From opera stage to AI platform.
Bernhard Kerres
Founder & CEO
I've had an unusual career. I started as an opera singer, performing with José Carreras and Agnes Baltsa. Then I became a management consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton. Then COO and CFO at a telecom systems integrator. Then CEO of a publicly traded tech firm, where I led a successful turnaround. Then I ran the Vienna Concert House as Artistic Director and CEO.
In 2013, I founded HELLO STAGE, a platform for classical musicians. We raised capital, moved to Silicon Valley, grew to 30,000 members — and ultimately failed.
After that, I became an executive coach. I've worked with leaders at Henkel, Allianz, PwC, Arthur D. Little, and many others. I teach at universities in Vienna and Germany. I'm a PCC-certified coach.
Through all of this, one thing became clear: leaders know what to do. They've read the books. They've been to the workshops. But when the difficult conversation comes, they wing it.
A career of difficult conversations.
Opera Singer
Learning to perform under pressure. Every night, live, no second takes. The stage taught me that preparation is everything.
Consulting & Tech Executive
Strategy consulting, then COO/CFO, then CEO. I led a successful turnaround but also had to have conversations I wasn't prepared for — terminations, conflicts, difficult feedback.
Vienna Concert House
Running one of the world's busiest concert venues. Nearly tripled sponsorship. Built international partnerships. Learned that culture change happens one conversation at a time.
HELLO STAGE
My first startup. 30,000 users. Silicon Valley. And then failure. The hardest conversations of my career were shutting it down.
Executive Coach
Working with hundreds of leaders. Seeing the same pattern: they know what to say, but they've never practiced saying it.
RolePlays.ai
Building what I wished existed: a place to practice the conversations that matter, with AI that doesn't go easy on you.
The rehearsal gap.
As an opera singer, I would never have walked on stage without rehearsing. Hours of practice. Coaching. Feedback. Running through it again and again until it felt natural.
As a CEO, I had conversations that could change people's lives — terminations, conflicts, career-defining feedback — and I went in cold. We all do. There's no rehearsal room for leadership conversations.
That's the gap I'm trying to close. Not with more theory or frameworks, but with actual practice. AI personas that push back. Feedback that's specific. A safe place to fail before it counts.
RolePlays.ai is the flight simulator for leadership conversations. Because the best time to practice a difficult conversation is before you have it.
Let's talk.
Curious about RolePlays? Want to discuss a partnership? Or just want to grab a coffee?