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. Portfolio Career Design™ turns ambitious professionals’ experience, strengths, and ideas into real career options - creating a working life with more income, fulfilment, and choice.
29+
years in career transition
management
20 000+
professionals helped through change
47
countries where my clients operate
About me
Managing change
I’m a work psychologist, strategist, entrepreneur, and CEO of Career Partners Institute. For nearly 30 years, I’ve worked at the intersection of organizational change and senior career transition.
Clients
Having advised global companies including Google, Meta, Roche, Accenture, Lufthansa, UBS, and DuPont, I understand how decisions are made on both sides of the market.
Framework
My clients don’t come to me for motivation. They come for structure, strategic judgement, and a proven framework that turns experience into career options.
What do my clients come to me with?

A concrete dilemma  -  stay or leave, how to build a second income stream, how to turn 20 years of experience into a portfolio career. Or simply noise  -  too many ideas and no structure, or no idea at all, just the quiet frustration of knowing you're capable of more. Either way, I won't ask you questions you've already been asking yourself. I help you connect the dots you can't see from the inside.

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 a managing director's career requires a different toolkit than a specialist's. I fit the tools to the problem, not the other way around. And when I listen to your story, I see doors you haven't noticed yet

What sets me apart

I work with clients across Zurich, Singapore, New York, Warsaw, and beyond  -  which means I see trends, tools, and opportunities forming across markets before they go mainstream. That global perspective becomes yours. You don't have to scan the horizon alone  -  I bring what's relevant directly into your strategy.

What inspires me

Together with my daughter Wiktoria, I host intellectual salons  -  intimate gatherings where the conversation goes beyond careers and companies. Ideas, values, the future. Because I've seen it hundreds of times: the best professional 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 back 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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