PERSONNEL CONSULTING
Financial Services
Digitization pressure (“customer of the future”), fierce competition and increased regulatory density: financial institutions are making themselves fit for the future in often rough seas with a high pace of innovation.
Digitization pressure (“customer of the future”), fierce competition and increased regulatory density: financial institutions are making themselves fit for the future in often rough seas with a high pace of innovation.
Accordingly, the role of bank employees has expanded in many ways and new skills are becoming increasingly important. For example, interdisciplinary work is increasingly in demand and self-management skills are also becoming more important. The financial services industry also requires a new type of manager. Real business leaders with the right mindset are needed to sustainably digitalize a bank and to confidently guide employees along the new path. Such managers are equally convincing with their technical and methodological expertise and social skills.
We become active when the financial institution’s internal recruiting measures have been unsuccessful and a simple job advertisement does not promise the desired candidates.
Or, if a position is to be filled “confidentially”.
Or – and this is the best reason, because it saves time and therefore costs for the company – we are entrusted with filling strategically relevant personnel positions in the financial services sector from the outset. Thanks to our networked recruiting, we know exactly which talented individuals, teams and managers the respective financial company needs.
Financial services for
- Banking
- Insurance
- FinTech
- Payment, Processing & Consulting Services
Your partner in Frankfurt
Frankfurt has long been a central hub of the global financial world, reflecting the pace and complexity of the entire industry. Nowhere is the transformation of talent demands more visible. The shift is profound. Skills like innovation, resilience, and the ability to guide teams through change have become critical.
Digitalization is reshaping the financial services sector. It calls not only for new technologies but also for people who truly understand those technologies. People who can use them effectively and strategically. In this new environment, technical skills alone are no longer enough. Social intelligence, empathy, and the ability to think and act across disciplines are essential traits for today’s leaders.
Our experience in Frankfurt and beyond makes one thing clear: the success of a company increasingly depends on the quality of its talent. That’s why we step in where internal strategies reach their limits or where fresh expertise is needed. Our connected, insight-driven approach ensures that the right people fill the right roles. With full alignment to the demands of the financial sector.
Executive Search Finance
As headhunters in the finance space, we know it’s never just about filling a vacancy. It’s about creating long-term value, for both companies and candidates. We guide the entire process. From the initial analysis of requirements to the successful integration of the selected individual into the team.
In a highly competitive industry where the race for top talent is fierce, speed and precision are crucial. We leverage a broad, well-established network built over many years and understand exactly which qualities are needed. This is how we connect companies with professionals who not only match but grow together.
Board succession in banks: making strategic use of the lead time
Board succession in a bank succeeds when the institution uses the lead time to benchmark internal candidates against the external market and to plan the follow-on vacancies at the same time. When a CEO announces their departure early, attention quickly turns to a single name. Yet if a member of the management board steps up, their own portfolio becomes vacant, and further changes in the second management level often follow.
Banking supervision adds a further dimension. Every new management board member of a credit institution goes through a fit and proper assessment that looks not only at the individual but also at the composition of the board as a whole. Supervisory boards should therefore clarify early on which competencies the management board will lack after the change, for example in risk, regulation, IT or transformation.
We support supervisory boards and management boards of banks, Landesbanken, savings banks and insurers in preparing successions in a structured way. This includes discreet market mapping, an objective assessment of internal candidates through our Management Assessment and filling the positions that open up when the successor comes from within. On governance questions, our Financial Services practice group works closely with Board Services.
FAQ: Board succession in banks
When should a bank start planning board succession?
A bank should start planning board succession as soon as a change becomes foreseeable, ideally twelve to 24 months ahead for planned departures. This lead time is enough to benchmark internal candidates against the external market, schedule the supervisory fit and proper assessment and prepare the positions that open up if the successor comes from within. Starting shortly before the deadline means searching under time pressure in a small market.
Is an external search worthwhile if there is already an internal favourite?
Yes, a market benchmark is worthwhile even when an internal favourite has been identified. It gives the supervisory board a sound basis for its decision and allows it to explain to supervisors and shareholders why the internal solution is the best one. If the benchmark points elsewhere, there is still enough time to change course. We conduct these assessments discreetly so that internal candidates are not harmed.
What do supervisors assess when a bank appoints a management board member?
In the fit and proper procedure, supervisors assess whether a new management board member is professionally qualified, reliable and able to commit sufficient time, and they also consider whether the board as a whole covers the necessary competencies. Anyone planning a succession should therefore document experience, independence and board composition early on. We take these requirements into account from the outset, both in the role profile and in the candidate evaluation.
Talk to our team of experts!
30-minute market assessment: talk to Henning Sander, Partner Banking, or Martin Korn, Manager Banking, about succession on your management board.
HENNING SANDER
Partner Banking
MARTIN KORN
Manager Banking