Marike wearing a light pink floral jacket and a white top, smiling in a bright room.

A scientist and a leader who found her way back to peace

I've spent twenty years in leadership — across academia, biotech, NGOs, politics and the UN — with a PhD and the kind of CV that looks, from the outside, like everything's in order. I also know the other side of it: depression, burnout, and stretches of feeling completely overwhelmed and lost. I found my way back to peace and purpose, even in the chaos.

My mission is to help you do the same – to lead from clarity and a deeper purpose, no matter what you're carrying.

Explore working together

People are often surprised when I share the different paths I've taken in my career.

But to me, it's really just been about saying 'yes' to opportunities that felt right in my heart, even when they seemed a bit out of reach. Looking back, I can see that each decision was really a leap of faith, rooted in what I felt was truly right for me.

Professional Highlights: Experience Across Worlds

  • Have two master's degrees and a PhD in Science

  • Have been working across industries, from Academia, to small business, to corporate to non-governmental organisations.

  • Have switched professions from biotechnology to oil industry, technology transfer, human rights, and peace.

  • Have worked with business leaders, politicians, and the United Nations

  • Have been in leadership positions for more than 20 years

  • Hold a certificate as Leadership Coach from the Barrett Values Centre

  • Am certified in Culture Assessment from the Barrett Values Centre

  • Am a Prince2 Practitioner Project Manager

  • Am great at structure, strategy and getting things done

And in the midst of it all... the chapters that weren´t on my LinkedIn

  • Have been through two divorces

  • Suffered from severe depression

  • Been close to burnouts

  • Quit my job twice

  • Was once laid off from work

  • Was a single parent for five years

  • Started my own company

  • Wrote a book

  • Co-authored a book

  • Moved twice to a different country

  • Have been in India more times than I can remember

What Shaped Me: The Journey Behind the Coach

  • Am a certified Rapid Transformational Therapist / RTT® by Marissa Peer

  • Am a certified intuitive coach, trained in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)

  • Am certified in Soul-Body Fusion

  • Have, for more than a decade, immersed myself in many spiritual development techniques - different forms of meditation, breathing techniques, mindfulness, kriya yoga, mantras - and am still practicing them daily

  • Guide people at the intellectual, emotional, and soul level, and get lots of energy from it.

I’m inspired by

  • Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

  • Gandhi

  • Stephen Turoff

  • Marillion

  • Tony Robbins

  • Michael Beckwith

  • Wayne Dyer

  • Joe Dispenza

  • Marissa Peer

Ready for some Peace?

What I really want is to help you reconnect with the clarity and purpose that may feel buried under everything you're carrying.

Through my 'At PEACE, not in Pieces' approach, I'll walk beside you — working through what's tangled, finding clarity, and building a steady inner foundation to lead from. Not quick fixes: real, lasting change.

My Mission for you

More than anything, I want you to reconnect with the steadiness and clarity that's been there all along, under the noise — and to lead, and live, from it.

You're not broken; you're carrying a lot, and there's a way to set it down. Imagine finding your own voice again, being fully yourself, moving forward with quiet confidence — genuinely 'At PEACE, not in Pieces.'

Marike Stassar speaking at a roundtable with African Parliamentarians
Two women sitting on ornate chairs, one with gray hair speaking into a microphone, both wearing colorful dresses with floral patterns, at what appears to be an indoor event with flowers in the background.

This is not just theory—it’s lived experience

For over a decade I've mentored people through the questions that surface when the outside looks successful but something underneath has stopped adding up. My experience isn't only academic; it's grounded in twenty years of leadership across academia, biotech, the oil industry, NGOs, politics, and the UN. That breadth lets me understand the specific pressures of each of these worlds — and bring it into every mentorship, tailored to the rooms you actually lead in.


From global leaders to everyday lives—this is what I do

My approach holds both halves: the clarity of a scientist and the depth of a lifelong practitioner. For twenty years I've gone deep into the inner work — meditation, breathwork, the wisdom traditions — while leading in demanding rooms. I've faced my own depression, burnout, and stretches of feeling lost, and come out the other side steadier. I don't offer theory; I offer a path I've walked. What I bring: a warm, steady presence, two decades of hard-won insight, and a real commitment to helping you lead from your own clear ground.

AT PEACE