Hi, I’m Ania Schmidt

Most successful professionals, regardless of geography, share the same frustration: they know they're capable of more than one role, but everything they've built depends on one job. I've spent 29 years changing that. As an author of Portfolio Career Design™, I help senior professionals turn their experience, strengths, and ideas into real career options - ones that bring both income and fulfilment.
29+
years in career transition
management
20 000+
professionals helped through change
47
countries where my clients operate

About me

I’m a work psychologist, strategist, and investor. An entrepreneur with nearly 30 years of experience on both sides of the table, working with international organisations and with the leaders who run them.

As CEO of Career Partners Institute (CPI World), I advise companies across the globe on outplacement, career transformation, and the future of work. Clients include Google, Meta, Roche, Accenture, Lufthansa, UBS, Dupont, and many more.

This experience gives me something theorists don’t have: a real-world understanding of how the market operates, what decisions play out at the board level, and how the people you compete with for positions actually think.

I’ve helped more than 20,000 professionals because I know the market from the inside. My clients don’t need motivational quotes. They need a sparring partner who understands the pressure they operate under and has a proven framework to get them where they want to go.

What do my clients come to me with?

Sometimes with a concrete dilemma: Do I stay or leave? How to build a Plan B without risking your reputation? How to turn 20 years of experience into something of your own? 

Other times, it’s just a jumble of thoughts and uncertainty: you know something needs to change, but you can’t see the next step clearly.

In both cases, I won’t just ask you questions you’ve already been asking yourself. You’ll get a perspective that you don’t have, because I see hundreds of careers every year and I know what worked and what didn’t.

I help you connect the dots you can’t see on your own.

How I work

Like a business sparring partner, not a therapist. I don’t sugarcoat things. If your plan isn’t viable, I’ll tell you before the market does.

I draw on eight distinct approaches, from mentoring, to strategic advisory to design thinking. Because the career of a managing director requires a different toolkit than that of a specialist.

I fit the tools to the problem, not the other way around.

I help you connect the dots you can’t see on your own. I know the market, I know the people, I know the possibilities. When I listen to your story, I see doors you haven’t noticed yet.

What sets me apart

I bring you trends and expertise from around the world, before they go mainstream. I work with clients in Zurich, Singapore, New York, Warsaw, and beyond. I see what’s happening across markets in real time.

My clients stay one step ahead, because I’m already one step ahead of the market.

What inspires me

Together with my daughter, Wiktoria, I host intellectual salons. These are spaces for conversations about what truly matters. It's not about job positions and companies, it's about life - concepts, ideas, values, and the future.

I do this because I believe the best decisions are made when you stop thinking exclusively about work.

This isn’t for everyone

Despite the warmth and empathy I bring to every conversation, if you’re looking for someone to pat you on the head and just tell you, “Everything will work out,” I’m not that person.

If you’re looking for a sparring partner who knows your world, speaks your language, and will help you design the next chapter on your terms, let’s talk.

Got a specific question or simply just curious?
A diagnostic call will show whether I can help. No commitment is required.

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