Clarity at the moments that matter.

Support for high-impact entrepreneurs and academic leaders navigating complex, high-responsibility work.

Explore working together

I help leaders make good quality decisions, typically brought in when a venture or initiative reaches a point where the next step is not yet clear, or the leadership required to take it is shifting.

This work is most useful where:

Leaders need space to think clearly and make decisions. The demands of the role have outpaced the space to reflect, and there is a need to step back, clarify what matters, and act with focus and integrity.

A step-change requires strategic clarity. The venture is entering a new phase, such as fundraising, market expansion, or scaling, and requires clear direction and alignment.

Alignment is needed across leadership and stakeholders to move forward with clarity. Once this is in place, the focus shifts to establishing a process that enables decisions and progress to follow.

Way of working

Growing ventures are often redesigning the plane while in flight, balancing board, investor, team, and partner expectations.

I work directly with decision-makers who hold the answer, but need the space and challenge to make it clear and actionable.

The work is structured but non-formulaic. It may take the form of a contained coaching engagement, a focused strategic intervention, or ongoing decision support. Where needed, I draw on a network of trusted experts.

We look at the strategic, organisational and personal aspects of a situation together, to clarify what matters and what to do next.

The output is clear direction and quality decisions that can be acted on.

About me

Kathryn Maunders

I work alongside entrepreneurs and academics navigating complex, high-responsibility work, drawing on two decades of experience in multi-stakeholder environments.

I founded Kestrel in 2014 as a home for this work - supporting innovators serving nature and society to shape direction, strengthen judgment, and build ventures with integrity over time.

Alongside Kestrel, I am a Business Fellow at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford, where I am actively involved in strengthening the climate entrepreneurial ecosystem. 

My earlier career includes consulting with McKinsey & Company in Johannesburg and Geneva, and co-founding two (and a half) impact ventures. I hold a BA in Economics & Management and an MSc in Evidence-Based Social Intervention, both from the University of Oxford. I am British and based in the Netherlands, my adopted home.

Testimonials

  • “Kathryn brings that rare combination of strategic insight and practical support with a great communication style. She brought value not only in the strategy development, but also added unique views and approaches as well as oversight during the implementation phase.”

    Jan-Willem Bode
    President, Puro.Earth

  • “Kathryn combines a powerful brain with great empathy. She kept me straight by reminding of the ‘why’ behind our decisions when I felt lost.”

    Anouk Kooijmans
    CEO Nomad (pre-sale)

  • “Kathryn is strategic, able to navigate and build momentum in complex institutions whilst focusing on a clear shared goal. She drives progress with pragmatism”

    Prof. Cameron Hepburn
    Oxford University


  • “Kestrel gets inside the minds of their clients, declutters their thinking, and gives them a framework and action plan so there is confidence and hope to move forward.”

    Ted Jeory
    Co-Director, Finance Uncovered

  • "Kestrel are a deep thinking, intelligent, determined, passionate and very personable team with high EQ. They are exactly who you need when dealing with sensitive or complex relationships."

    William de Laszio
    CEO Agathos

  • "Kathryn is driven by impact from the heart with a solid business sense and realism at the core."

    Annerieke Douma
    Director, Cities and Regions, Circle Economy

  • "Kathryn gets how to combine theory with practice and social impact with entrepreneurship."

    Menno van Dijk
    Founder, ScaleUpNation

  • "The coaching sessions with Kathryn are truly one of a kind. She guides you in exploring triggers beyond the obvious and has a talent for taking away any sense of pressure. With her, you can genuinely work on yourself and grow."

    Louis Meisen
    Founder, WeDesignFood

  • "Kathryn has helped me achieve significant clarity and well-being in a very short timeframe. She has supported me brilliantly with both personal and professional challenges, helping me feel noticeably calmer, more grounded, and connected to my body. Her deep love, respect and appreciation for nature is so evident and inspiring, making every session incredibly special."

    Viktorija Stojcheva
    Founder, Trail Keepers

Example engagements

  • University of Oxford - Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

    Helping Professors Cameron Hepburn and Paul Shearing to strengthen the climate entrepreneurship ecosystem at Oxford.

  • Family Philanthropy - Climate Strategy

    Supported a leading European entrepreneurial family to align and evolve its philanthropic efforts, including a major climate initiative and the repositioning of a core foundation for greater impact.

  • Puro - Strategy and Implementation

    Helped the leading carbon removal registry through a post-financing strategic review and leadership transition - helping shape an agile growth strategy while strengthening leadership alignment and resilience.

  • Agathos - Impact and operational turn-around

    Supported a private equity fund with a portfolio company turnaround, operational due diligence, and an independent evaluation of social impact.

  • Circle Economy - Partnership strategy

    Enabled the design and rapid piloting of a scalable partnership model, allowing a global circular economy organisation to grow collaborations while maintaining technical rigour and values alignment.

  • Finance Uncovered - Scaling strategy

    Created space for a high-impact investigative media charity to step back from day-to-day pressures and develop a clear, focused strategy - strengthening positioning and enabling confident, organic growth.

  • Nomad - Company strategic sale

    Supported the founder’s family through a sensitive leadership transition, exploring strategic options and delivering a values-aligned sale to long-term investors.

  • ScaleUpNation - Build Scaling Lab

    Shepherded the evolution of a research initiative into a fully funded lab focused on understanding and improving scale-up success for impact-driven ventures.

  • Utrecht University Academic Founder - Pre-incorporation venture build

    Worked alongside the inventor as an intended co-founder, combining technical and commercial due diligence, go-to-market strategy, tech development, development partner and customer discussions (pre-incorporation).