Roland Berger Strategy Consultants elects new CEO and Executive Committee

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants has elected Martin Wittig as its new Chief Executive Officer. Martin, previously the Chief Financial Officer, replaces the outgoing CEO, Burkhard Schwenker, who will become the Chairman of the partnership. The Partners of the firm have also elected a new executive committee and supervisory board to lead the firm into its next phase of growth.

Following this change the firm is confident of building on its significant growth in the last two decades, which has seen it become the only consultancy of European origin in the global top five.

The Partners have elected to retain the firm’s two-tier management structure, in the form of an Executive Committee and Supervisory Board, and believe that the new leadership team is more international and diverse, thereby strongly positioning the firm for further growth in an increasingly globalised world.

"The change we have just completed is the logical conclusion of the course I set in the 1990s by changing the company's strategy from that of a founder-managed firm to that of a partnership," said Roland Berger.

"I am delighted with the confidence the Partners have shown in the new management," commented Martin Wittig, the newly elected CEO. "We will continue with our internationalisation, especially in the BRIC countries, and our successful global growth."

Commenting on the changes, the former CEO and newly elected Supervisory Board Chairman Burkhard Schwenker said, "The new team stands for internationalism, creativity, entrepreneurial drive and a high level of professionalism. These are values that characterise Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and have made us a global top-five player."

The new Executive Committee consists of: Martin C. Wittig (CEO), António Bernardo (Deputy CEO), Charles-Edouard Bouée, Bernd Brunke, Ralf Kalmbach and Tijo Collot d'Escury.

The new Supervisory Board consists of: Burkhard Schwenker (Chairman), Vincent Mercier (Vice Chairman), Stefan Schaible, Isao Endo and Veit Schwinkendorf.

Schwenker had been a member of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants' Executive Committee since 1998. He was elected CEO by the Partners in 2003 and was reelected for another term in 2006. Having studied business administration and mathematics, Schwenker started his professional career in the industry before completing his Ph.D. He joined Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in 1989, built up the Hamburg office and was elected Partner in 1992. Schwenker is an expert in strategy, organisation and corporate transformation. He regularly lectures at and sits on the boards of several business schools and universities. Furthermore he is active in various sociopolitical institutions, e.g. as Deputy Chairman of Atlantik-Brücke e.V. and as a member of the Roland Berger Foundation's Board of Trustees.

Wittig starts his third term as a member of the Executive Committee. He will also be in charge of the Germany and Switzerland region. Wittig has degrees in mining science and Business Administration from RWTH Aachen and a Ph.D. (summa cum laude) from TU Berlin. He joined Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in 1995 and was appointed Partner in 1999. He built up the Swiss office from humble beginnings to number three in the market. Wittig first joined the Global Executive Committee in 2003 and has been CFO since 2004. He works primarily for companies in the finance and transportation industries, and has been teaching at the University of St. Gallen since 2007. Martin Wittig and his family have lived in Switzerland for around ten years. In 2009, he was appointed Honorary German Consul in Zurich.