Below Tippmann & Company personnel consultancy

What Below Tippmann & Company personnel consultancy does

Below Tippmann & Compagnie Personalberatung GmbH (BT&Cie) is a Berlin-based boutique personnel consultancy founded in January 2013 by Jürgen Below and Michael Tippmann, both former Kienbaum executives who built the firm on the premise that a smaller, owner-managed structure delivers more flexibility and individual service than large consulting houses. The firm offers a unified portfolio of human-driven HR services rather than software products: core offerings are Executive Search, Newplacement (career transition and outplacement), and Leadership Coaching, complemented by add-on modules for Training, Diagnostics, Coaching, Transformation, and Career Consulting. It is GDPR-compliant, signatory of the 2018 Berliner Charta zur Gleichstellung, and ranked among the TOP 177 of approximately 3,000 German recruitment consultancies per the Süddeutsche Zeitung / Innofact 2024 study.

The underlying methodology is a systematic, craftsman-like ("Manufaktur-Arbeit") process that combines human intelligence, deep professional networks, and social-competency assessment with AI and active sourcing tools as supporting instruments; the firm explicitly does not rely on algorithms or big-data analysis for candidate evaluation. The team of approximately 18–22 named managing partners, directors, principals, senior advisors, consultants, and research associates is organized horizontally across enterprise verticals — life sciences, chemicals, energy/utilities, automotive/manufacturing, healthcare, retail, municipal services, and public-sector organizations — with five shareholders (Below, Tippmann, Simone Pfister, Georg Misgeld, Jürgen Niemann) and three managing directors (Pfister, Misgeld, Niemann).

BT&Cie operates as a relationship-driven professional services firm with direct enterprise sales from its Berlin headquarters (Behrenstraße 29, Berlin-Mitte) and a Munich satellite (Am Bavariapark 2), plus a Switzerland contact point in Zug. Distribution leverages HR Circle events, university alumni workshops, an executive podcast, LinkedIn/Xing presence, earned media in Tagesspiegel, and deep affiliations with Berlin/Munich business associations (VBKI, IHK Berlin, VDU, Franco-German Business Circle, European HR Directors Circle, Leadership Berlin). Pricing is bespoke and quote-based, with multi-year contracts possible; revenue is not publicly disclosed. Geographic reach spans DACH, broader EMEA, APAC (China, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia), CEE, and the US, delivered by an interculturally experienced team that supports international search mandates for German and global clients.

Name

Below Tippmann & Company personnel consultancy

Legal name

Below Tippmann & Compagnie Personalberatung GmbH

Website

https://bt-personalberatung.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Below Tippmann & Compagnie (BT&Cie) is a Berlin-based boutique personnel consultancy offering executive search, newplacement, and leadership coaching for enterprise and mid-market clients across life sciences, chemicals, energy, automotive, healthcare, retail, and public-sector verticals in Germany and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Executive Search / Recruitment: Retained and/or contingency search mandates for filling executive and specialist positions across all company functions. Core revenue driver for mid-to-large German and international companies.
2. Newplacement & Career Consulting: Outplacement services for companies and career coaching for individuals, including Hogan Assessments certification for personality diagnostics.
3. Leadership Coaching & Business Coaching: Coaching services for executives and specialists, including leadership development, management style optimization, performance improvement, and onboarding support.
4. Transformation Consulting: Change management and organizational transformation support across all stages from diagnosis through implementation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

BT&Cie is a boutique personnel consultancy that provides executive search, newplacement (outplacement), and leadership coaching services for German and international enterprises, leveraging a systematic, craftsman-like process that combines human intelligence with AI and active sourcing tools. The firm additionally offers recruitment, training, diagnostics, career consulting, and organizational transformation services as integrated offerings under a single partner.

Product overview

Below Tippmann & Compagnie Personalberatung GmbH (BT&Cie) is a Berlin-based personnel consultancy founded in 2013, offering a unified portfolio of human-driven HR services rather than a software product. The core offerings consist of Executive Search, Newplacement, and Leadership Coaching, which are complemented by additional services including Recruitment, Training, Diagnostics, Coaching, Transformation, and Career Consulting. The company emphasizes a craft-based, manual approach to personnel work using human intelligence and artisanal methods, incorporating AI and active sourcing tools as supporting instruments within a systematic process. The services are delivered through an internationally experienced team operating primarily from Berlin, with additional locations in Munich and Zug, Switzerland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 100% placement ratio in Newplacement since 2006
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and moderate.

