Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany
I turn strategy into measurable results — within (PE-backed) B2B mid-market companies, working directly alongside management teams to drive profitable growth, commercial excellence and operational performance. Over 20 years, I have operated across three vantage points that few combine: international strategy consulting (Roland Berger, OC&C/EY-Parthenon), corporate and business transformation (thyssenkrupp AG, rothe erde business unit, MX segment), and private equity as Operating Partner (Hannover Finanz) — complemented by 20+ PE mandates as advisor to leading investors such as CVC, Ardian and IK among others. This gives me a clear-eyed view of what creates lasting value — and what it takes to implement it under real conditions. My focus areas: profitable growth, commercial excellence, go-to-market strategy, and operational performance improvement. I have led these agendas hands-on: from pricing and commercial transformations to interim leadership during management vacancies driving cost restructuring and a structured recovery plan, to building a fund-level value creation team from scratch — across B2B industrials, Software/IT services, business services and medtech. I care about implementation, not just solid diagnosis — and I measure success by tangible impact on earnings and cash, not the quality of the analysis that preceded it.
Hannover Finanz is a DACH-focused private equity firm (~€1bn AuM) investing in B2B mid-market companies across IT services, software, advanced industrials, medtech, and business services. As Operating Partner for Strategy & Growth, I work directly with portfolio management teams to drive and implement value creation — across strategy, profitable growth and commercial excellence. I co-built the fund-level value creation team (10 FTE) within the first five months. Selected engagements: - Pricing & Commercial Excellence | B2B Managed Security Services (€16m+ revenue): Led end-to-end pricing transformation (25+ customer interviews, new pricing model) within 10 weeks. Result: revenue +21% yoy; sales cycle reduced from 9 months to 6 weeks. - Market Expansion | B2B Machinery & Robotics Components (€30m+ revenue): Led go-to-market development to enter new geographies. Result: 10+ qualified new customer leads in the US and China within four months. - Strategy Development | B2B Security Services Division (<€100m revenue): Supported divisional strategy and go-to-market redesign to address structural market shifts. - Interim Leadership & Turnaround | B2B Digital Marketing Group (~€22m revenue, 6 units): Assumed de facto interim leadership during simultaneous management vacancies (no CEO, no CFO). Led stabilization including cost restructuring (~€750k implemented) and 2026–2028 recovery plan presented to financing bank. Planned EBITDA recovery +19% for 2026.
thyssenkrupp is a leading international industrial and technology group (€38bn revenue, 96k staff, 48 countries) operating across Automotive Technology, Decarbon Technologies, Materials Services, Steel Europe and Marine Systems. Led the Group Transformation Office of tk's group-wide performance program "APEX", reporting to the Chief Transformation Officer and anchored directly at Group CEO level. The program was set up to deliver >€2bn in measure volume (~1.2bn realized by 2024/25 and still continuing) to reach defined EBIT and cashflow targets. - Directly steered a team of 15 FTE and managed an external consulting team of up to 35 at peak — acting as client-side lead responsible for delivery quality and prioritization - Drove execution of board-level performance targets into specific program actions across all segments — covering commercial excellence, NPM spend reduction, staff rightsizing and working capital improvement - Served as central interface between tk AG board, segment boards, program teams and key stakeholders including workers council
Supported strategic development and performance improvement at two major business units on behalf of tk AG as shareholder: "rothe erde" slewing bearing business (€1bn revenue, 7k staff) and "MX" materials services (€16bn revenue, 15k staff). Developed, adjusted and drove implementation of value creation plans in close collaboration with business unit management — contributing to defined EBIT and restructuring targets within both units
EY-Parthenon is one of the world's largest strategy consulting organizations. OC&C Germany was acquired by EY in 2017 and subsequently operated under the EY-Parthenon brand. Senior member of the EMEIA industry practice with focus on Advanced Manufacturing, Building & Construction and Automotive ecosystems. Led corporate engagements and PE mandates (CDDs and Value Creation Plans) for mid-cap companies (€0.1bn–€5bn revenue) across DACH, UK and North America. Built personal client relationships at C-Level, including repeat mandates from clients such as hansgrohe and Velux. - Delivered 15+ corporate growth and transformation engagements, focused on profitable growth, commercial excellence, go-to-market redesign and M&A integration - Executed 20+ PE mandates (CDDs and VCPs) for leading investors including CVC, Ardian, 3i and IK - Developed and maintained C-level client relationships with repeat mandates — including multi-year growth programs at hansgrohe and Velux spanning multiple geographies Selected engagements: - Commercial Excellence & International Rollout | Global Sanitary Ware Manufacturer (€1.1bn revenue, 4.7k staff): Initiated engagement in tandem, subsequently led follow-on projects independently as sole client lead. Implemented holistic "Sales-up" program across UK and USA entities — covering customer segmentation, go-to-market redesign, sales organization and digital tools. Result: double-digit profitable growth (>20% p.a.) sustained over 5 years; approach successfully rolled out to 10+ countries globally. - M&A Integration | Global Residential Windows Manufacturer (€2.5bn revenue, 11.5k staff): Led acquisition support and post-merger integration of a commercial windows manufacturer across 6 countries, working in tandem with a senior partner. Focused on joint go-to-market approach, product landscape alignment and organization integration. Result: €30m+ in synergies realized.
OC&C Strategy Consultants was acquired by EY in 2017 and subsequently operated under the EY-Parthenon brand. My employment continued without interruption through the acquisition. For a full description of the role, engagements and skills built across the combined OC&C/EY-Parthenon tenure (April 2014 – January 2022), please refer to the EY-Parthenon entry above.
Roland Berger is a leading global strategy consultancy of European heritage. Strong legacy in restructuring, performance improvement and transformation. Delivered 10+ holistic restructuring and performance improvement programs across Europe for companies in industrial goods, automotive, retail and TMT — covering situations from initial performance deterioration to near-insolvency and over-indebtedness. Clients ranged from €0.1bn to €10bn in revenue across up to 30+ legal entities in 8 countries. Selected engagements: - Restructuring & Integration | Pharma Distribution & Retail Pharmacy (€21bn revenue, 37k staff, 13 countries): Developed new integrated European strategy and designed greenfield HQ organization for UK operations, merging two separately run wholesale and retail entities (15k staff affected). Result: €140m+ in synergies realized through cost initiatives, productivity increases and growth actions. - Restructuring & Refinancing | Metal Processor (€370m revenue, 3.6k staff): Developed holistic value creation concept, revised BU strategies across 4 business units and supported management through refinancing and full implementation of improvement measures. Result: company successfully stabilized and refinanced; returned to double-digit turnover growth at 5%-pts higher margin.