Forestrock · Zürich · Switzerland
Strategic AI advisory for boards, executive teams, founders, and shareholders.
We don't advise from the sidelines — we build inside the team.
From the Theory of Change
Why AI changes the operating system of companies fundamentally.
Three findings on why pilots and point solutions don't move the needle — and why the operating model itself is the right level of intervention.
Read the full paper →01 · Force
AI changes cognitive work itself — not the channels around it.
Internet, cloud and mobile accelerated communication, infrastructure and access — none touched the act of thinking. AI does. The change cascades simultaneously across hierarchies, roles, incentives, value creation and business models — all on the same compressed feedback loop.
02 · Mechanism
The bottleneck is institutional, not technical.
Three years into broad deployment, 89% of executives report no measurable productivity impact. The gap sits in the leverage points that determine how people actually work together — incentives, goals, unwritten assumptions — exactly what most companies leave untouched while reorganising their tooling.
03 · Conclusion
AI is an operating model to be designed, not a tool to be deployed.
Point solutions layered onto the existing system get neutralised by it. The right level of intervention is the operating model: how value is created, how roles are defined, how governance holds, how technology connects, what infrastructure enables.
About
Founder
Friederike von Waldenfels — exited tech founder, Fractional COO, systems thinker.
Friederike von Waldenfels
Exited tech founder. Built and scaled an ecommerce platform past CHF 100M in revenue. Today: designing human-centered operating systems that integrate AI agents, automation, and intelligent decision flows.
Full bio →Operating principle
"We don't advise from the sidelines — we build inside the team."
Services
What we do
Building AI Offices, autonomous operating models, and AI-native business models — from strategy to execution.
01
AI Offices
Team, mandate, operating cadence — so AI is owned, not improvised.
02
Autonomous Operating Model
Decision rights, accountability, model lifecycle — written for executives.
03
AI-native models
Operating models designed around AI from the start — not retrofitted.
How we work
We systemize ideas. Scattered intent becomes operating models, workflows with and without AI, and execution frameworks that move founders from strategy to measurable results.
"We don't advise from the sidelines — we build inside the team."
— operating principle
Work
Selected engagements
Recent mandates across fulfilment, biodiversity, deep tech and retail loyalty.
- Fulfilment · 1,000+Operating-model redesign for an AI-augmented fulfilment business.
- Biodiversity foundationAI-powered satellite detection — research to operations.
- Deep tech · DNA trackingScaling structure with AI and finding the right product market fit.
- Retail & loyaltyStrategy work on loyalty programs and how AI will impact the interaction with customers.
Ecosystem
Clients & ventures
Who we partner with and what we build alongside the advisory work.
Who we work with
- Owners
- Founders
- Board
- Executive Teams
Governance
Board mandates
Current and past board roles.
Aug 2025 – Present
Foundation Board Member · Capacity.eco
Zürich, Switzerland · Part-time
Capacity is the world's first nonprofit venture builder dedicated to biodiversity and ecosystem protection. Supported by a network of 300+ biodiversity leaders, we launch #MoonshotMissions that combine frontier technology — like satellite-based AI — with frontline communities to protect critical ecosystems. The first mission, 'The Shield', enables Indigenous communities to defend their territories using the latest tech and best practices.
capacity.eco →Apr 2021 – Apr 2024 · 3 yrs
Board Member
Competec-Gruppe
The Competec Group consists of the trading companies Alltron AG, Jamei AG, Medidor AG and BRACK.CH as well as the logistics service provider Competec Logistik AG and Competec Service AG. The group has over 920 employees and achieved sales of around 1.026 billion Swiss francs in 2020.
May 2018 – Jun 2023 · 5 yrs 2 mos
Member of Board
Handelsverband.swiss (VSV)
Bern, Switzerland
The VSV combines over 300 online shops generating 60% of B2C online business and 30% of Swiss Post package volume. We negotiate framework agreements on behalf of members, connect the industry, organise events, and lead political discussions on VAT, import taxes, consumer and data protection.
vsv-versandhandel.ch →Dec 2014 – Dec 2019 · 5 yrs 1 mo
Chairman of the Board
myluckydog.ch AG
Langenthal
Myluckydog.ch is the online shop for healthy dogs. The assortment is selected by vets to feed dogs healthy and ecological food, plus exclusive accessories brands. The company merged with another subsidiary in 2020.
Next step
Ready to build your operating model?
Tell us what you're building and we'll set up a short call to explore how we can help.