• Technologie StiftungminorOthersListed as a partner logo on the BT&Cie website. Nature of partnership not explicitly detailed.
• IHK Berlin (Berlin Chamber of Industry and Commerce)minorOthersListed as a partner logo on the BT&Cie website. Active member of Berlin's Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
• VBKI (Association of Berlin Merchants and Industrialists)moderateOthersActive member and participant in VBKI events (Ball, Junioren, etc.). Simone Pfister is involved in VBKI. Strong networking relationship through events and social engagements.
• VDU (Association of German Women Entrepreneurs)minorOthersListed as a partner logo. Simone Pfister is involved in VDU, the Association of German Women Entrepreneurs.
• megafon (MEGAfoN NEWS AND FACTS / Megafon Projekt)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerBT&Cie supports the megafon project which provides educational and participation opportunities for socially disadvantaged youth in Berlin schools. Supports with MEGAfoN NEWS AND FACTS, a learning and education program using dpa news articles and fact-checking. BT's Ulrich Misgeld actively supports this initiative through the UnternehmensNetzwerk Motzener Straße.
• 7C ConsultingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a partner logo on the BT&Cie website. 7C Consulting appears to be an Executive Search and HR consulting partner operating in a similar market.
• APRIL StiftungminorOthersListed as a partner logo with tagline 'APRIL Stiftung'. Nature of partnership not explicitly detailed.
• UnternehmensNetzwerk Motzener Straße e.V.moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerBT&Cie's Ulrich Misgeld serves as 1st Chairman of this business network for the Motzener Straße industrial area in Marienfelde, Berlin. The network celebrates its 20-year anniversary in 2025. Promotes networking among SMEs, sustainable development, and environmental protection including the 'Quartier mit Energie' concept. BT actively participates in and contributes to the network's initiatives.
• RICAM (Riemann Foundation for Palliative Care)minorOthersListed as a partner logo. RICAM appears to be a palliative care foundation. Nature of partnership not explicitly detailed.
• Franco-German Business CircleminorOthersBT&Cie's Dirk Schneemann serves as Vice-President of the Franco-German Business Circle. Promotes Franco-German business relationships and cross-border economic cooperation.
• European HR Directors CircleminorOthersDirk Schneemann serves as a Board Member of the European HR Directors Circle.
• Leadership BerlinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBT&Cie participates in Leadership Berlin, a network bringing together approximately 36 leaders annually from diverse fields for an 8-program-day Learning Journey through Berlin's society. Jürgen Below was associated with this network.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search firm listed on NASDAQ. Competes for the same C-level mandates in life sciences, energy, and industrial sectors, but operates at significantly larger scale with global offices and broader consulting/Heidrick Consulting offerings.
• Korn Ferry: NYSE-listed global organizational consulting firm with major executive search practice. Competes for senior mandates and offers adjacent services (talent assessment, leadership development) that overlap with BT&Cie's coaching and diagnostics offerings, but at significantly larger scale.
• Egon Zehnder: Privately held global executive search firm with deep German roots. Targets the same senior executive mandates in DACH enterprises, particularly CEO and board-level searches, and competes on similar human-centered relationship-based search methodology.
• Spencer Stuart: Global executive search firm competing for senior executive mandates across industrial, life sciences, and energy sectors. Operates globally with established presence in Germany; broader in scope than BT&Cie's boutique model.
• Russell Reynolds Associates: Global executive search firm with established German practice. Competes directly for C-suite and senior management mandates in financial services, industrial, and life sciences sectors served by BT&Cie.
• Odgers Berndtson: Global mid-sized executive search firm, German operations based in Frankfurt/Munich. Competes for German Mittelstand board-level searches and executive mandates with comparable sector coverage including automotive, life sciences, and industrial.
• Hays Deutschland: Large international recruitment and workforce solutions firm with significant German presence. Competes for professional and specialist placements in life sciences, energy, and industrial sectors, though focused more on mid-level roles than BT&Cie's C-suite focus.

Direct peers

• Kienbaum Consultants International: Kienbaum is the direct predecessor and benchmark boutique-to-mid-sized German HR/executive search firm. BT&Cie's three Managing Partners and two co-founders all previously held senior roles at Kienbaum, making it the closest comparable in service mix, seniority positioning, and German Mittelstand client base.

Regional players

• Hartzkom Strategische Markenberatung: Mid-sized German communications/PR consultancy. Included as thematically adjacent peer given BT&Cie's positioning in Berlin business community (VBKI, IHK) and cross-marketing to leadership audience rather than direct recruitment competition.

Emerging players

• 7C Consulting: Smaller German executive search and HR consulting partner explicitly listed on BT&Cie's website as a partner. Operates in adjacent niches and shares the boutique positioning, but smaller scale with overlapping offerings in executive search.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xxing.com/companies/belowtippmann&compagniepersonalberatunggmbh
• YouTubebt-personalberatung.de/podcast
• LinkedInde.linkedin.com/company/below-tippmann-&-compagnie-personalberatung-gmbh

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Below Tippmann & Company personnel consultancy