hahn+friends

What hahn+friends does

hahn+friends GmbH & Co. KG is a privately held boutique staffing and consulting firm headquartered in Essen, Germany, founded in 2012. It specializes in the placement of interim managers, permanent hires, and advisory experts across four functional skill domains: Finance + Controlling, IT + Digitalisation, Engineering + Operations, and People + Communication. The firm also offers an Expert Transfer (MÜ/ANÜ) service that addresses German clients' legal exposure to bogus self-employment claims under Section 611a BGB by providing fully integrated personnel leasing.

The firm's go-to-market is direct enterprise and mid-market sales targeting DACH-region clients across eight vertical industry pages (Energy, Automotive, Defense, ITK, FMCG, Technology, Industrial, Professional Services). Revenue is generated through professional services fees: day-rate billing for placed interim managers, success fees for permanent placements, and project-based consulting engagements for advisory work. The reference client base includes blue-chip names such as Airbus, Rheinmetall, Zalando, ZF Group, Birkenstock, Phoenix Contact, Rohde & Schwarz, and Securitas, alongside mid-market and PE-owned businesses. Distribution runs through named client relationship managers, a bilingual DE/EN SEO-optimized website with case-study content, LinkedIn, and direct Calendly booking for low-friction prospect engagement.

The firm operates with 11–50 internal employees organized into functional business units and small niche boutiques, is a member of DDIM (Germany's leading interim management association), and positions itself among Germany's Top-10 boutique staffing providers. No proprietary technology platform or AI/ML capability is developed in-house; the firm uses a proprietary project time-recording portal for placed experts but otherwise relies on relationship-driven curation rather than software-led matching. Revenue, ownership, and funding are not publicly disclosed; the firm appears founder-owned with no external institutional investor identified in available materials.

Name

hahn+friends

Legal name

hahn+friends GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://hahnandfriends.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

hahn+friends is a privately held boutique staffing and consulting firm based in Essen, Germany, providing interim management, permanent placement, advisory, and expert transfer (MÜ/ANÜ) services across Finance, IT, Engineering, and HR functions to enterprise and mid-market clients in the DACH region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Staffing and Interim Management Services

NAICS

Temporary Help Services (561320), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Generalist Staffing Agencies (BPACACAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

M&A HR Advisory (Due Diligence, Integration, Carve-outs) (BPACAJAL)

Keywords

• Interim management services
• Executive search
• Permanent staffing
• Finance consulting
• IT consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Essen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Interim Management & Staffing: Placement of highly qualified interim managers and experts on a project basis. Clients engage hahn+friends to source specialists for temporary roles in Finance, IT, Engineering, and HR. Revenue is generated through consulting fees or day-rate billing for placed interim managers.
2. Permanent Placement: Executive search and permanent staffing services, matching candidates with companies for long-term employment. Revenue likely generated as a one-time placement fee or success fee.
3. Advisory Services: Advisory and consulting engagements supporting clients through transformations, transactions, and process optimization. Billed as project-based consulting engagements.
4. Expert Transfer / Personnel Leasing (ANÜ/MÜ): Temporary transfer of personnel with full organizational integration and authority to issue instructions. Provides legal certainty for clients concerned about bogus self-employment risk under Section 611a BGB. Revenue is generated through personnel leasing fees.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

hahn+friends is a boutique staffing and consulting firm that places highly qualified interim managers, permanent hires, and expert contractors into client engagements across Finance + Controlling, IT + Digitalization, Engineering + Operations, and People + Communication. Its four core service lines are Interim Management, Permanent Placement, Advisory, and Expert Transfer (MÜ/ANÜ — legally compliant personnel leasing under German law). The firm serves enterprise corporates and German Mittelstand across eight verticals including Energy, Automotive, Defense, FMCG, Technology, Industrial, ICT, and Professional Services in the DACH region.

