Herrmann International

What Herrmann International does

Herrmann International Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG is a privately held German professional-services and SaaS company headquartered in Weilheim that commercializes the HBDI® (Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument) assessment and the associated Whole Brain® Thinking methodology within the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). The HBDI® is a 120-question online cognitive-preference assessment developed by Ned Herrmann during his tenure at General Electric; it maps individual thinking styles across four quadrants (Analytical, Practical, Interpersonal, Experimental) and produces individual, two-person, and aggregated team profiles. The company operates a small team (11-50 employees) and monetizes through a mix of one-time profile sales, recurring Axon SaaS platform subscriptions (including the Thinker Portal, Team Effectiveness Solution, and Thinker Journey learning path), paid certification programs for external trainers/consultants and internal corporate practitioners (€950 for refresher certification), enterprise licensing of physical and digital workshop materials, and event-based revenue from the annual think be.yond conference (€350/person).

The go-to-market combines direct enterprise field sales, a distributed channel of certified HBDI® practitioners, and event-driven demand generation (monthly Food for Thought webinars, GeistesBlitz after-work sessions, Learning Out Loud small-group cohorts). Marketing channels include a blog, email newsletter, LinkedIn and Xing social presence, and a dedicated Certified Corner community portal. Customers span Nestlé, Schindler, Philip Morris, NZZ, DEKRA, Hugo Boss, BAUR-Gruppe, A1 Telekom, and Essity, with cumulative usage of 4.5+ million HBDI® profiles globally and a stated penetration claim of 97% of the top 100 global companies.

The German entity is structurally a Kommanditgesellschaft (KG) managed by Drive GmbH, with Jacqueline Geist serving as managing director (Geschäftsführerin). The business is part of the broader international Herrmann network (Herrmann EMEA, Herrmann International Inc.) and shares IP, methodology, and coordinated marketing with those entities, while operating independently within the DACH market. The company holds GDPR-compliant data processing practices, maintains registered trademarks on HBDI® and Whole Brain® Thinking, and ships native iOS and Android mobile applications alongside integrations with HubSpot, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Calendly, Miro, and Google Workspace.

Name

Herrmann International

Legal name

Herrmann International Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://hbdi.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Herrmann International Deutschland is a DACH-based professional services and SaaS firm commercializing the HBDI® cognitive assessment and Whole Brain® Thinking methodology to enterprises, certified practitioners, and internal corporate HR/L&D teams for leadership development, team collaboration, and organizational transformation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organizational Development Consulting

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Core HR & HRIS (BPACAPAA)

Keywords

• Cognitive assessment tools
• Leadership development programs
• Team effectiveness consulting
• Thinking style profiling
• Training certification services

Headquarters

HQ city

Weilheim

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. HBDI® Profile Assessments: Individual, two-person, and team HBDI® profiles sold as one-time purchases or bundled with certification/training programs. Profiles are generated through an online questionnaire and delivered digitally or as physical profile booklets.
2. Certification Programs: HBDI® certification training for external trainers, consultants, coaches, and internal corporate practitioners. Includes e-certification with live sessions, homework, and peer group work. Pricing at 950€ plus VAT for refresher courses.
3. SaaS Platform (Axon/Herrmann Platform): Subscription-based access to the Herrmann digital platform including Thinker Portal, Thinker Journey, digital profiles, and Team Effectiveness tools. Includes admin access for certified practitioners.
4. Events and Conferences: Revenue from paid events such as think be.yond conference (350€ per person plus conference fee) and specialized workshops.
5. Workshops and Consulting: Customized team development workshops, leadership training, and organizational transformation consulting services delivered by certified practitioners.
6. Enterprise Licensing: Organizational licenses for internal deployment of HBDI® and Whole Brain® Thinking across enterprise workforces, including tools like Brainmat, Colour Cards, and other physical/digital workshop materials.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Herrmann International develops and sells the HBDI (Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument) assessment and the Whole Brain Thinking methodology. The company delivers HBDI profiles (Individual, Team, Two-Person), certified practitioner training programs, tailored workshops, and team-effectiveness consulting. It also operates the Herrmann Thinker Portal / Axon, a SaaS platform that delivers assessments, team analytics, and learning content to certified practitioners and client organizations.

Product overview

Herrmann International offers the Whole Brain® Thinking Suite, a comprehensive portfolio built around the HBDI® (Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument) as the core assessment product. The suite includes the Herrmann Thinker Portal and Axon SaaS platform for digital profile delivery and learning, the HBDI® App for mobile access, and various workshop modules like Team Effectiveness Solution (TES), Team Effectiveness Dashboard, Start Thinking, and ThinkAbout Teams for team development. Physical tools including Brainmat, Colour Cards, Chat About, and Diversity cards complement the digital offerings. The company provides HBDI® Certification programs for trainers and consultants, along with structured Whole Brain® Thinking Workshops. The ecosystem serves organizations, teams, and individuals seeking to understand and leverage cognitive diversity for improved communication, leadership, and collaboration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Whole Brain Thinking: The core methodology and model developed by Ned Herrmann that divides thinking preferences into four quadrants (A analytical, B practical, C interpersonal, D experimental) to help individuals and teams leverage cognitive diversity.
• HBDI (Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument)
• Axon
• Thinker Portal
• Team Effectiveness Solution (TES)
• The Business of Thinking
• think be.yond

