Team

Rainer Mayer is the founder and driving force behind maconda. In his more than thirty years as a consultant, he has helped countless companies and led many projects to success. Rainer studied business administration at the University of Mannheim and also completed his doctorate there, which included a scholarship of the Studienstiftung Baden-Württemberg. He has worked for Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and the Treuhandanstalt Berlin, and spent some time in New York. In his private life he loves a wide range of activities: he plays the saxophone and clarinet and (reasonably) the Lithuanian birbyne. He has three daughters and is a carnival enthusiast. As a Palatine native, his passion naturally belongs to wine; Whisky came along after trips to Scotland. Languages: Palatine dialect, German, English and a little Dutch (even if conversation partners usually switch to English – it’s the attempt that counts).

Matthias Mennel Klingspor has been a management consultant for over 20 years, with an increasing focus on transaction advisory since the mid-2000s. In over 200 projects, he has successfully supported demanding clients with commercial due diligence, M&A strategy projects, transaction preparation and other topics. He did this, among other things, as a director in the Financial Advisory division at Deloitte, as a senior consultant in the CDD boutique AMR International and as a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton. Matthias began his career in central corporate strategy at Siemens. He gained his academic experience in England, at the London School of Economics and Henley Business School. Matthias enjoys spending his free time with his family and in the mountains – hiking or skiing. He speaks fluent German, Viennese and English, and French (if absolutely necessary).

Bertram Stähler has been a consultant – with passion – for over 19 years and has accompanied and managed a large number of analysis, strategy and M&A projects. This has enabled him to acquire his versatile expertise in a wide range of industries. He likes sophisticated methods and enjoys creating clear structures in order to get to the bottom of things and convince and inspire customers. Bertram studied geography in Bonn and still harbours an enthusiasm for the big picture and thinking outside the box. In his free time, he enjoys indulging in music with his wife or, as a contrasting programme, being productive as a DIY enthusiast. He is eloquent in German and also speaks very good English.

Rachid has a passion for numbers and people. Through his studies as an industrial engineer at the University of Applied Sciences in Cologne, he has solid economic and technical background. He has a knack for transferring raw data into information, happily in complex data models that he dissects with PowerPivot, R and Python. And he loves bringing abstract data to life through compelling visualisations. When he’s not analysing numbers, Rachid likes to be active. He is an avid fitness fan and enjoys running and playing football. He loves spending time in nature, especially on golden beaches where he can soak up the sun. Thanks to his multilingualism in Arabic, French, English and German, Rachid is very sociable and enjoys meeting people from all over the world.

Olivier Fuchs brings in-depth practical knowledge of restructuring and post-merger integration. His experience ranges from large companies to medium-sized enterprises to an e-commerce start-up. He managed locations with up to 1,800 employees in Germany, Benelux, Slovakia, Poland and Vietnam for a Swiss group. After studying at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, he earned an MBA at the renowned INSEAD in Fontainebleau, and today he teaches at the Cologne Business School and is involved in a research project at the Edinburgh Business School. His free time belongs to his family and to travelling, skiing and sailing – and history, especially Egyptology. In addition to German and French, Olivier speaks English and Dutch/Flemish, as well as some Spanish, Italian, Slovak, Swedish and Egyptian-Arabic.

Patricia Krischer enriches maconda with her passion for numbers and people. She has acquired her profound practical knowledge and commercial know-how in various industries, as well as her broad IT user knowledge. A commercial apprenticeship laid the foundation for her profession, followed by business studies at the VWA in Cologne. With Rhenish communication skills, she has been accompanying people in industry and commerce on their educational path as a trainer and instructor for many years, and is thus able to convey complex issues in a clear and sustainable manner. Patricia likes to be on the move, runs regularly and especially enjoys hiking uphill. She loves food made from good ingredients in nice company just as much as cooking and barbecuing for her family and friends. Her languages: German, English and reasonable French.

Alexander Totsis has an impressive academic background, including a master’s degree in economics and Corporate Strategy from the prestigious Imperial College London and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Manchester. These qualifications have sharpened his deep understanding of the link between business and strategy. His extensive experience in data analysis and visualisation enrich maconda in CDD projects and other deep analytics tasks. Alexander’s intercultural experience is particularly noteworthy, acquired also during his studies at Università Bocconi in Milan and an internship in Shanghai. Thanks to his outstanding communication skills and his adaptability, Alexander is well equipped to work in multicultural teams. In addition to excellent German and English, he is continuously expanding language skills in Italian and French. And he aspires to the challenge of the Ironman.

Tamara has harmoniously combined her passion for psychology and business while studying at CBS Cologne Business School for a Master’s degree in Business Psychology and Management. This helped her gain the knowledge necessary to understand people in the business world more deeply. At maconda, she will mainly contribute to projects related to consumers as well as in general research and analysis activities. In her free time, Tamara likes to learn different languages and has already succeeded in being fluent in Ukrainian, English, German, and Russian, and currently working on her French. Moreover, she enjoys playing in the theater and singing.

