Celebrating 25 Years: A Conversation with Meike Wenzel, Partner

Freedom to build, shape and create meaningful impact.

Meike joined Executive Insight in Zurich in 2005 from another large consulting firm, attracted by the opportunity to help build a purpose-driven healthcare consultancy with strong values, entrepreneurial freedom, and a close-knit team culture. Back in 2005, Executive Insight was still a small team in Zurich, driven more by conviction than by structure.

“We had no titles, no structure, no processes. All we had was a strong purpose,” she recalls. That early spirit laid the foundation for a culture built on freedom, caring, and trust – values that, in Meike’s view, have remained remarkably consistent even as the company has grown, professionalized, and expanded internationally.

A career shaped by curiosity, breadth, and mentorship

Meike’s background is in business administration, with an MBA from the University of Düsseldorf. Her early consulting career exposed her to a wide range of industries, but she was quickly drawn to Life Sciences; a field where strategic questions are closely connected to scientific progress, patient needs, and healthcare system realities.

“I was fascinated from the start, and having a good team and mentor helped me make the decision to specialize.” The journey to becoming a Partner wasn’t part of a rigid master plan though. “It evolved organically,” she says. 

Over time, this mindset translated into a broad consulting profile spanning commercial strategy, market access, policy, medical affairs, organizational design, and capability building – experience that continues to shape how she supports clients today.

From entrepreneurial beginnings to strategic practice building

Over the years, Executive Insight evolved significantly, adding offices in London and New York, building more structure, and expanding from its initial commercial and sales focus into Market Access, Medical Affairs, Government Affairs, Patient Affairs, and broader cross-functional transformation work. For Meike, this evolution reflects one of Executive Insight’s strengths: The ability to grow new areas of expertise without losing the collaborative, non-siloed spirit of the early days.

One achievement that matters deeply to Meike is having built Executive Insight’s Patient Affairs practice from scratch – a small yet important practice that helps connect the dots between patient needs, evidence, access, medical, policy, and commercial priorities.

What makes this work particularly meaningful to her is its closeness to patients’ lived experiences and the opportunity to understand and improve what truly matters in the real world. At the same time, she emphasizes that Patient Affairs is one part of a broader cross-functional perspective, and that she enjoys working across different types of projects and functions: where much of the real value for clients is created.

Looking Ahead

As Executive Insight continues to evolve, Meike is curious about the future – including the role Artificial Intelligence will play in healthcare and consulting. She sees clear potential for AI to support better insights, faster analysis, and more informed decision-making.

At the same time, she believes the essence of consulting will remain deeply human: understanding complex situations, bringing people together, and helping organizations turn ideas into practical change.

For Meike, the next chapter is therefore not about replacing what made Executive Insight successful, but about building on it: combining strategic depth, cross-functional collaboration, entrepreneurial freedom, and the ability to make things work with people. Even as the company adapts to new technologies, new healthcare priorities, and new ways of working, she is clear about what matters most: staying close to clients, supporting colleagues, and remaining true to the values that shaped the journey.