About Andrea
Quiet power. Clear direction. Regeneration by design.
I help leaders and teams build systems that replenish, not deplete—grounded in behavioural science, regenerative strategy, and practical, human insight.
Hi, I’m Andrea Born-Cristancho—regenerative leadership strategist, 4x international entrepreneur, working mother, and co-founder of born partners GmbH.
I help working parents in succession tracks and leadership teams in Basel's life sciences, pharma, and finance sectors build regenerative performance—so you can advance without extraction.
THE PATTERN I LEARNED EARLY
I grew up across cultures, languages, and geographies.
While other children learned certainty, I learned something more valuable: that resilience doesn't come from external stability—it comes from inner grounding and relational intelligence.
That early pattern shaped my entire career.
THE PATTERN IN MY WORK
I've built businesses across continents. Led teams in high-growth environments. Navigated international complexity as an entrepreneur and strategist.
The through-line: I'm drawn to integration work—bridging domains that are usually kept separate:
→ Performance and care → Strategy and wellbeing → Professional leadership and family systems → Business outcomes and planetary responsibility
My path has been about understanding how systems—human and organizational—either nourish or deplete the people within them.
THE BASEL WORKING PARENT CRUCIBLE
When I became a working parent in Basel, I experienced firsthand what succession-track leaders navigate:
→ CHF 2,200/month childcare decisions
→ Wednesday afternoon logistics
→ The gap between sustainability values and daily reality
→ Cultural norms that reward intensity
→ Expat isolation when family isn't nearby
I also studied it academically.
My Master's research focused on working mothers and the Planetary Health Diet—using behavioral science (COM-B model) to understand why highly educated people struggle to align values and practice.
The answer wasn't more information. It was better systems.
THE WORK NOW
Today, I work at the intersection of regenerative development, behavioral science, and organizational performance.
I apply principles from regenerative development (typically used for buildings and ecosystems) to human systems—teams, leaders, households.
I help:
→ Basel organizations retain succession-track parents (especially senior women)
→ Leadership teams translate ESG commitments into daily behavior
→ Executives on succession tracks integrate advancement and family presence
→ Companies build regenerative performance cultures (not extraction cultures)
The meal became my entry point—not because food is the only thing that matters, but because it's where biology, behavior, culture, and values meet daily.
When you redesign the meal, you redesign the relationships that structure everything else.
This is The Greener Meal Movement.
WHAT I BELIEVE
Regenerative performance is not:
❌ Wellness theater
❌ Work-life "balance" platitudes
❌ Sustainability compliance
Regenerative performance is:
✓ Relationship architecture that builds capacity
✓ Systems design that makes better choices easier
✓ Strategic integration of professional and family leadership
✓ Modeling for the next generation by how you lead now
When relationships are nourished—with ourselves, our teams, our households, the living systems we depend on—performance becomes regenerative, not extractive.
That's what I design with you!
BACKGROUND & EXPERTISE
Academic: I hold
→ Master's degree in Preneurship for Regenerative Food Systems
→ Masters’s in International Trade and Commerce
→ Bachelor's in International Studies
→ Certificates in nutrition and Regenerative development principles applied to organizational systems
Professional:
→ Built and scaled businesses across continents, 4x
→ Leadership roles in high-growth, international environments
→ Strategy consulting for purpose-driven organizations
Based in:
→ Basel, Switzerland
→ Working with organizations across Europe
→ Specialized in Basel life sciences, pharma, finance, and startup sectors