ZRG Partners Names Country Manager for Germany

October 6, 2016 – Executive search firm ZRG Partners has added Philipp Sturm as a managing director and country head of Germany. He will work out of the firm’s office in Frankfurt and will also serve as a member of the firm’s global industrial practice.

Mr. Sturm brings a decade plus of solid and relevant executive search experience to ZRG. Prior to joining the firm, he worked at Korn Ferry in its global industrial practice. Most recently he was a partner at a CTPartners in Frankfurt.

“Philipp is a key leader to help us further expand our coverage in Germany,” said Larry Hartmann, ZRG chief executive officer. “His experience in the industrial sectors and relationships in the automotive vertical fit very nicely to our global industrial team’s client mix. We view this hire as a cornerstone of our continued growth in Europe and in Germany, where our data and analytics value proposition has been very well received.”

Germany is the largest national economy in Europe, and the fourth largest by nominal GDP in the world. The country’s service sector makes up 70 percent of its GDP and nearly 40 percent of Fortune Global 500 companies are headquartered here. But Germany is facing severe economic prospects, as the country comes to grips with a growing immigration and migrant crisis which is expected to challenge every corner of its society, from education and healthcare infrastructure to jobs.

Nevertheless, Germany continues to attract recruiters. Even London-based search firms are turning to Germany, as well as to France and the U.S. as potential markets to sit out the uncertainty and after-effects of Brexit in the U.K. until a clearer way forward surfaces.

Well known companies in the country include Mercedes-Benz, BMW, SAP, Siemens, Volkswagen, Adidas, Audi, Allianz, Porsche, Bayer, BASF, Bosch, and Nivea. As such, it is an important base of operations for search firms, including for Egon Zehnder, Spencer Stuart, Boyden, Russell Reynolds Associates, Heidrick & Struggles, DHR International and Korn Ferry.

“It is great to be back working again with many of my old Korn Ferry and CTPartners colleagues that have already made ZRG Partners their home,” said Mr. Sturm. “The firm’s commitment to data and information in the search process is just what my clients throughout Germany have been asking for. I am looking forward to expanding the brand in the German markets as ZRG continues to grow.”

There have been a number of other recent additions to ZRG’s recruiter base:

• Just last month, the firm named John McLean as a managing director in its global life sciences search practice with the acquisition of certain assets of Illinois-based consulting practice McLean Consulting. Mr. McLean, who works out of ZRG’s Chicago office, has 14 years of executive search experience, served several recruiting firms, including Witt/Kieffer, DHR International and Johnson & Johnson before founding his own practice. ZRG also appointed Samantha Foster as a managing director and member of the firm’s global industrial practice. She leads the firm’s efforts in the aerospace & defense vertical, where she has spent more than 12 years supporting clients globally;

• The firm added Paul Stefunek to its roster as a managing director. He supports the firm’s technology practice and serve as a member of the firm’s industrial and private equity team. Previously, he was a partner with DHR International and before that was chairman and managing partner of paul-lawrence associates;

• ZRG also named Alexander Spielberg as a managing director and member of its global industrial and life sciences practice in its Frankfurt, Germany office. Mr. Spielberg previously spent six years with Korn Ferry in its global industrial search practice and most recently was a partner at European boutique search firm Exgeniam Executive Search Personalberatung KG supporting clients in the life sciences and industrial sectors;

• Earlier this year, ZRG established its footprint in Brazil with the addition of Denys Monteiro as chief executive officer. He was most recently CEO of Fesa, Brazil’s largest independent executive search firm where he worked for 18 years. Joining Mr. Monteiro from Fesa are: Aldo Bergamasco, head of the firm’s consumer goods practice; Rodrigo Byrro, a head of the practice of TMT (technology, media and telecommunications); Geraldo Teixeira, head of the firm’s insurance practice and a member of ZRG’s financial services and industrial practices; Leonardo Ribeiro, head of the firm’s education and healthcare practices and a member of the firm’s life sciences, consumer and TMT practices; and Aline Lex, who will serve as head of financial services and private equity in São Paulo.

Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media