Talks

I offer

I offer talks, from keynotes for auditoriums to small-group discussions that are

  • research-based,
  • practical,
  • intellectual, and
  • inspiring

based on my values of

  • equality,
  • learning,
  • cooperation, and
  • inclusion

in order to help audiences understand why things are as they are and find opportunities to change things for the better.

Topic specialties

  • Women in leadership
  • Academic careers
  • Working across generations
  • Diversity

How I work

We start with a conversation first about your goals for your group:

  • What should be different after the talk?
  • What’s the feeling and the message that you want your group to leave with?
  • How far may I push them intellectually and emotionally in service of their learning?

From there, I grow the content and the format, tailor-made and research-based.

Endorsements from talks

Prof. Hofmeister spoke about the evaluation criteria that are influenced by gender, especially in an academic context, and the specific challenges that women scientists face in every day interaction around gendered expectations and classification structures. She gave a window into current research and illustrated the theme with examples from her own scientific career and experience in academic institutions. Her American perspective allowed a particularly focused analysis about how the German institutions are influenced by tradition and culture. It was an extremely educational view of the academic system in Germany. 
Her open style and sensitive interaction with the group made a really lively discussion possible and we had a fruitful exchange over participants’ own experience in a safe environment. The kick-off event for our new series was a huge success, and I look forward to having Prof. Hofmeister return as a speaker!
– Dr. Lena Faust, Wissenschaftliche Koordinatorin, Sonderforschungsbereich 


I invited Prof. Heather Hofmeister as a keynote speaker about ‘Leading Women in a man´s business world’ for the founding of a network of women leaders in our international paint and coatings industry. Heather is an excellent speaker who rivets her audience, shares enthusiasm, and presents grounded scientific results about things that many had only felt before but did not realize were so widely experienced. With her competent contribution she made our discussions that much richer and more fruitful and added greatly to the success of our entire event. I would invite her again in a second.
– Dr. Sonja Schulte, Chefredakteurin European Coatings Journal und FARBE UND LACK, Vincentz Network

Testimonials from recent talks

“Thank you again for your great presentation! We received very good feedback from the attendees. Your presentation was voted to be the best by 25% of all people taking the questionaire.” (out of 19 presentations and hundreds of questionnaires).
Dr. Gesa Behnken, Second chairwoman of the VILF e.V. (Verband der Ingenieure des Lack- und Farbenfaches)
“Thank you for the excellent talk. Your style was perfect for the theme: Charming, competent, compassionate, insightful, empathetic, evocative, and you had the audience in the palm of your hand. You provided insights that I had never heard brought together before. The feedback that we have received was thoroughly positive, something that is not necessarily to be expected with a theme like gender and leadership. I would appreciate staying in touch with you.”
Nadja Tschirner, Geschäftsführende Gesellschafterin, Cross Consult GbR
“Many thanks once again for your talk. All the colleagues I spoke to found it fantastic! They took many ideas with them and I’ve only heard positive feedback. Even the top management listened intensively and praised the presentation. We will definitely apply the ideas here. And maybe we can deepen our work together in the coming year.”
Pamela Hecking, Head of Communications Germany, SEB
“The keynote and the new insights were really inspiring and gave all kinds of new impulses. On top of that, I have gotten an unbelievable amount of positive feedback. So many thanks for the renewed cooperation. It was also a lot of fun for me!”
Sandra Schweigert, Employer Branding Samsung Electronics GmbH
“You really enhanced our event and I am really grateful that I discovered you in the endless expanse of the internet!”
Dr. Sonja Schulte, Chefredakteurin European Coatings Journal und FARBE UND LACK, Vincentz Network
“Thank you again for your inspiring keynote!”
Prof. Dr. Birgitta Wolff, Präsidentin Goethe Universität
“Sitting in the second row of the event yesterday, I so enjoyed your lecture that completely resonated with me.”
Angela Behrend, Executive Coach
“It was a pleasure for all of us to listen to your talk and lots of people were inspired by it.”
Dipl.- Soziologin Johanna Bamberg-Reinwand, Referentin der Frauenbeauftragten, Universität Bamberg
“I think that your perspective was different than those I have heard previously in the D&I space. And they were quite provocative.”
Sarah T. Eckersley, Global Director, Research, Development & Technical Service, Coatings, Monomers & Plastic Additives, The Dow Chemical Company
“Your talk about the historical development and life course perspective about women in Germany and the effects on careers was really inspiring. Many thanks for the wonderful talk.”
Aida Welker, Managing Director, Head of Risk Management, KfW Ipex- Bank
“You are warm, welcoming, magnetic, nurturing, hospitable, thoughtful. This is a time in history, we so need people to stand up and talk like you. We need women to be themselves, claim their power, intelligence, and spread it to the world. And take responsibility, take charge of what’s important in the world. And not let morons pretend to be in charge. We need the world to have women’s leadership.“
Stéphane Juillard, Coach
“Thank you very much for your refreshing and inspiring talk on Friday! Your talk made me think about the hard work of the “Trümmerfrauen” and their role in the ongoing years. Thanks for broadening perspectives.”
Katharina Grunwald, Dipl.-Psych. Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin


“Thank you for the interesting impulse within the event to the theme diversity and inclusion and for presenting the different aspects and point of views people have on these themes.”
Lisa-Marie Schmitz, Management Consulting Analyst, Accenture
“It was a pleasure to attend the book launch last night, and hear you speak – fascinating topic.”
Nora Hutson, FCIPD, Executive Coach, HR Consultant
“Many thanks for the excellent talk today at the Rheingau Wirtschaftsforum!”
Caroline Willeke, Deputy Director General Statistics at European Central Bank
„Great to meet you last night and thank you for your insightful talk. It would be really good to connect and talk more on the meaning of work, I was really interested in the five domains you discussed.“
Hannah Moyo, Senior Consultant at The Storytellers
“Great talk today at CrossMentoring Programme and totally happy about the opportunity to get to know you!“
Anna Lisa Leddin, Manager Financial Services bei 4C GROUP AG – Management Beratung
“Great talk about being a postdoc, it was really a ‘feel good’ moment for most of the audience, myself in any case.”
Dr. Amanda Sahrbacher, Referentin Postdocs, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie – KIT, Karlsruhe House of Young Scientists (KHYS)