management from SupdeCo Amiens. She is a certified Gestalt coach, and speaks Hungarian, English, Russian, and French.