AQUINUM

What AQUINUM does

AQUINUM GmbH is a privately-held German executive search and HR consulting firm headquartered in Bad Homburg vdH, with a secondary operational office in Frankfurt am Main. Founded in 1999 and structured as a Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH), the firm specializes in identifying, selecting, and placing specialists and executives for clients operating in the trade, energy, and logistics industries. Oliver Badura serves as managing director (Geschäftsführung) and is the named responsible party under German press law. The company serves corporate enterprises, government agencies, and individual candidates, with a stated horizontal segmentation across executive search clients, career-seeking candidates, organizations requiring interim management, and recruiting professionals seeking training.

The firm's service portfolio spans five offerings: Executive Search (headhunting for senior roles), Karriereberatung (career consulting for individuals), Schulungen (recruiter training programs), Interim Management (temporary executive placement), and a supporting internal Bewerberdatenbank (candidate database). The underlying technology stack is explicitly web-based and non-proprietary, relying on standard web analytics (Google Analytics), paid search (Google AdWords), and social channels (LinkedIn, Xing, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube) for candidate sourcing and client engagement. There are no patents, proprietary platforms, APIs, or AI/ML capabilities disclosed in the source data. The current website at aquinum.net displays a 'coming soon' placeholder in German, indicating an in-progress digital refresh.

Commercially, AQUINUM operates a quote-based, project-scoped professional services model with publicly undisclosed pricing. Revenue mechanics are professional services fees tied to individual search engagements and consulting mandates. GTM motion is enterprise field sales delivered through personalized consultations and direct relationship management rather than productized distribution. The firm has no disclosed external investment, no parent company, no funding rounds, no partnerships, no acquisitions, and no awards — operating as an independent bootstrap-style boutique. Geographic scope is explicitly limited to Germany with no global footprint claim.

Name

AQUINUM

Legal name

AQUINUM GmbH

Website

https://aquinum.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AQUINUM GmbH is a privately-held German executive search and HR consulting firm founded in 1999, headquartered in Bad Homburg, specializing in recruiting specialists and executives for the trade, energy, and logistics industries across Germany, with complementary career consulting, recruiter training, and interim management services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bad Homburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Executive Search Services: Recruitment and placement of specialists and executives for client companies. The firm searches, selects, and mediates qualified candidates to fill client positions.
2. Career Consulting: Career advisory services for individuals seeking professional guidance and placement assistance.
3. Recruiter Training: Training programs to support recruiters in their ongoing professional development within recruitment and staffing.
4. Interim Management Placement: Provision of interim managers to client organizations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

AQUINUM is a German executive search and HR consulting firm that identifies, selects, and places specialists, executives, and interim managers for client companies and organizations. In addition to headhunting, the firm offers career advisory services for individual candidates and training programs for in-house recruiters, supported by an internal candidate database (Bewerberdatenbank) used for matching.

Product overview

AQUINUM is a recruitment consulting firm offering a portfolio of human resources services rather than a unified software product. The core offerings include Executive Search for executive-level recruitment, Karriereberatung (Career Consulting) for individual career guidance, Schulungen (Training) for recruiter development, and Interim Management for temporary executive placement. These services are supported by a Bewerberdatenbank (Candidate Database) used internally to match candidates with client positions. The firm operates as a consulting services provider without a software platform or modular product architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Executive Search Headhunting and executive search services that identify, evaluate, and place top-level executives and senior specialists for client companies, organizations, and government agencies. The service includes direct candidate sourcing through professional networks and databases, reference-based evaluation, and confidential search execution.
• Karriereberatung (Career Consulting) Career advisory services for individual professionals, including interview preparation, resume refinement, professional development guidance, and connection to unadvertised positions through the firm's network.
• Schulungen (Recruiter Training) Structured training programs that support in-house recruiters and HR professionals in their continuous professional development within talent acquisition, covering recruitment best practices and skill development.
• Interim Management Placement of experienced interim managers into client organizations that require temporary executive leadership or specialized expertise during transitions, restructurings, or project-based mandates.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Egon Zehnder: International executive search and leadership advisory firm with deep European presence. Closely comparable to AQUINUM on search methodology and senior-level mandates.
• Spencer Stuart: Global executive search firm focused on board-level and C-suite placements. Directly overlapping with AQUINUM’s executive search business, particularly at the senior management level.
• PageGroup: Global recruitment firm operating Michael Page and Page Personnel brands. Comparable to AQUINUM on professional and executive recruitment, with deeper international reach.
• Russell Reynolds Associates: Global executive search firm focused on senior leadership across sectors. Direct peer to AQUINUM on executive search core, with deeper international coverage.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search firm specializing in senior leadership placement across industries. Directly comparable to AQUINUM’s executive search offering, with a broader international footprint and larger partner bench.
• Korn Ferry: Global executive search and organizational consulting firm. Comparable to AQUINUM on executive search core service, while operating a much wider portfolio including talent management and RPO.
• Odgers Berndtson: International executive search firm with a strong European and German-speaking footprint. Direct peer to AQUINUM on executive search, especially for mid-to-large German corporate mandates.
• Hays: Global recruitment and workforce solutions firm with a strong German operation. Comparable to AQUINUM across recruitment services, with broader scope including temporary staffing and workforce solutions.

Broad incumbents

• Robert Half: Global staffing and consulting firm specializing in finance, accounting, and administrative placements. Broad incumbent offering overlapping recruiting-adjacent services rather than direct senior executive search.

Emerging players

• Honeypot: European tech-talent focused recruitment platform (acquired by Xing/NEW WORK). Emerging player whose IT/digital talent focus partially intersects with AQUINUM’s specialist placement capability in Germany.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aquinum-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 AQUINUM