Roland Berger Strategy Consultants appoints new international Partners

• 20 new Partners appointed
• 7 Partners promoted to the next Partner level

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants has appointed 20 new international Partners. The new Partners work at various offices, from Paris to Shanghai. In addition, 7 Partners have been promoted to the next Partner level. With these appointments at the International Partner Meeting in the European Capital of Culture 2010, Essen, the strategy consultancy is expanding its Partner base and strengthening its worldwide presence.

Matthew Chang (41) joins Roland Berger's Shanghai Office. Before coming to Roland Berger, he held several management positions at leading international consultancies in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Frankfurt, where he served as co-leader for the Healthcare Practice in China. In addition to his consulting experience, Chang also held various corporate functions during his career such as Director of Strategy for Asia Pacific and Executive Council member for Greater China.

Alain Le Couédic (44) is based in Hong Kong and focuses primarily on advising both multinational and local clients in Greater China. He is a core member of the firm's Financial Services Competence Center. Le Couédic has over 15 years of professional consulting experience and has worked for clients in North America, Europe and Asia on strategy, organization, operations, M&A and private equity topics. Prior to joining Roland Berger, he was a Partner at another leading international consultancy.

Edoardo Demarchi (46) has over 15 years of professional experience in strategy consulting, line management (finance, marketing and business development) and investment management. He joined Roland Berger in 2006 and focuses on financial services where he leverages his broad experience in retail banking, consumer finance, insurance, asset management. His areas of functional expertise include strategic planning, restructuring and cost management, product development and marketing.

Dr. Roland Demmel (44) was a founding Partner and Managing Director of KDB Krall Demmel Business Consulting GmbH before he joined Roland Berger's Financial Services team in Frankfurt. He has more than 11 years of experience in the financial services industry. Demmel has taught at the Frankfurt School of Finance, the Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt and the University of Saarland in Saarbruecken.

Marc Frey (44) has been with Roland Berger since 2003. Before that he worked for Nestlé, the Carrefour Group and a leading international consultancy. He focuses on finance & controlling, HR management, strategy and organization for international development.

Dr. Rudolf Gröger (55) was a manager at Siemens and T-Systems and from 2001 head of O2 Germany. After leaving O2 Germany in 2007, Gröger set up his own company, Gröger Management GmbH. He is based in Munich and advises Roland Berger's InfoCom clients on strategy, marketing, sales and leadership/transformation. Gröger will also keep his position as President of Munich Business School.

Dr. Matthias Grundmann (52) has 16 years of experience in industry in addition to 4 years in consultancy. He supports Roland Berger's Operations Strategy Competence Center from the firm's Stuttgart office. Grundmann comes from Behr GmbH & Co. KG, a major automotive supplier, where he was head of car engine cooling products.

Timo Kamp (37) works for the Corporate Performance Competence Center in Berlin. He supports companies across all industries in areas such as restructuring, efficiency improvement and value management. Before joining Roland Berger in 2003, Kamp worked in corporate planning and business development for global technology companies in London.

Dr. Markus Krall (47) was a founding Partner and Managing Director of KDB Krall Demmel Business Consulting GmbH before he joined Roland Berger's Financial Services team in Frankfurt. In his 20 years in the financial services industry, he served as Chief Risk Officer and member of the executive board at a Swiss reinsurance company.

Gustavo Lopes da Silva (40) rejoined Roland Berger as a Partner in the Lisbon office. He began his career as a consultant in 1995, working with a management and technology consulting firm for the construction industry before joining Roland Berger Lisbon. His focus is on consulting projects for the construction industry, water & environment and oil & gas. He will advise our Spanish and Portuguese clients in strategy, organization, operations, restructuring and planning & controlling.

Lars Luck (37), based in Munich, joined Roland Berger in 1997 and manages the Market Attack Practice Group in the global Marketing & Sales Competence Center. This center pools sales and targeted marketing know-how across various industries. Luck also worked as investment director for a leading private equity investor in telecommunications and media. His industry focus is on IT, consumer durables and engineered products. Luck has also supported many trade fair companies.

Delphine Mathez (45) has 20 years of experience in management consulting. She is a founding member of OC&C Strategy Consultants in Paris. Mathez was managing the worldwide retail practice when she left in 2007 to set up a new consulting firm: Diligence Partners. She joined Roland Berger in Paris together with her entire team and will focus primarily on consumer goods, retail and private equity.

Dr. Dietrich Matthes (37) joins Roland Berger's Manama office as a Partner focusing on financial institutions. Prior to coming to Roland Berger, he was a founding Partner and Director at KDB Krall Demmel Business Consulting GmbH, where he was responsible for the Middle East office. Matthes has 10 years of experience in advising banks and regulatory authorities and focusing on strategy, risk management and corporate organization. Before that, he served as Chief Risk Officer of Hauck & Aufhäuser Private Bank in Frankfurt after working for another leading international consulting firm.

