KULTUREXPERTEN

What KULTUREXPERTEN does

KULTUREXPERTEN is a German executive search and consulting firm focused exclusively on the arts and culture sector, founded in 2011 by Prof. Dr. Oliver Scheytt and headquartered in Essen. The firm operates three integrated service lines: executive search (Personalberatung) under the KULTURKARRIERE GmbH brand, strategy consulting for cultural institutions, and cultural real estate consulting under the KULTURIMMOBILIE label. It serves museums, theaters, orchestras, cultural foundations, municipalities, and cultural real estate projects across the DACH region, with the ACULTOS international network extending reach into adjacent markets.

The firm's core platform assets are the proprietary KandiDATENbank, which holds more than 10,000 pre-vetted cultural sector candidates accumulated over 600+ cumulative placements, and the KULTUR.NUTZER.STEUERUNG methodology for cultural real estate demand analysis. Operations are supported by an in-house events and content platform (KIMbiss), launched as a digital format in February 2022 and extended to an in-person conference in 2023, which functions as both lead generation and ecosystem convening. The company employs 101-250 people and runs roughly 70-80 client mandates per year.

The business model is project-based professional services revenue, combining executive search fees (typically structured as a percentage of first-year compensation) with fixed-fee strategy consulting and higher-value cultural real estate mandates. Revenue is diversified across more than 21 publicly referenced cultural institutions, with no single client disclosed as dominant. Geographic concentration in DACH limits absolute market size but supports deep sector specialization; go-to-market relies on the founder's network, senior advisors, the ACULTOS network, and content marketing through KIMbiss.

Name

KULTUREXPERTEN

Legal name

KULTUREXPERTEN Dr. Scheytt GmbH

Website

https://kulturexperten.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

KULTUREXPERTEN is a German executive search and consulting firm specializing in the arts and culture sector, founded in 2011 and based in Essen. It serves DACH-region museums, theaters, foundations, and cultural real estate projects via search, strategy, and real estate advisory services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search & Cultural Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Generalist Staffing Agencies (BPACACAH)

Keywords

• Executive search services
• Cultural sector consulting
• Arts management advisory
• Cultural real estate consulting
• Leadership recruitment

Headquarters

HQ city

Essen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Executive Search / Personalberatung: Direct placement of executive and leadership positions in arts and culture organizations. The company identifies and approaches candidates through direct outreach, leveraging its extensive network. Fees are likely project-based, tied to successful placements.
2. Strategy Consulting / Kulturimmobilien: Consulting services for cultural real estate planning, construction, and renovation. Includes support for building owners and users of cultural facilities, governance structure setup, and process management.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

KULTUREXPERTEN is a specialized consulting firm that performs executive search (Personalberatung) for leadership positions in arts and culture institutions through direct outreach to passive candidates. The company also provides strategy consulting for cultural organizations and specialized consulting for the planning, construction, and operation of cultural real estate (Kulturimmobilie) projects. Services are delivered primarily to museums, theaters, orchestras, concert halls, festivals, foundations, and cultural marketing organizations across the DACH region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• KULTUREXPERTEN Executive Search (Personalberatung) Executive search and direct candidate outreach (Direktansprache) for leadership and management positions in arts and culture institutions, cultural tourism, and city/regional marketing. Targets passive candidates not actively job-seeking through a decades-long network.
• KULTUREXPERTEN Cultural Real Estate Consulting (Kulturimmobilie) Strategic consulting for the planning, construction, renovation, and operation of theaters, museums, concert halls, and libraries. Includes competency analysis, legal form recommendations, governance structure development, and project team assembly from expert networks.
• KULTUREXPERTEN Strategy Consulting (Strategieberatung) Strategic advisory services for cultural organizations covering organizational structure, cultural governance, leadership development, and management consulting across public, nonprofit, and commercial cultural sectors.
• KULTURKARRIERE (formerly KULTURPERSONAL) Career platform and e-recruitment service for culture sector professionals aggregating job listings and career development resources. Partners with KULTURMANAGEMENT.net, the largest job market for culture management, visited by more than 20,000 cultural professionals monthly.
• KULTUR.NUTZER.STEUERUNG Project management and user-oriented needs planning methodology for cultural real estate, functioning as a 'control panel' (Steuerpult) with customized action matrices for project steering across all phases of cultural building projects.
• ACULTOS International Consultant Network International consulting network supporting European cities in bidding for and implementing European Capital of Culture status, including organizational structure, process landscape, personnel staffing, and budget planning. Advised cities include Pafos, Plovdiv, Maastricht, Siena, Cluj-Napoca, Kalamata, Bregenz, Kaunas, Bad Ischl/Salzkammergut.

Quantifiable outcome

• Women's quota consistently above 60% in approximately 500 placement procedures

Named customers21 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• KULTURKARRIERE GmbH (formerly KULTURPERSONAL GmbH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Founded in 2012 with Dirk Schütz for E-recruitment services. KULTURPERSONAL was rebranded as KULTURKARRIERE in 2023. The companies share the KandiDATENbank of over 10,000 cultural sector professionals. KULTUREXPERTEN acquired the KULTURPERSONAL offering from January 2023.
• KULTURMANAGEMENT.netminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2012Partnership with the largest job board for cultural management, visited by more than 20,000 cultural professionals monthly, for distribution of job listings and candidate reach.
• ACULTOS (International Consultant Network)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011International consultant network founded by KULTUREXPERTEN to support European cities applying for European Capital of Culture status. Advised cities include Pafos, Plovdiv, Maastricht, Siena, Cluj-Napoca, Kalamata, Bregenz, Kaunas, Bad Ischl/Salzkammergut.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with sector practices spanning arts, culture, and nonprofit. Competes with KULTUREXPERTEN on senior cultural-sector placements but operates a much broader generalist portfolio.
• Spencer Stuart: Global executive search firm with arts, culture, and nonprofit sector coverage. A broad incumbent competing for high-profile cultural institution leadership searches alongside KULTUREXPERTEN.
• Odgers Berndtson: International executive search firm with a dedicated non-profit, arts, and culture practice. Overlaps with KULTUREXPERTEN on cultural-sector leadership placements across European markets.
• Egon Zehnder: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with dedicated practices in arts, culture, and public sector. Overlaps with KULTUREXPERTEN on cultural institution CEO and director mandates at the senior level.

Direct peers

• Kienbaum Consultants International: Leading German-headquartered executive search, HR consulting, and management advisory firm. Directly comparable as a DACH-rooted executive search and organizational consulting platform serving similar mid- and senior-level mandates.
• hkp/// group: German HR advisory, executive remuneration, and governance consulting firm. Comparable as a DACH-rooted professional services platform serving executive-level mandates, though with a broader HR/corporate focus rather than cultural specialization.
• Amrop: Global executive search partnership with strong European, including DACH, presence and sector-focused practices. Closely comparable mid-sized executive search firm competing for similar leadership mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kulturexperten
• Facebookfacebook.com/kulturexperten
• Instagraminstagram.com/kulturexperten

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 KULTUREXPERTEN