For a long time I was the client.
For years, I worked alongside consulting companies and advisors across Europe and the Middle East — and kept seeing the same pattern. Well-known firms. A significant fee. And a process that nobody was actually running. Junior staff handling the work. No updates unless you chased them. Mistakes quietly attributed to banks, tax offices, or regulators — never to the firm itself.
Results sometimes came. Quality rarely did.
Kalina Advisory I built because clients deserve both. Not just an outcome eventually — but a clear process, honest communication, and someone who takes responsibility when something goes wrong.
That's the only standard we work to.
I've spent more than 10 years moving between three worlds: large-scale projects, international finance and operational compliance. I started in finance at PepsiCo, then led business development on infrastructure projects with budgets above €25M.
Now based in Madrid. Over the past 5 years I've incorporated 30+ companies, opened 50+ business bank accounts and recovered more than €500K in VAT refunds. Our clients are international businesses setting up or expanding across Europe, the UAE and Hong Kong.
I co-founded Kalina Advisory so that every case has one accountable owner. Today my partners lead client work day to day. The expertise stays with the client. The accountability stays with us.
Sergio Kalina
For over 10 years I've been doing one thing: taking processes that fall apart — and making them work.
Fintech, infrastructure, international business. Same story everywhere: good specialists, but no one watching the full picture. Deadlines slip. Details get lost. The client finds out last.
At Kalina Advisory my job is to make sure that doesn't happen. Weekly updates, clear deadlines, coordination across every party involved. When you have three jurisdictions and four contractors running in parallel — I make sure nothing falls through.
MBA, European-University Viadrina, Germany.
Maria TrapeznikovaNot a consortium of specialists. One person owns the case from the first call to the final result — and coordinates everyone else.
No unclear invoices. No surprise scope expansion. Everything agreed in writing before we start.
Local lawyers, accountants, and notaries do their work. We make them work together — and we own the outcome.
We don't promise outcomes that depend on regulators, banks, or marketplaces. We commit to a process that leads to the result.
