References
Senior leaders who have seen the work directly.
Seven senior leaders who delivered programmes with Akhnaton at Google, UEFA, FIFA World Cup, and adjacent regulated environments. Reference contacts are available to prospective clients on request, as part of due diligence.
01 · What each reference validates
How each reference reduces risk for a client engagement.
Govern multi-market partnerships
William ZakiGoogle
Operate credibly at senior scale
Daniele R.Google
Hold composure in high-pressure delivery
Marely FloresFIFA
Turn governance into operating discipline
Gabriele GuidoniUBS / formerly Google
Stabilise delivery without noise
Carlos ReolidGoogle
Bring analytical and risk discipline
Pierluca BuonoUBS / formerly Google
Be trusted across time and contexts
Germano MeierSYNBORA / formerly Novartis
02 · The referees
Each answers a different diligence question.
01
William Zaki
Former Head of Street View Expansion - Middle East, Africa, and Europe, Google · now Managing Director, Farhana
“Working with Aki on multi-market expansion, I saw firsthand how he combined commercial judgment with solid partner governance. He built frameworks that created real consistency and control.”
Answers: "Can he manage multi-market partnership complexity?"
Relationship & evidence
RelationshipAkhnaton worked under William's leadership at Google on multi-market expansion and partner-governance programmes across EMEA, MENA, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Evidence themeCross-border expansion, commercial judgement, and partner governance.
02
Daniele R.
Former Global Head of Street View Operations, Google
“Akhnaton built structures that made complex partnerships and multi-market operations actually work. Disciplined, reliable, and effective at scale.”
Answers: "Does he operate credibly at senior scale?"
Relationship & evidence
RelationshipDirect senior stakeholder within Google Geo during Akhnaton's programme leadership period.
Evidence themeMulti-market governance, partner execution, and senior-stakeholder confidence.
03
Marely Flores
FIFA - Venue Operations Director · 2x Forbes México Top 100
“In high-pressure, multi-stakeholder environments where the margin for error is zero, Aki brings the operational discipline and composure that make programmes succeed.”
Answers: "Does he hold composure under public-deadline pressure?"
Relationship & evidence
RelationshipWorked with Akhnaton at UEFA's Match Operations Unit in Nyon, Switzerland, on high-profile competition delivery. Now a FIFA World Cup Venue Operations Director.
Evidence themeSports operations, composure, and delivery discipline under public deadlines.
04
Gabriele Guidoni
UBS AG - Director, AI Observability & SRE Lead · formerly Google, Zurich
“He redesigned the operational framework, built the SOP, aligned cross-functional teams, and improved vendor compliance - making the go-to-market process clearer, faster, and more reliable.”
Answers: "Can he turn governance into operating discipline?"
Relationship & evidence
RelationshipWorked with Akhnaton in Google's Zurich partner and programme environment, as an engineering-side counterpart on regulated market-readiness and vendor-governance work.
Evidence themeSOP design, cross-functional alignment, vendor compliance, and regulated-market readiness.
05
Carlos Reolid
Google - Street View Programme Management
“Akhnaton brought structure to a high-risk Street View workstream with multiple teams, external dependencies, and no clear operating cadence. He established ownership, governance, and accountability without slowing the team down - turning complexity into on-schedule delivery.”
Answers: "Can he stabilise difficult workstreams without unnecessary escalation?"
Relationship & evidence
RelationshipProgramme manager of a workstream within Akhnaton's Google EMEA and CIS programme scope. Worked alongside Akhnaton on a high-risk, multi-team delivery.
Evidence themeHigh-risk workstream stabilisation, regional delivery under constraint, and multi-team operating cadence.
06
Pierluca Buono
UBS AG - Associate Director, Business Risk Analytics · formerly Google, Zurich
“Aki and I worked together at Google Zurich - he ran programme delivery, I ran the analytics layer underneath. What stood out was the discipline: questions framed clearly, decisions made from data not narrative, work held to what the numbers said. That combination is rare.”
Answers: "Does he bring analytical discipline to delivery?"
Relationship & evidence
RelationshipAkhnaton's analytics counterpart in the same Google Zurich programme environment, covering risk visibility, reporting discipline, and data-led decisions.
Evidence themeRisk analytics, data discipline, structured decision-making, and delivery control.
07
Germano Meier
SYNBORA AG - CEO & Co-Founder · formerly Novartis, ONWARD, Bio-Rad
“I have known Aki for over 15 years and followed his journey across Google, UEFA, and the FIFA World Cup. What sets him apart is his ability to unite people across cultures, build lasting relationships, and bring calm, positive structure to complex international environments.”
Answers: "Is he trusted across time, cultures, and operating contexts?"
Relationship & evidence
RelationshipLong-standing professional peer with regulated medical-device programme governance context. Fifteen years of shared context across multiple environments.
Evidence themeLong-term trust, cross-cultural leadership, and regulated life-sciences context.
Shared with permission. Contact details are not published; reference contact information is provided to prospective clients on request, as part of due diligence. References reflect individual professional opinions and do not represent endorsement by current or former employers. Third-party trademarks belong to their respective owners.
03 · Request
Request reference contact details.
Reference contact details are provided to prospective clients on request, before or during an engagement.