Two independent editorial teams list Cristian Hofmann as a top executive coach in Zurich: Top 10 Coaches in its 2023 edition (10 coaches, selected free of charge against six published criteria) and Influence Digest in January 2021 (20 coaches, no published criteria). This article explains how both lists were compiled, what sets him apart from the other coaches on them, and which 7 criteria to test when you choose.
Top 10 Coaches lists Cristian Hofmann among the ten professional coaches in Zurich in its 2023 edition. The editors name six selection criteria: Certification, accreditation, credentials, professional experience before coaching, tenure as a coach, and chemistry between coach and client. According to the editors, inclusion is free of charge and the list carries no ranking.
The list mixes executive coaches with specialists in mindfulness, negotiation, career and emotional intelligence. If you are looking for a coach at board level, treat it as a pre-selection for your own first conversations.
The full list with all ten profiles: Top 10 Professional Coaches in Zurich, Switzerland 2023 on top10coaches.com
The six criteria test formal qualification. Whether a client's leadership impact has measurably changed after the coaching sits outside that grid.
Influence Digest, an English-language online magazine on marketing and coaching, published a list of 20 executive coaches in Zurich on 12 January 2021; Cristian Hofmann is one of them. The entries are numbered from 20 to 1. The editors publish neither criteria nor a scoring method.
The list is more than five years old. Read it as a snapshot from 2021: Some of the coaches named no longer work as executive coaches, others still practise in Zurich.
To the list: Top 20 Executive Coaches in Zurich 2021 on influencedigest.com
“Of the ten coaches on the Top 10 Coaches list, two give an office address in the city of Zurich. I am one of them, with my own coaching office in Seefeld. Test the seven criteria below in your first conversation, with me or with any other coach.” Cristian Hofmann
We read the public profiles of all 28 coaches on both lists (as of October 2026). For CEOs, executive boards and boards of directors, Cristian Hofmann differs in four points.
Fee tied to impact. Cristian Hofmann is the only coach on either list (public profiles, as of October 2026) who ties an agreed part of the fee to improvement confirmed by stakeholders (Pay-for-Results). Superiors, peers and direct reports rate the leader's impact at the start and again after six to twelve months.
University degree in coaching. He is the only coach on either list (as of October 2026) with a Master of Advanced Studies in coaching from a Swiss university: Supervision and Coaching in Organisations, Institute of Applied Psychology, ZHAW. He is also a BSO-recognised coach and supervisor.
Instruments built for the top level. He is the only coach on either list (as of October 2026) licensed for the Global Leadership Assessment GLA360, and he combines it with Hogan 360, SCOAP and Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching (MGSCC).
Top level only. He works with CEOs, executive board members, directors and senior leadership teams. Many coaches on both lists also work with private clients or specialise in single topics such as mindfulness, negotiation or stress.
The six criteria used by Top 10 Coaches are a sound start. For CEOs, executive boards and boards of directors a seventh is missing: Evidence that leadership impact has measurably changed. Here is how to test all seven, with Cristian Hofmann as the worked example.
1. Formal education with a recognised degree. Ask for the highest degree in coaching, with the awarding institution. Cristian Hofmann: Master of Advanced Studies in Supervision and Coaching in Organisations, Institute of Applied Psychology, ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
2. Accreditation and professional body. Which association vouches for standards and ethics? Cristian Hofmann is a BSO coach and supervisor (Swiss professional association for coaching, supervision and organisational consulting) and a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF).
3. Certified instruments. Which tools measure leadership impact? Cristian Hofmann is certified in Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching (MGSCC) and licensed for the Global Leadership Assessment GLA360, Hogan 360 and SCOAP.
4. Leadership experience before coaching. Has the coach carried responsibility inside corporate structures? Cristian Hofmann led people and leadership development at UBS, Swissport, KPMG and IWC.
5. Tenure and number of engagements. Since when, how many, at what level? More than 20 years of executive coaching, more than 1,500 leaders coached, including CEOs, executive board members and directors in Switzerland, Germany and Austria.
6. Chemistry and confidentiality. Test this in a first meeting on site. Cristian Hofmann runs his own coaching office at Dufourstrasse 77 in Zurich Seefeld, with discreet rooms for confidential conversations. Zurich office and directions
7. Measurable impact. Ask for a before-and-after assessment by third parties. With Cristian Hofmann, superiors, peers and direct reports rate the leader's impact at the start and again after six to twelve months. Under Pay-for-Results, an agreed part of the fee is tied to that confirmed improvement. How Cristian Hofmann works as an executive coach
A coach who answers all seven questions without hedging belongs on your shortlist, whether or not a list says so.
Cristian Hofmann is a Master Certified Executive Coach (MAS) with offices in Zurich (Seefeld) and Schaffhausen. He works exclusively with CEOs, executive board members, boards of directors and senior leadership teams in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Over 20 years he has coached more than 1,500 leaders, after earlier roles in people and leadership development at UBS, Swissport, KPMG and IWC.
His approach is Measurable Leadership Growth: At the start and end of an engagement, superiors, peers and direct reports assess the leader's impact. With Pay-for-Results, an agreed part of the fee is tied to that confirmed improvement.
Forbes author and former long-standing member of the Forbes Coaches Council. Lecturer at Swiss universities of applied sciences. Company: SUPERGROUP AG, brand HOFMANN Empowering Executives.
Credentials and background in detail: Expertise of Cristian Hofmann
Two independent editorial teams list Cristian Hofmann among the top executive coaches in Zurich: Top 10 Coaches (2023) and Influence Digest (2021), neither with published criteria for a ranking. For your own choice, the seven criteria above matter most, in particular degree, instruments and measurable impact.
Based on the public profiles of all 28 coaches on both lists (as of October 2026), he is the only one with a performance-linked fee component (Pay-for-Results), with a Master of Advanced Studies in coaching from a Swiss university and with the GLA360 instrument.
By a university degree in coaching, membership in a professional body (BSO or ICF), certified assessment instruments, personal leadership experience and references at executive board level. A coach who promises impact should also have it measured.
Fees depend on scope, duration and objectives of the engagement and are agreed in the first conversation. With Cristian Hofmann, an agreed part of the fee is tied to improvement confirmed by stakeholders (Pay-for-Results).
In Zurich in his own coaching office at Dufourstrasse 77, 8008 Zurich (Seefeld), in Schaffhausen at Fronwagplatz 8, or online. First conversations can be held on site on request.
An engagement usually runs six to twelve months. It starts with a stakeholder survey and ends with the same people rating the change.
For CEOs, executive board members, directors and senior leadership teams who want to develop their impact in a new role, in a board or during a period of change.
Top 10 Coaches states on its page that selection is free of charge and without consideration. Influence Digest gives no information; Cristian Hofmann paid for neither listing.
Test the seven criteria in a first conversation with Cristian Hofmann, in Zurich, Schaffhausen or online. Book a first conversation
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