INTERCONSILIUM Executive Search

What INTERCONSILIUM Executive Search does

INTERCONSILIUM Executive Search is a Düsseldorf-based boutique executive search firm operating under the legal entity Interconsilium GmbH & Co. KG, with a roughly four-decade operating history in the German market. The firm focuses on retained executive search for top-management positions, family-business succession planning, and supervisory-board (Aufsichtsrats) and advisory-board (Beirats) appointments, with an emerging specialization in placing Family Officers for single-family offices. It serves primarily DACH-region family businesses and Mittelstand enterprises, leveraging a small partner-led team of approximately ten staff including four named partners (Dr. Christoph Trah, Dr. Marc Viebahn, Dr. Ulrich Lohaus, and Daniel Iczek) and a senior dialogue partnership with former Luftwaffe Brigadegeneral Frank Dopheide.

The firm's stated methodology combines systematic analytics with human judgment, and it does not operate proprietary software or a technology platform; its principal assets are partner relationships, four decades of category knowledge in the German family-business segment, and a portfolio of proprietary thought-leadership publications including the Family Business Attractiveness Study, the Family Officer DNA Study, and the Top Executives Südwestfalen Study. The boutique structure keeps overhead aligned with a focused mandate pipeline rather than scale-driven search operations.

The business model is classic professional-services retained search: clients engage the firm on a mandate basis for senior executive, succession, or governance appointments, with fees tied to the position rather than to volume. Revenue is concentrated in a relatively small number of high-fee engagements per year, with episodic lumpiness typical of the segment, and there is no disclosed subscription, SaaS, or technology licensing revenue. Forward positioning is anchored in thought leadership and selective senior partnerships rather than geographic or headcount expansion.

Name

INTERCONSILIUM Executive Search

Legal name

Interconsilium GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://interconsilium.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

INTERCONSILIUM is a Düsseldorf-based boutique executive search firm serving DACH family businesses and Mittelstand enterprises, specializing in top-management succession, supervisory-board (Aufsichtsrat/Beirat) appointments, and Family Officer placements via a small partner-led team.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search Services

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial & Engineering Leadership Search (BPACAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family Business & Succession Advisory (FSAAADAL), Family Office Advisory & Outsourced CIO (OCIO) (FSAAADAC)

Keywords

• Executive search services
• Retained search firm
• Family business consulting
• Board recruitment
• Succession planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Düsseldorf

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Executive Search Mandates: Retained executive search assignments for top-management positions, supervisory boards (Aufsichtsräte), advisory boards (Beiräte), and entrepreneur successions (Unternehmernachfolgen). Revenue is generated on a project/mandate basis, likely through success fees or retainers typical of the executive search industry.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

INTERCONSILIUM provides retained executive search services for top-management positions, supervisory boards (Aufsichtsräte), advisory boards (Beiräte), and entrepreneur/family business successions, predominantly for German family-owned enterprises and the Mittelstand. Each search is hand-picked and partner-led, from joint profile development through targeted direct outreach to candidates, with coaching during negotiation and post-placement support. The firm supplements placements with proprietary research studies on family business attractiveness, Family Officer profiles, and regional executive talent markets.

Product overview

INTERCONSILIUM Executive Search offers executive search and advisory services focused on placing top management positions, including succession planning for family businesses, supervisory board appointments, and advisory board compositions. The firm combines human expertise with systematic analytics, providing personalized consulting services led by experienced generalist partners. The core offering is professional consulting services rather than a software product platform, supplemented by a media library of published research studies on family businesses, Family Officer personality profiles, and leadership insights.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Executive Search Mandate (Top-Management, Boards, Succession) Retained executive search service placing top-management executives, supervisory board (Aufsichtsrat) and advisory board (Beirat) members, and entrepreneur/family-business succession candidates for German family-owned enterprises and Mittelstand companies. Each mandate is hand-picked and partner-led, from joint profile development through targeted direct candidate outreach, negotiation coaching, and post-placement support.
• Family Business Attractiveness Study Proprietary survey-based research publication analyzing how attractive German family businesses are as employers for external top managers, identifying success factors and optimization levers for attracting executive talent; published as a downloadable PDF and used as a thought-leadership asset for the family-business practice.
• Family Officer DNA Study Psychometric research publication based on a HEXACO personality model that analyzes the personality traits and characteristics of successful Family Officers, used to underpin the firm's Family Officer placement and family-office advisory work and as a thought-leadership asset.

Quantifiable outcome

• 72% of foreign managers rate family businesses as highly attractive employers (survey of 500+ respondents, May–August 2020)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Frank Dopheide / Human UnlimitedminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2020Frank Dopheide, multiple entrepreneur and brand expert, engaged in a published dialogue with Dr. Marc Viebahn on the topic of corporate 'Purpose' (Sinn). Human Unlimited advises companies on purpose-driven leadership. The interview was conducted and published by Interconsilium on its media platform.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Deutsche Familienunternehmen / FBN DACH: German family business association/network providing events, research, and peer connections to owner-led enterprises. Not a search competitor, but a comparable ecosystem player with overlapping client base of German family-owned firms and shared interest in succession and governance content.

Broad incumbents

• Egon Zehnder: Global executive search firm with strong DACH presence and a long-standing reputation for board, CEO, and family business advisory work. Comparable on the top-management and supervisory board search services Interconsilium offers, but at significantly larger scale and with global reach.
• Spencer Stuart: Global executive search firm with a well-established board and CEO practice in Europe, including significant family business and Mittelstand engagements. Competes for the same top-management and supervisory board mandates Interconsilium pursues, particularly at the larger end of the client spectrum.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search firm with dedicated European practices serving industrial, financial, and family-controlled clients. Direct overlap on retained executive search and board advisory work targeting senior German and European executives.
• Russell Reynolds Associates: Global executive search firm with active German and European practice serving family-owned enterprises, supervisory boards, and CEO succession. Comparable on senior executive and board placement, though with materially greater international scale.

Direct peers

• Pedersen & Partners: European executive search firm with strong DACH and emerging-markets coverage, particularly active with family-owned and founder-led businesses. Comparable on mid-sized retained search, succession, and board work targeting European Mittelstand-type clients.
• Odgers Berndtson: International mid-sized executive search firm with strong German-speaking market presence through its DACH operations. Directly comparable on retained search for top-management and board roles, with similar boutique-to-mid-market positioning.
• Kienbaum Consultants International: Largest German-headquartered executive search and HR consulting firm, with deep relationships across the DACH Mittelstand and family business segment. Directly comparable on geography, target client base (German family businesses), and executive search service line.
• Signium International: Mid-sized international executive search firm focused on CEO, board, and family business succession mandates. Comparable boutique scale and similar positioning around top-management and board search for owner-led enterprises.

Regional players

• Witt-Gruppe / Witt Consulting: German-headquartered consulting and executive search firm with strong Mittelstand and family business focus. Comparable on DACH geography and family business executive search, though broader in scope (including strategy consulting).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/interconsilium-gmbh-&-co-kg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 INTERCONSILIUM Executive Search