Headmatch

What Headmatch does

Headmatch is a privately held German recruitment consultancy headquartered in Berlin, founded in 2010. The firm places specialists and executives into German companies through direct headhunting, active candidate outreach, and a proprietary database of approximately 80,000 qualified professionals, supplemented by a network of 10,000 company-side contact partners. Headmatch is organized into 12 functional divisions — including Finance & Accounting, Sales, Marketing, Engineering & Supply Chain, HR, IT, Property, Construction, Legal, Life Sciences & Healthcare, and Interim & Freelance — each staffed by consultants with domain-specific professional backgrounds. Operations run from offices in Berlin (HQ), Hamburg, and Munich, with each regional office led by a dedicated Managing Director or Branch Manager.

The firm's primary revenue stream is transaction-fee based: contingent placement fees on permanent placements and on interim/freelance assignments, with industry-standard confidentiality around specific fee levels. Secondary revenue includes career coaching delivered through AZAV-certified modules (priced individually at €420–€560 plus VAT, or €140/hour for add-ons) and IT services for the German public sector delivered through the wholly-owned subsidiary Headmatch Public GmbH. Headmatch Interim GmbH and Headmatch Hamburg GmbH are separate wholly-owned operating entities that share the Berlin headquarters. The firm's technology stack combines CRM systems, AI-supported recruiting tools (described as KI-gestützte Tools), and computer-aided potential analysis to accelerate candidate matching.

Ownership rests with three managing partners — Patrick Jacobi, Roman Schapiro, and Julien Walter (each holding Diplom-Kaufmann / Dipl. Betriebswirt credentials) — plus Michael Kleebank (BBA); the legal entity is Headmatch GmbH & Co. KG, with Headmatch Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH as general partner. The firm is founder/management-owned with no disclosed institutional or venture capital backing. Brand-level credibility is supported by a 2023 Handelsblatt Top 40 Personalberatungen ranking and a 2022 Kununu Top Company designation. Headmatch positions itself as a 'People Business' combining face-to-face consulting with structured digital recruiting processes, and reports that approximately 30% of clients and candidates in Hamburg and Munich have an international background.

Name

Headmatch

Legal name

Headmatch GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://headmatch.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Headmatch is a Berlin-based German recruitment consultancy that places specialists and executives across 12 functional divisions via headhunting, direct outreach, and an 80,000-candidate database, with offices in Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search & Recruitment Services

NAICS

Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Employment Services (5613)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPACAFAF

Administrative, Clerical & Office Support Direct Hire

Business & Public Services/HR, Staffing & Recruitment Services/Permanent Placement & Direct Hire

Keywords

• Executive search services
• Headhunting recruitment
• Interim management staffing
• Career coaching services
• Permanent placement recruitment

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Permanent Placement / Recruitment Services: Headhunting and direct placement of permanent candidates for client companies across all divisions. The company matches qualified professionals from its 80,000+ candidate database and network against client requirements. Revenue is earned upon successful placement of a candidate.
2. Career Coaching & Applicant Services: Modular coaching services for job seekers including objective setting, application document review and redesign, interview training, potential analysis, and salary negotiation coaching. Offered as individual modules or package groups at fixed prices per module.
3. IT Services for Public Sector (Headmatch Public GmbH): IT transformation, digitalization, project management, IT architecture, infrastructure modernization, IPv4 to IPv6 migration, IT security, and IT organization services delivered via service agreements, project-based contracts, or framework agreements to public sector clients.
4. Interim & Freelance Placement: Interim management and freelance recruitment connecting companies with experienced interim managers, project leaders, and freelancers for temporary vacancies, transformation projects, or specialized assignments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Headmatch is a German recruitment consultancy that places qualified specialists and executives in permanent positions through active headhunting and direct outreach, leveraging a proprietary database of 80,000+ candidates across 11 functional divisions. The firm also provides interim management and freelance recruitment, AZAV-certified career coaching for job seekers, and — through its subsidiary Headmatch Public GmbH — IT transformation and digitalization services for public sector clients.

