Consulting firms thrive on people: their professional expertise, their impact on clients and their ability to develop business and lead others.
This makes appointing leaders in consulting and professional services particularly demanding.
Bornhauser People's Management helps companies in Switzerland find and select leaders who combine professional expertise, entrepreneurial thinking, client focus and leadership.
Our particular experience lies in technology-oriented consulting and service businesses – especially at the intersection of business, IT and technology.
Apply expertise. Win clients. Lead people. Develop business.
We help companies fill demanding leadership and key positions, including the following roles:
Takes overall business responsibility for the firm, its clients, its people and the organisation's development.
Combines professional expertise with client responsibility, business development and leadership.
Responsible for developing the consulting business, the organisation and its consultants.
Develops a specific consulting practice or area of expertise, combining professional positioning with market and business development.
Responsible for a business unit's financial performance, clients and people leadership.
Responsible for the successful delivery of professional services, combining delivery, client focus, organisation and profitability.
Leads complex client relationships and engagements, combining consulting quality with long-term client development.
The right leader depends on the business model, growth strategy, client base, stage of development and specific responsibilities.
Leadership roles in consulting require a particular combination of professional expertise, client focus, business development and leadership.
Our assessment pays particular attention to the following success factors.
In consulting, clients buy more than a service. They buy expertise and trust.
Leaders must therefore understand their field in sufficient depth, interpret relevant developments and establish credibility with demanding clients.
They do not need to be the best specialist in every detail. What matters is the ability to turn expertise into meaningful value for the client.
Successful consulting leaders understand their clients' business models and challenges.
They recognise the issues that matter to decision-makers, build relationships at C-level and develop existing clients as well as new market opportunities.
At partner, managing director and practice lead level in particular, business development is part of the leadership role.
We therefore examine not only the revenue a person has been responsible for, but also how it was generated:
Did they build client relationships themselves? Develop new offerings? Enter a new market? Grow existing accounts? Or primarily benefit from an established platform?
These distinctions are crucial to our assessment.
Consulting is a people business.
Successful leaders must be able to attract, develop and retain talent. They provide direction, delegate responsibility and build a culture that combines high professional standards with entrepreneurial thinking.
Winning new business alone does not create a strong client relationship.
Consulting services must also be delivered successfully.
Consulting leaders must therefore understand the connections between quality, resources, expectations, profitability and client satisfaction.
At senior level, we expect more than responsibility for individual projects.
Leaders must make decisions in the interests of the whole business, set priorities and take responsibility for growth, profitability and the organisation.
Consulting firms differ considerably in their culture, approach to leadership, partnership model and entrepreneurial ambition.
A leader who succeeds at a global consulting firm will therefore not automatically be the right fit for a specialised Swiss consultancy or a growth-oriented professional services business.
Alongside experience and performance, we always assess personality, motivation, leadership behaviour and cultural fit.
Technology is changing more than the subjects on which companies seek advice. It is increasingly reshaping business models, delivery and client expectations.
We have particular experience with consulting and professional services firms in technology-oriented markets and fields such as:
Business & IT Consulting
Digital Transformation
Cyber Security
Data & Analytics
Cloud Services
Software and IT Services
SAP and Enterprise Applications
Technology Consulting
In this environment, consulting leaders need to understand technological developments while also being able to discuss business models, transformation, organisation and measurable business value with clients.
As seniority increases, the profile for success in consulting changes:
An outstanding consultant can solve complex problems.
A successful manager must also lead projects, clients and people.
A partner or managing director must additionally develop business, build strategic client relationships, attract talent and take entrepreneurial responsibility.
When promoting someone or making an external appointment, the decisive question is therefore:
Has this person delivered successful consulting work in the past – and can they also lead and develop a consulting business?
This distinction is central to our approach to executive search.
Bornhauser People's Management has many years of experience filling demanding leadership positions in consulting and professional services.
A selection of previous assignments:
Managing Director
International business and IT consultancy
Head of Consulting
Respected European consulting firm
Head of Consulting Insurance
Swiss consulting firm
Associate Partner Cyber Security
Global consulting firm
Market Developer Cyber Security Consulting
Swiss IT consultancy
Key Account Manager Industry
European business and IT consultancy
These assignments illustrate the breadth of our experience, from consulting leadership and partner-level roles to the commercial development of consulting services.
We would be pleased to discuss further relevant search experience in a personal conversation.
For a consulting leadership role, we look beyond the question:
Which projects has this person led?
Questions such as these are at least as important:
Under what market conditions were these results achieved?
Which client relationships did they build themselves?
What was their personal contribution to business development?
Have they developed new services or practices?
What revenue and profit responsibility did they actually hold?
How do they attract and develop people?
How do they engage at C-level?
Can they translate professional expertise into client value?
Have they managed an existing business or built a new one?
How do they handle competing priorities between sales, delivery and profitability?
What company culture do they need to succeed?
Only the answers to these questions provide a sound overall assessment.
