Kienbaum Consultants Austria GmbH

What Kienbaum Consultants Austria GmbH does

Kienbaum Consultants Austria GmbH is the Austrian operating entity of Kienbaum, a family-owned management consultancy and executive search firm founded in Germany in 1945 and now in its third generation of ownership under Fabian Kienbaum. The Austrian subsidiary sits within a global network of 20+ offices across 4 continents and approximately 650 employees, delivering services through locally-staffed country offices coordinated by a central International Office in Cologne.

The firm offers an integrated HR and leadership value chain built around three pillars: Executive Search for top management and board positions; Management Consulting covering organizational development, HR transformation, change management, and corporate acceleration; and Management Diagnostics, an assessment and competency-modeling practice. Adjacent service modules include Compensation & Performance Management, Board Services, Leadership Development, Outplacement, and the Kienbaum C-Suite career consulting program. Underpinning these offerings is a proprietary Salary Development Forecast dataset covering 33–38 countries, used both as a client deliverable and as a top-of-funnel marketing asset.

Kienbaum monetizes through project-based professional services engagements with custom quotes and multi-year contracts, primarily serving large multinational enterprises and family-owned mid-size firms (Mittelstand) across 14+ sector practices including industrial manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, public/non-profit, and emerging areas such as Digital/Tech/AI and ESG & Sustainability. Customer logos cited publicly include HAWE Hydraulik SE, DIEFFENBACHER GmbH, and Messe München GmbH. The firm markets through content publications, newsletters in multiple languages, social media, and direct enterprise relationships built through its office network.

Name

Kienbaum Consultants Austria GmbH

Legal name

Kienbaum Consultants Austria GmbH

Website

https://international.kienbaum.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1945

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kienbaum Consultants Austria GmbH is the Austrian subsidiary of Kienbaum, a family-owned German management consultancy founded in 1945. It delivers executive search, management consulting, management diagnostics, compensation advisory, and leadership development services to large enterprises and family-owned mid-size firms across 4 continents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Executive Search Services (561312), Human Resources Consulting Services (541612)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Performance Management & Productivity Consulting (BPAHAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Strategy Advisory (BPAHADAA)

Keywords

• Executive search
• Management consulting
• Leadership advisory
• HR transformation
• Board advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Wien, Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Executive Search Services: Direct search and placement of executives and senior managers for client organizations
2. Management Consulting: HR transformation, organizational development, change management, and leadership advisory services
3. Management Diagnostics & Assessment: Aptitude analysis processes and instruments, qualification of employees, competency and potential modeling
4. Learning & HR Development: Corporate learning, academy building, and individual development programs
5. Compensation & Performance Management: Design of compensation systems, incentive structures, and performance management systems

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Kienbaum Consultants Austria GmbH is part of an international management consultancy that delivers executive search and management consulting services to organizations. Its core offering encompasses the direct search and placement of senior executives and managers, strategic advisory on organizational development and HR transformation, leadership development, management diagnostics and assessment, compensation and performance management design, and board advisory services. Services are delivered through a network of 20+ international offices with deep sector specialization across 14 industries.

Product overview

Kienbaum offers a unified consulting platform centered on Executive Search and Management Consulting services. The core portfolio includes Executive Search (for filling top management positions), Management Consulting (spanning organizational development, change management, HR transformation, and corporate acceleration), and Management Diagnostics (assessment and evaluation services). These core offerings are complemented by specialized modules including Compensation & Performance Management, Board Services, Leadership Development & Training, Outplacement Services, and research publications such as Remuneration Studies and Salary Development Forecasts. The Kienbaum C-Suite program provides individualized career counseling for senior executives. Together, these services form an integrated value chain covering talent search, organizational assessment, leadership development, and strategic HR transformation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kienbaum C-Suite: Executive career consulting and comprehensive career counseling and hiring strategies for executives
• Salary Development Forecast

