— Executive Search · Consulting & Professional Services · DACH
Partners who bring a client base — not just a CV.
In consulting firms, the leader is the product. We place Partners, Principals and Practice Leads across the full range of consulting disciplines, with particular depth in Digital, Value Creation, Deals and AI.
— Practice areas
Every mainstream consulting discipline. Four with particular depth.
We work across the full service spectrum of modern consulting firms. In four areas we have mapped the candidate market especially systematically, because that is where competition for partners is sharpest right now.
— Four fields with particular depth
Digital transformation, cloud and platform strategy, target IT architectures, technology due diligence. Partners with genuine delivery track records, not only conceptual strength.
Operational value creation across PE portfolios, margin improvement, commercial excellence, 100-day programmes. Candidates who can evidence results inside a portfolio.
Transaction services, financial and commercial due diligence, carve-outs, post-merger integration. Closely linked to our existing private equity network across the DACH region.
AI strategy and governance, data platforms, analytics practices under construction. An area where many firms are currently creating their first partner position at all.
— Further disciplines we place regularly
— Mandate scope
From partner level downwards.
We work at the levels where a mishire costs more than a position: it costs clients and teams. Below Director level we generally do not take on searches.
— Seniority levels
— Roles that cut across levels
— Sector-specific challenges
Why partner searches work differently from any other hire
Consulting firms recruit from a market where every relevant candidate recruits for a living, knows every approach channel, and where a single indiscreet call can damage a career.
Consultants see through standard outreach immediately. Convincing at partner level requires genuine understanding of the hiring firm's business model, sector focus and positioning.
A partner either brings client relationships or does not. We establish early and on the evidence what share of the business is realistically portable, rather than passing on revenue promises unchecked.
Non-compete clauses, notice periods and live project accountability determine the realistic start date. We plan for this from the outset instead of discovering it in the closing phase.
Neither the hiring firm nor the candidate can afford market rumours. Every approach is made personally by one of the partners, without a research team and without broadly distributed enquiries.
The collaboration with Kempkens x Kohler at Vetter impressed me both professionally and personally. The team has a remarkable ability to quickly understand complex requirements and organizational structures and translate them into a strong sense for identifying the right personalities. I particularly value the direct, trust-based and straightforward collaboration with Oliver Kempkens and Sebastian Kohler. Beyond our joint projects, we have developed a valuable professional exchange that I personally appreciate greatly. To me, Kempkens x Kohler represents executive search at eye level – personal, fast and driven by exceptionally high standards of quality.
— How we work
Partner speaks to partner.
Every mandate is led personally by Oliver Kempkens or Sebastian Kohler, from the first briefing to the start date. At partner level, anything else fails to connect.
We establish what the position needs to deliver commercially: revenue accountability, sector focus, team size, equity model. The search profile follows from that.
Systematic coverage of 200+ profiles from competing firms, in-house consulting units and industry roles with a consulting background, across DACH and internationally where relevant.
Initial profiles serve as the basis for joint alignment, including a candid assessment of what compensation and equity level the current market genuinely requires.
In-depth interviews and personality diagnostics focused on the three dimensions that must come together at partner level: leading a team, winning work independently, and fitting the firm's partnership culture.
Negotiation of the equity model, resolution of non-competes and start date, plus active support through the first 90 days, when it is decided whether the new partner gains internal backing.
Executive search for consulting firms: what matters
Consulting firms in German-speaking Europe face pressure from two directions. Competition for partners and practice leads has intensified, while entire service lines are being redrawn by digitalisation, AI and changing client expectations. Building a practice or resolving a partner succession means competing for a very small number of people who have done exactly that successfully before.
This is most visible in value creation, deals and AI. Many firms are currently creating their first partner positions in these areas, without an established candidate market to draw from. The right profiles often sit outside classical consulting: in private equity operating teams, in corporate development functions, or in technology companies.
Kempkens & Kohler is partner-led. Oliver Kempkens and Sebastian Kohler take personal responsibility for every mandate, both with their own experience in consulting and corporate environments, including Russell Reynolds Associates and SAP. At partner level, that background is the precondition for being taken seriously at all.
— Client references & projects
— Free initial consultation
Let us talk about your partner bench.
For companies with a hiring need. We work exclusively on a retained basis for companies looking to fill a leadership position. We are unable to consider unsolicited applications via this form.