Walter Mussil (40) is an expert in risk and capital management with more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. Before joining Roland Berger's Vienna office as a Partner in June 2010, he worked as Partner and Director at KDB Krall Demmel Business Consulting GmbH, for Bank Austria/HVB and an international business consulting firm in Frankfurt and London. Mussil is supporting the Financial Services Competence Center, where he is focusing on risk management.

Javier de Paz (43) has over 20 years of industry and consulting experience. He is an expert in telecom, media and technology and focuses on business and strategic planning as well as marketing and sales. He had worked for Roland Berger from 2005 to 2008 on projects in North and South America, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Dr. Thomas Schlick (48) joins the Automotive Competence Center in Frankfurt. He previously worked for the VDA – the German Association of the Automotive Industry – as Managing Director for Technical and Environmental Affairs and was the German automotive industry's representative to the German government and European parliament in Brussels for all technical and environmental matters. Prior to that, Schlick worked in the automotive supplier industry for 15 years, setting up a new a subsidiary in the Czech Republic and boosting the efficiency of electronics development processes.

Dr. Lukas D. Weber (43) is a Partner in the Zurich office and specializes in the insurance industry. He started his career at Zurich Insurance Company before joining a leading American strategy consulting firm. He then spent several years with Zurich Financial Services, where he managed several business units and key projects. Later on, Weber worked at UBS as a regional head and most recently he was in charge of Swiss institutional clients. He is now managing Roland Berger's insurance initiative in Switzerland.

Christian Wessels (36) comes from a leading American management consulting firm where he developed the retail banking business throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Before that, he was in charge of international expansion and integrating acquisitions in the emerging markets division of a global universal bank. He is now working for Roland Berger in Frankfurt and will support the German Financial Services team and drive growth in the UK and emerging markets.

Stefan Wojahn (35) spent 10 years at a major American consulting firm and now works for the Financial Services Competence Center in Hamburg. He is an expert on strategy, marketing and sales as well as on process and operating model topics in the insurance business. Wojahn will continue to focus on insurance companies in Germany and Europe.

Keisuke Yamabe (34) works for the Tokyo office. He comes from a domestic consulting firm and has significant experience in developing and setting up sales and marketing and brand strategies in the manufacturing and service industries. Yamabe has also worked on many of projects involving business turnaround and the automotive industry.

Partners promoted to the next Partner level:

Dr. Holger Dümler (35) has more than 10 years of professional experience in management and strategy consulting. He joined Roland Berger as a Partner in 2008. Dümler focuses on PMI management, IT, corporate real estate and corporate and retail banking. Dümler's expertise includes designing and implementing strategies and working on business transformation programs.

Boris Firsov (43) has been working at Roland Berger's Moscow office since 2006. He has managed a number of strategy and technology projects for various industries including communications, automotive and transportation. Firsov has developed strategies for telecom operators in the developing countries, launched innovative products and redesigned sales, marketing and product development functions.

Daniel Gresch (42) joined Roland Berger in 2008 and specializes in financial services consulting with a focus on retail, corporate and investment banking, private banking and wealth management as well as asset management and insurance. After establishing and leading the Financial Research Analyst Team at a major Swiss Bank, Gresch managed the bank's Group Strategic Advisory Team, where he served as advisor to the Group's Chairman, CEO and Executive Board.

Matthias Hanke (45) advises companies in the aviation, tourism and logistics industries from his base in the Zurich office. He worked for Roland Berger as a Senior Project Manager from 1994 to 1999 before assuming the position of Executive Vice President responsible for network management and strategy at the Basel-based Crossair and later Swiss International Air Lines. Hanke returned to Roland Berger as a Partner in Zurich in 2006.

Thomas Nack (50) is Head of Finance & Controlling at Roland Berger in Munich. He joined the company in 1992 as the first Executive Assistant to the company's founder Prof. Roland Berger after having worked for Deutsche Bank for 10 years. In 1994, he was promoted to Partner and Head of Controlling and in 2009, Head of Finance & Controlling.

Dr. Gerd Sievers (36) works in the company's headquarters in Munich and focuses on corporate finance. For more than 10 years he has supported European, North American and Asian companies from various industries in M&A, due diligence, recapitalization, valuation and restructuring projects. As part of Roland Berger's Global Investor Support Group, he does a lot of work for private equity investors.

Jörg Stäglich (41) is a Partner in our Dusseldorf office. He started his career in 1997 at Roland Berger before switching to industry. In 2001, Stäglich became a Partner in the corporate finance division of a German bank and later CFO at a major German engineering company. He rejoined Roland Berger's Energy & Chemicals Competence Center in 2006. His areas of expertise include the energy, railroad and plant engineering sectors. Stäglich works on corporate strategy, performance improvement and transformation projects.