Product overview

hahn+friends is a boutique staffing and personnel services firm offering a portfolio of four core service lines—Interim Management, Permanent Placement, Advisory, and Expert Transfer (MÜ/ANÜ)—organized across four functional skill areas (Finance + Controlling, IT + Digitalisation, Engineering + Operations, and People + Communication). The firm specializes in connecting highly qualified experts with corporate clients for project-based, temporary, or permanent engagements, primarily serving industries including Energy, Automotive, Defense, ICT, FMCG, Technology, Industrial, and Professional Services in Germany.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Interim Management Temporary placement of experienced managers and specialists to support companies in special situations, project tasks, or vacancies at short notice. Covers functional areas from finance and IT to engineering and HR.
• Permanent Placement Executive search and permanent staffing services focused on holistic candidate-company fit and shared values for sustainable placements.
• Advisory Consulting and coaching services for challenging projects, including support through business transformations, optimizations, and special initiatives with knowledge transfer.
• Expert Transfer (MÜ/ANÜ) Temporary employment of experts with full organizational integration and authority to issue instructions, providing legally compliant personnel leasing solutions for clients under German law (Section 611a BGB).

Quantifiable outcome

• According to INIMA 2024 survey: 80% of companies believe independent specialists and managers are essential to cope with complex and volatile market requirements.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• DDIM (Dachgesellschaft Deutsches Interim Management e.V.)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAs a member of DDIM, hahn+friends signals professional standards and industry credibility. DDIM is Germany\'s leading interim management association. Membership underscores the company\'s commitment to excellence in interim management and provides networking and industry intelligence resources.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• PageGroup (Michael Page): FTSE-listed professional services recruitment group with deep DACH coverage via Michael Page, Page Personnel, and Page Executive. Comparable on permanent placement and professional-level mid-market interim across Finance, IT, Engineering, and HR.
• GULP (Randstad Germany): Randstad-owned German platform for IT and engineering freelance and interim placement. Comparable on IT and engineering contractor placement, though at much higher volume and more transactional than hahn+friends' curated model.
• Robert Half International: NYSE-listed global staffing firm placing finance, IT, and administrative professionals in interim and permanent roles. Direct comparable on the Finance + Controlling interim/executive search axis hahn+friends operates in, though at materially larger scale.
• Hays plc: Global FTSE-listed recruitment and workforce solutions firm with substantial interim management and contracting presence across DACH. Directly comparable on permanent placement, interim, and project-based staffing in Finance, IT, and Engineering — though with much broader geographic and sector coverage than hahn+friends.

Direct peers

• Brunel International: Amsterdam-headquartered specialist in engineering, IT, and project-based staffing with strong DACH operations. Closest peer on the Engineering + Operations and IT staffing lens, including contractor placement at industrial and automotive clients in Germany.
• alpha24 Interim Management: German boutique interim management provider and DDIM member. Direct niche peer on senior interim placement in DACH, with comparable boutique positioning and similar functional coverage areas.
• DIS AG: German subsidiary of Adecco Group focused on specialist staffing in IT, engineering, life sciences, and finance. Direct DACH peer on interim and permanent specialist placement, particularly for transformation and project roles.
• Skady Interim Management: Germany-based boutique interim management provider focused on senior specialists and transformation mandates. Closely comparable niche positioning to hahn+friends' boutique interim model, serving overlapping DACH enterprise and Mittelstand clients.
• Headfish Interim Management: German boutique interim management firm and DDIM member, focused on senior specialist placement. Closely aligned niche peer on boutique interim mandates and transformation projects across DACH enterprise clients.

Emerging players

• Compiré (HR Consulting): Germany-based HR transformation and interim management provider. Adjacent peer on advisory and HR consulting mandates for German mid-market and enterprise clients, particularly for M&A and restructuring scenarios hahn+friends also serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hahnandfriends
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hahn-&-friends-finance-gmbh-&-co-kg
• Facebookfacebook.com/hahnandfriends

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 hahn+friends