Products and services

• HBDI Individual Profile (Denkstilprofil) A self-assessment instrument based on the Whole Brain Thinking model that maps an individual's thinking-style preferences across four quadrants (analytical, structural, interpersonal, conceptual). Delivered through the Herrmann Thinker Portal and used by certified practitioners with individual clients and employees.
• HBDI Team Profile A group-level assessment that aggregates HBDI results of team members to visualize collective thinking-style distribution and gaps. Used by certified practitioners and internal team leaders to support team-development workshops and diagnostics.
• HBDI Two-Person Profile A relationship-oriented HBDI profile comparing the thinking preferences of two individuals, typically used for executive coaching, 1:1 leadership pairings, and partnership alignment.
• HBDI Certification Program A multi-tiered training and licensing program (Practitioner, Master, Mastertrainer) that authorizes consultants, trainers, and internal practitioners to deliver HBDI profiles, workshops, and Whole Brain Thinking interventions commercially. Pricing is tiered (EUR 2,950 / 3,950 / 5,950) and certifications carry multi-year validity (typically five years).
• Herrmann Thinker Portal / Axon Platform A cloud-based SaaS platform (also referred to as Axon) used by certified practitioners and client administrators to manage HBDI assessments, run team analytics, access learning content and exercise modules, and obtain AI-assisted (e.g., ChatGPT-powered) recommendations. Replaced the prior MyBrainProfile platform in 2019.
• Whole Brain Thinking Workshops and Consulting Customized facilitation, training and consulting engagements built on the Whole Brain Thinking model, including leadership and team-development workshops for enterprise clients. Workshops use dedicated tools such as Brainmat, Colour Cards, Chat About, and Diversity cards.
• HBDI Mobile App A companion mobile application to the HBDI assessment and Thinker Portal, providing individuals and practitioners access to personal HBDI results, exercises and content on mobile devices.

Quantifiable outcome

• Pharmaceutical company achieved over 100 million USD in cost savings through improved supply chain processes and team collaboration
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Herrmann InternationalcoreOthersPart of of the international Herrmann network that includes Herrmann International Inc. and Herrmann EMEA. The German entity Herrmann International Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG operates within this global network, sharing intellectual property, methodologies, and coordinated marketing efforts.
• Herrmann EMEAcoreOthersRegional partnership within the Herrmann network covering Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Coordinates cross-border marketing, customer support, and practitioner certification across the region.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hogan Assessments: Provider of personality and leadership assessments used in enterprise talent development, hiring, and team effectiveness — directly competes with HBDI® in the cognitive/behavioral assessment market for corporate L&D and HR buyers.
• The Myers-Briggs Company: Distributor of the MBTI® framework and other personality assessments (including the FIRO® and Strong Interest Inventory®), competing head-to-head with HBDI® for the same enterprise training, coaching, and team-development budgets.
• Predictive Index: SaaS-delivered behavioral and cognitive assessment platform with PI Behavioral Assessment and PI Cognitive Assessment — direct competitor in the technology-enabled enterprise psychometric/team effectiveness category.
• TalentSmartEQ / Multi-Health Systems (MHS): Publisher of the EQ-i 2.0 emotional intelligence assessment and related psychometric tools — comparable competitor in the validated, research-backed assessment product category sold to corporate HR and training buyers.
• Gallup (CliftonStrengths): Operates the CliftonStrengths assessment plus extensive enterprise consulting — competes for the same HR, leadership development, and team-effectiveness wallets that buy HBDI® and Whole Brain® Thinking programs.
• Wiley (Everything DiSC): Publisher and distributor of Everything DiSC® and the Five Behaviors® team development offerings — directly comparable HBDI® substitute products sold through certification networks to corporate L&D teams.

Broad incumbents

• Development Dimensions International (DDI): Global leadership development firm offering assessments, leadership simulations, and training programs to large enterprises — comparable to Herrmann's corporate training and team-development offerings from a much larger scale.
• Center for Creative Leadership (CCL): Research-based provider of executive and team leadership development programs sold to large enterprises — addresses the same training-and-development budgets as Whole Brain® Thinking workshops and certifications.
• FranklinCovey: Operator of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and All Access Pass leadership-development subscription, providing enterprise training and certifications in similar buyer segment — directly comparable in the corporate leadership training category.
• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm whose Korn Ferry Institute and acquired SHL/Korn Ferry Assessment offerings provide leadership and psychometric assessments bundled with executive search and broader talent management — competes in the same enterprise buyer workflows from a much broader platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/herrmann-dach
• Xx.com/herrmannintl

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Herrmann International