From auditor to partner: 27 years of leadership at Deloitte Luxembourg

Looking back on your 27 years at Deloitte Luxembourg, what are you most proud of?

When I look back, what resonates most deeply is not a single achievement but the human journey I shared with so many colleagues across the world. From my early days as a young trainee in 1997 to serving on executive committees and boards in Luxembourg and across EMEA, I had the privilege of connecting with extraordinary people.

What mattered most to me was fostering an environment grounded in trust, ethics, and meaningful human connection. I am proud of having contributed to Deloitte’s impact in governance, risk, and internal audit locally and internationally, and of the trust placed in me by colleagues, clients, and regulators.

I am also proud of the relationships and friendships forged along the way through shared challenges, long days and nights on projects, strategic debates, and moments of genuine laughter and connection.

If my legacy is one of integrity, humanism, and thoughtful leadership, I consider my career a success.

You have held numerous leadership roles across Europe and globally. What was the most challenging leadership moment you faced, and how did you grow from it?

Leading through periods of major technological change, regulatory disruption, and shifting client expectations — especially at the EMEA level — required boldness and constant reinvention.

The most challenging aspect was navigating challenges while always staying true to human values. Big decisions often come with ambiguity, competing priorities, and pressure. In those moments leadership isn’t about having all the answers; it is about bringing composure, adaptability, and clarity when we go through a storm and everything around us shakes and becomes unclear.

Practicing Aikido since childhood helped immensely as this art teaches you to stay centred, welcome movement, and harmonise forces rather than resist them, turning tension into opportunity. This shaped my ability to guide teams with calmness, humility, and empathy. I grew by learning to listen deeply, trust collective intelligence, and lead from a place of ethics and humanity.
 

As someone who was involved in shaping Risk Advisory at an EMEA level, how have you seen the field evolve over the years?

When I began, risk management was largely seen as a technical or compliance-driven discipline. Over time it evolved into a strategic compass for organisations.

During my time as EMEA Financial Services Risk Advisory Leader and a member of multiple executive committees, I saw a profound shift: risk became more connected to resilience, foresight, and integrity. It moved closer to the boardroom and became inseparable from corporate purpose.

Today, it is key that risk leaders combine regulation and risk quantification but also strategy, operations, technology, governance, ethics, geopolitics, and societal expectations. The field has matured into a multidisciplinary art, one that requires both analytical and holistic perspectives. Also, businesses are now expected to act not only for shareholders but for the greater public interest.

This evolution is what kept the work so intellectually engaging for me.
 

You have led with strong values, particularly in ethics and governance. How did those priorities shape your decision-making and leadership style?

Ethics has never been just a professional requirement for me — it has always been a way of life. Throughout my roles as Advisory and Consulting Ethics Leader, and in leading Risk Services in Luxembourg and across EMEA, ethical principles were the quiet foundation guiding every decision I made. My upbringing, shaped by a family tradition of service, instilled a strong sense of duty that was later deepened by my passion for philosophy, humanism, and the practice of Aikido. These influences nurtured a leadership style rooted in integrity, respect, and service, reinforcing my conviction that good governance relies less on rules and more on character.

International collaboration was a major part of your role. What does successful cross-border teamwork look like to you?

For me, successful cross-border collaboration is rooted in curiosity, humility, and trust.

During my years working across Europe, the Middle East, and Japan, I found out that technical expertise opens doors, but genuine cultural openness is what builds bridges. The most effective international teams listen carefully to each other, embrace diverse ways of thinking, and appreciate the depth and richness that different perspectives bring.

Aikido also subtly taught me how to read energy, understand rhythm, and adapt fluidly, skills that translate remarkably well into multicultural teamwork. Some of my most enriching moments came from seeing teams from the Middle East, Israel, UK, Japan, Spain, Italy, Germany, Central Europe, the Nordics, Luxembourg, and the US working together in real harmony, each bringing unique perspectives that together created something way greater than the sum of its parts.
 

Can you share a defining moment or turning point during your time as a partner?

Becoming the EMEA Financial Services Risk Advisory Leader was definitely a turning point in my career. Stepping into a role of that scale, shaping strategy, driving innovation, and collaborating across so many countries and cultures was both humbling and exhilarating. The role stretched me in new ways. It pushed me to think more globally, act more strategically, and embrace leadership as a service to a much broader community.

If you could give one piece of advice to the next generation of leaders at Deloitte Luxembourg, what would it be?

Lead with purpose and with your humanity.

Technical excellence matters, but what will truly differentiate you is your ability to inspire trust, act with integrity, and care about the impact you create. Stay curious, learn and get better every day. Watch and listen deeply. Immerse yourself in different disciplines. Practice empathy, be generous, and never compromise your values. And above all, remember that leadership isn’t about being the most visible person in the room, it is about elevating others who place their trust in you so they can blossom and flourish.
 

During your time at Deloitte Luxembourg, the financial industry went through multiple crises and regulatory upheavals. How did you and your teams adapt to such a fast-changing environment?

By staying grounded, agile, and united. Crises test more than technical capabilities; they test character.

My focus was on providing clarity when there was confusion, composure when there was stress, and direction when there was volatility. This is another example of how my practice of Aikido shaped my way of handling issues: when force comes at you, you do not push against it, you channel it. That mindset helped me guide teams effectively through challenging times.
 

Now that you have stepped into retirement, how do you reflect on the balance between professional ambition and personal life?

Retiring at 50 feels less like an ending and more like a new beginning, a chance to live a “second life.” During my years at Deloitte Luxembourg, I devoted myself wholeheartedly to our organisation, our people, and our clients. I really enjoyed it. Those years were rich, intense, and profoundly formative.

But there is a time for everything and now I am nurturing other passions: pursuing new entrepreneurial projects with friends in the art sector, contributing to NGOs, making music with my brother, and working on a novel.

Deloitte was a fabulous story and will always stay close to my heart. Now my second life allows all dimensions of my identity — professional, artistic, and humanist — to coexist and flourish.
 

How do you define success? Has that definition changed since retirement?

Success used to mean impact, leadership, performance, and contribution within the professional sphere.

Now, success means living with intention: supporting causes that matter to me, contributing to the public interest and the greater good, and creating beauty, whether through writing, art, music, or contributions to NGOs and other societal endeavours. It is now a more intimate and holistic concept.

Laurent Berliner