Product overview

Headmatch is a recruitment consultancy offering executive search, direct placement, interim staffing, and freelance recruitment services. The core offering consists of headhunting and candidate placement across 12 specialized divisions covering Finance, Sales, Marketing, Engineering, HR, IT, Property, Construction, Legal, and Life Sciences. Supporting services include AZAV-certified career coaching and specialized IT services for public sector clients via Headmatch Public GmbH. The company connects employers with candidates using a combination of digital tools and personal consulting, maintaining a database of over 80,000 qualified professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Headmatch Public: IT services subsidiary focused on public sector digital transformation, infrastructure modernization, and IT consulting for government clients

Products and services

• Executive Search & Direct Placement (Headhunting) Traditional headhunting and direct candidate approach for placing permanent specialists and executives in German companies, organized across functional divisions including Finance & Accounting, Sales, Marketing, Engineering & Supply Chain, HR, IT, Property, Construction, Legal, and Life Sciences & Healthcare.
• Interim & Freelance Recruitment Structured placement of interim managers, project leaders, and freelancers for urgent projects, temporary vacancies, and specialized assignments, operated through the Headmatch Interim GmbH subsidiary.
• Public Sector IT Services (Headmatch Public GmbH) IT transformation, digitalization, project management, IT architecture, infrastructure modernization, IPv4 to IPv6 migration, IT security, and IT organization services delivered to federal, state, and local government authorities via service agreements, project-based contracts, or framework agreements, operated through Headmatch Public GmbH.
• Career Coaching & Applicant Services AZAV-certified coaching services for job seekers including objective setting, application document check and redesign, interview training, potential analysis, and salary negotiation coaching, offered as individual modules or package groups at fixed module prices.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranked among Germany's Top 40 recruitment consultancies by Handelsblatt in 2023
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IndeedcoreTechnology or IntegrationIndeed is used as a recruiting platform and job advertising partner. Headmatch posts vacancies on Indeed as part of their multi-channel recruitment strategy, reaching a broad audience of active and passive job seekers.
• StepStonecoreTechnology or IntegrationStepStone serves as a recruiting platform for posting job vacancies. Headmatch advertises client positions on StepStone to reach qualified professionals in the German market.
• LinkedIncoreTechnology or IntegrationLinkedIn is used as a professional recruiting platform and social media channel for candidate sourcing and employer branding. Headmatch actively uses LinkedIn for candidate outreach and marketing.
• XINGcoreTechnology or IntegrationXING is the leading German professional network used by Headmatch for active candidate sourcing, social media recruiting, and employer branding in the German-speaking market.
• KununuminorGTM or Marketing PartnerKununu is an employer review platform where Headmatch displays its rating widget and Top Company badge. Used for employer branding and social proof.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Robert Half International: Global professional staffing and consulting firm with significant German operations. Directly comparable as a specialist/executive placement provider serving similar finance, IT, and professional functions across multiple verticals.
• Hays plc: UK-listed specialist recruitment group with deep DACH operations. Directly comparable in placing permanent and contract professionals across IT, finance, engineering, and life sciences — overlapping with most Headmatch divisions.
• Michael Page International (PageGroup): Global recruitment consultancy with strong German presence. Direct competitor in permanent placement across white-collar specialisms (marketing, finance, IT, engineering) that align closely with Headmatch's divisional structure.
• DIS AG: German-headquartered staffing and recruitment firm focused on permanent placement and contracting across technical and commercial roles. A direct German competitor with overlapping service lines and target customers.
• Etengo: German recruitment and project staffing firm specializing in IT and engineering. Directly comparable as a specialist recruiter operating in the same German market with similar division-led delivery model.
• GULP (Randstad Technologies): German IT and engineering staffing specialist, part of Randstad. Direct competitor in IT contract and permanent placement — a Headmatch division — and a benchmark for German-market scale in specialist recruiting.
• PageGroup: Parent group of Michael Page and Page Personnel; operates a multi-brand specialist recruitment model across Germany. Closely aligned with Headmatch's divisional approach to white-collar permanent placement.
• Hays Germany: The German arm of Hays plc — a dedicated DACH operation for specialist and executive recruitment across IT, life sciences, and construction. A directly comparable competitor in Headmatch's largest divisions.
• Odgers Berndtson: Global executive search firm with strong German presence. Comparable as a premium executive placement competitor for senior leadership roles — relevant for benchmarking Headmatch's higher-end mandates.

Broad incumbents

• Randstad Germany: Global staffing leader with broad German operations across permanent, temporary, and RPO services. A broad incumbent rather than specialist competitor — overlapping with Headmatch in volume hiring but with significantly wider portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/headmatch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/headmatch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Headmatch