Profile

Dr. Alan Ettlin

Attested Core Attributes

Ten of Alan’s clients and professional colleagues were asked how they see his core attributes. The condensed, cumulative results are as follows:

  • “Alan is a 360° thinker.”
  • “His analytical skills are outstanding; he is very fast at grasping the core of the issues.”
  • “Alan is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met.”
  • “In strategic matters, brilliant!”
  • “As his client, my corporate interests were at the centre of his attention. His ethics are unquestionable.”
  • “He listens carefully and contributes to solutions in an integrative fashion.”
  • “I value him as a critically-minded sparring partner who helps to validate strategies, ideas and concepts.”
  • “Alan has excellent knowledge of natural sciences and also languages.”
  • “The working atmosphere which he creates is pleasant, focussed, constructive and solution-oriented.”
  • “Whilst upholding a rigorous sense of logic and rationality, Alan attends carefully to people’s feelings and needs.”
  • “He questions and reflects in depth very consistently, has an excellent memory and a pragmatic, creative approach to solution-finding.”
  • “I can unreservedly recommend his expertise in matters concerning corporate health – and especially in the accurate analysis and stringent alignment of the central premises of an organisation’s vision, strategy, culture and ethics.”

Academic Background

Alan has a strong background in software engineering based on his master degree course at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) part of which was conducted at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. The next stage of his development saw Alan engage in the academic world by obtaining a PhD in robotics (thesis title ‘rigid body dynamics simulation for robot motion planning’) from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).

While working on industry projects, Alan recognised first-hand that some of the most challenging and rewarding tasks and problems extend beyond the engineering domain into complex socio-technical systems involving organisational strategy, culture and ethics. This led Alan to undertake executive MBA studies with the Open University (UK) which he completed in 2014. He then went on to deepen his cultural and ethical expertise even further under the personal mentorship of Stuart Robinson of the 5C Centre for Cross-Cultural Conflict Conciliation.

Professional Footprint

Alan has worked in various technical, managerial and advisory capacities for organisations in Europe, South America and Asia ranging from embryonic start-ups to well-established global corporations.

From 2010 onwards, a recurring theme in his mandates has concerned vision alignment and corporate cultural development as a prerequisite for the implementation of agile and lean transformation at operational and strategic levels.

In 2015, driven by his fascination and experience in addressing fundamental issues at the senior management level of organisations, Alan offered his expertise to the bbv Consultancy team. Here, he first underwent a rigorous un-learning process to develop the level of ethical and cultural neutrality which underlies bbv Consultancy’s understanding of professional consultancy.

Since then, Alan has been researching and advising on matters of corporate culture, corporate ethics and ethical health management in national and international environments. In 2022, Alan founded Essentis AG to underscore the value of neutrality and operate from an independent entity while continuing his association with the bbv Group and the 5C Centre for Cross-Cultural Conflict Conciliation.