Products and services

• Executive Search Executive search and recruitment services for top management and leadership positions, utilizing extensive networks and close contact with decision-makers to fill challenging roles effectively. Serves enterprises and family-owned mid-size firms across all international Kienbaum markets.
• Management Consulting Strategic advisory services covering organizational development, change management, HR transformation, and corporate acceleration to help organizations achieve lasting success. Targeted at executive leadership of enterprises and family-owned firms.
• Management Diagnostics Assessment and diagnostic services including aptitude analysis processes, competency modeling, and identification of critical success requirements for employees. Used by clients such as HAWE Hydraulik SE to support group-wide HR processes.
• HR Transformation Development and implementation of people and functional strategies, including HR organizational models, job maps, digital support, and change management. Targets HR leaders and executive committees undertaking function transformation.
• Organizational Development Development of employees and competencies based on organizational requirements to maximize strategy implementation through optimized corporate structures and processes.
• Change Management Structured change management support across strategic, organizational, process-related, and cultural levels with a balanced mix of stability and agility.
• Compensation & Performance Management Design of compensation structures and performance management systems aligned with organizational goals, including monetary and non-monetary incentive systems.
• Board Services Advisory on supervisory and advisory board composition, remuneration benchmarking, and efficiency reviews for corporate governance optimization.
• Leadership Development & Training Individual coaching, management development programs, and systemic solutions-oriented training for personal and professional growth of executives.
• Outplacement Services Career counseling and support programs for professional separation management, helping both organizations and departing employees manage transitions.
• Kienbaum C-Suite Comprehensive and individualized career counseling and hiring strategies for senior executives, combining coaching, training, advising, and networking opportunities.
• Remuneration Studies & Salary Development Forecast Annual salary and inflation forecast publications and compensation benchmarking studies across multiple countries, covering executive positions and market trends.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70,000+ projects completed since 1945
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles8 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered notable and supporting.

• The Stepstone GroupnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative study partnership for 'Attracting Talent' research, assessing employee needs and requirements based on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Published 'Attracting Talent 2024' study analyzing what employees expect from employers.
• German Association of Local Utilities (VKU)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerKienbaum has been a supporting member of VKU, providing executive search services for companies in the energy and utilities sector in German-speaking countries.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Spencer Stuart: One of the largest dedicated executive search firms globally with deep board and CEO placement practices. Directly competes with Kienbaum on senior executive mandates, particularly for European multinationals and family-owned enterprises.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search and leadership consulting firm with publicly disclosed financials and a strong presence in Europe. Comparable in offering executive search plus leadership advisory, and competes directly on cross-border mandates.
• Russell Reynolds Associates: Global executive search firm focused on senior leadership and board placements across multiple industries. A direct competitor on C-suite and supervisory board mandates for European Mittelstand and global enterprises.
• Odgers Berndtson: International executive search firm with strong European presence and sector-specialized practices. Direct competitor on senior executive placements, particularly in the UK, European, and global enterprise markets.
• Boyden: Global executive search firm with operations in 30+ countries and industry-focused practices. Comparable in offering executive search plus leadership advisory, and overlaps with Kienbaum in industrial and consumer sectors.
• Egon Zehnder: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with a similarly integrated model combining search, board advisory, and management consulting. Closely comparable to Kienbaum in service breadth, mid-market enterprise focus, and family/private ownership culture.

Broad incumbents

• Korn Ferry: Public, globally scaled organizational consulting firm offering executive search, RPO, talent management, and consulting. Significantly larger than Kienbaum and competes across all service lines, but serves a much broader client base.
• LHH (Lee Hecht Harrison): Global talent advisory firm under Adecco Group providing career transition/outplacement, leadership development, and talent acquisition. Overlaps with Kienbaum's outplacement, leadership development, and HR transformation service lines.
• Robert Half International: Public, large-scale staffing and talent solutions firm with a dedicated executive search practice (Protiviti's parent group). Broader in scope than Kienbaum, encompassing contract and permanent staffing beyond senior executive search.

Regional players

• PageGroup: Public, UK-based recruitment firm operating globally across multiple disciplines including executive search (Page Executive). Broader in scope than Kienbaum but with overlapping mid-to-senior management search mandates in European markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kienbaum-austria

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries20 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 Kienbaum Consultants Austria GmbH