Hi.
I am Cerstin Hannestad.
I help people and brands to recognize, name, and translate internal or external ambiguity into the next, realistic decision.
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Orientation – Translation – Action.
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I’m both a creative mind and a strategic thinker — and I’ve learned how powerful that combination can be.
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As a Brand Consultant, Startup Mentor and Creative Director, I guide solopreneurs and startups through every step of their brand development process — from vision to market and beyond.
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Together, we build brands that are distinctive, compelling and ready to grow.
HISTORY
Where transformation meets strategy – turning challenges into clarity, strategy and growth – as a human being, mentor, strategist and creative.
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One decade in advertising, and one decade in the startup world.
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For over a decade I worked in agencies with a strong reputation, and another decade with various startups – helping founders and brands turn complexity into clarity, turn ideas into action, create strategies that deliver, and guide teams and leaders through growth and change.
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Business expertise meets personal experience
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Yet my expertise doesn’t come from business experience alone. My personal journey has shaped me fundamentally. I had to learn how to navigate uncertainty, rebuild orientation, rethink and create new paths – from an early age on, again and again.
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Undoubtably, this made me the person I am today.
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Those experiences gave me not only resilience and the ability to turn change into opportunity, but also a deep understanding of how transformation truly works.​
TODAY
Today I combine those worlds:
🌟 In TRANSITION COACHING, I support people in finding clarity, stability, and new direction when life feels overwhelming.
🌟 In STARTUP MENTORING, I help entrepreneurs organize their ideas, set priorities, and move from vision to execution.
🌟 In BRAND CONSULTANCY, I work with companies to shape distinctive, future-ready brands that resonate and grow.
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What connects all three? I know from lived experience what it means to face obstacles and to start fresh. I’ve learned to see the gift and opportunity in any situation – and to turn challenges into concrete strategies and real results.​​​
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My work is both human and strategic – empathetic, clear, and always focussed on action.
MILESTONES
Professional background
Long-term freelance
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Brand Consultant I VOLKSWAGEN Group Info Services AG
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Creative Strategist I Superpeers, Hamburg
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Creative Director I LOFINO GmbH
Own Startups
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CHCC Coaching & Consulting
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LUVVA LTX Club Wear
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JOY TOY BERLIN
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bakery. Brand Bakery Berlin
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Craft Beer Club Berlin
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CH Creative Content
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FitCrowd – Sports App
Agencies
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Senior Creative l Familie Redlich, Berlin
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Art Directors Swap l Ogilvy, Singapore
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Junior Art Director Digital l OgilvyOne, Frankfurt
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Creative @ Pitch Unit l Publicis Group, Frankfurt
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Copy Writer l McCann M.E.C.H., Berlin
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Assistant Creation l MRM, McCann Erickson, Frankfurt
Education
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DIPLOMA Communication Design Ø1 – University of Applied Sciences I Wiesbaden, Germany​
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Graduate Art College I P.ART Design, Stuttgart
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A-Levels l Ev. Mörike Gymnasium, Stuttgart
Whats it like to work with me
In other people’s words
'Cerstin is one of those rare individuals who refuses to be pigeonholed — her spectrum can’t be reduced to a single role or label.
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She has an unerring sense for what is real — for depth, truth, and resonance. In her presence, the frequency easily shifts — to an atmosphere much sharper, clearer, and more vivid.
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She is both head and heart.
A strategist with vision.
For years, she has accompanied people at turning points — those who sense that more awaits them than their old role, their secure job, their familiar story.
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With keen intuition, clear thinking, and an extraordinary ability to recognise patterns, she guides them to their own clarity.
She calls it Transition Coaching, but it’s really soul navigation: a space where people rediscover themselves.
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When you work, talk, or simply spend time with her, you feel that everything you are may be.
She hears what you say — and what you can’t yet say. She senses where you’re stuck — and meets you exactly there.
Through honest reflection and with clarity, insight, and guidance, she helps you find your way forward and move on with purpose.
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That is her true strengths:
she connects worlds — external and internal. Brands and people, inner truth and consciousness, strategy and soul.
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And she always stays true to herself — genuine, awake, incorruptible.
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Cerstin always creates — and in everything she does, she reminds you that you can do it too.
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Working with Cerstin is a beginning — one that invites clarity, courage, and joy.
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To end up motivated and clear about where your professional development should go and what needs to be done next in a sustainable way.
Buckle up and enjoy the ride!'
Social Connect
CERSTIN HANNESTAD
COACHING & CONSULTING
Instinctive · Creative · Leadership
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For Startups & Solopreneurs​
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Transition Coaching​
Startup Mentoring​​​
Strategic Brand Development
Creative Direction & Communication