Torsten Laufenberg is a dedicated consultant and trainer for companies in the development, implementation and optimisation of strategies and business models. He is particularly interested in change management. His experience also helps with performance optimisation, as the right strategy and its systematic implementation are essential here. Torsten works closely with clients to develop strategies that are ready for implementation. These take up and integrate the often different department-specific thought patterns and ways of acting. After studying business administration at the University of Cologne, he first worked for the Kenneth Carroll Group in Palo Alto. This was followed by positions at Kienbaum and Malik MZSG. During the “New Economy” he managed a business incubator. He is also Programme Director Strategy & Management at the Management School St. Gallen.

Andreas Halser brings many years of experience as a consultant and project manager in strategic and operational implementation projects in the areas of digital and IT, with a focus on digital business models and omnichannel strategies. Andreas uses this experience profitably in due diligences, in which he focuses on market analysis and the potential assessment of sales platforms and marketing channels, among other things. He completed his Diploma in Business Administration at the University of Applied Sciences in Munich and his M.Sc. in Information Management at the School of Business and Economics in Maastricht. In his free time, Andreas enjoys nature and the mountains and various sports such as tennis, surfing or triathlon.

Max Kirschbauer is an expert for digital business models and works as an associated consultant for maconda. In addition to practical experience from various strategically and operationally supported digitalisation projects, he brings comprehensive due diligence expertise, particularly from the IT & software, e-commerce and FMCG sectors. His focus is on in-depth market and competition analysis as well as the identification of potentials in the digital marketing and sales funnel. Max completed his B.Sc. in Business Administration and Marketing at the Business School in Pforzheim and his M.Sc. in Marketing Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Munich. He spends most of his free time on the tennis court or in nature, either cycling or hiking.

The special expertise of our Polish colleague Piotr Krzeszowiak lies in data-based customer management. For more than 20 years, he has supported renowned brands in the development and implementation of customer-centric strategies and processes in marketing, sales and customer service and also leads the Polish activities of Envolved, a leading consultancy for loyalty, CRM and customer experience. Piotr is particularly passionate about cross-border projects (including Poland, Germany, Finland, Lithuania, Switzerland, Austria). He completed his business studies at the University of Cologne and the Stockholm School of Economics. After several years as a consultant at maconda in Cologne, Piotr moved to his Polish home in Krakow. His personal passion lies in classic cars. Besides Polish and German as his mother tongue, Piotr speaks English, French and a little Italian.

When it comes to digital business models and eCommerce, Ruth Cremer is our specialist. A mathematics graduate – she studied at RWTH Aachen University – Ruth develops business plans, especially for start-ups and corporate accelerators, and coaches their founders and shareholders. Since 2017, she has been advising on the selection of candidates for the TV show “Die Höhle der Löwen” (The Lion’s Den) on the TV channel VOX and preparing them for the show. At the Fresenius University of Applied Sciences, she has been training young students for several years as a lecturer for entrepreneurship and eCommerce. She gained international project experience in Spain, Italy and Indonesia, among other places. She is also the author of the internet forum deutschestartups.de and a speaker at various international start-up events. Ruth speaks German, English and some Spanish.

For more than 25 years, Dr Jan Clasen has been advising medium-sized, mostly owner-managed companies in all core sectors of the SME sector. His focus is on the strategic realignment and restructuring of companies. This includes the development and implementation of numerous restructuring concepts in various industries as well as the design of value enhancement programmes (cost reduction, capital commitment, revenue structures). He often arranges M&A processes, including distressed M&A. Jan studied business administration with a focus on finance and accounting at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration and at the University of St. Gallen (HSG). He subsequently completed his doctorate at the University of St. Gallen (HSG). He also passes on his experience in supervisory and advisory board mandates. Classical music in all directions inspires him.

Padra Siahmakoun is on his way to a Bachelor’s degree in general management with a focus on change management & business coaching. His dual study programme at the CBS International Business School prepares him perfectly for the practical phases at maconda. The combination of theory and practice allows him to be involved in our projects at a very early stage. With his analytical skills and success-oriented mindset, Padra takes on classic research and increasingly demanding analytical tasks. In his free time, he lives out his passion for cooking as well as weight training and football. His languages: German, English, Persian and passable French.

Isabelle Mayer-Holtmann puts her heart and soul into everything she does. She assists with research and interviews, especially with projects related to the Netherlands, Belgium and France because of her language skills and intercultural skills. She has Dutch roots with a large family in the east of the country as well as in Belgian Flanders. In addition to her work for maconda, Isabelle organises a variety of activities for the renowned International Club La Redoute in Bad Godesberg, where well-known politicians and business representatives often speak. She studied psychology in Nijmegen and Amsterdam and then graduated in Business Administration from the Cologne Business School. Afterwards, Isabelle raised three girls, who are now also all studying in the Netherlands. In addition to German and English, Isabelle speaks fluent French, Dutch and some Spanish.

Dr Henrik Steinhaus brings a broad background of experience to the maconda team. His “heart industries” are manufacturing, services and all types of trade. He has worked for a manufacturer of electronic switching elements, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Mittelstandsberatung and the Justus Liebig University in Gießen, where Henrik also studied business administration and earned his doctorate in this field. His professional focus is on market and competition analyses, business planning and co-determination. He often supports works councils and therefore knows both sides of co-determination. He has been working successfully in management consultancy for over 20 years. Henrik’s passion is water sports, especially sailing in the Baltic Sea.

Marion Tichel takes care of the office administration and ensures that the advisors have the freedom and peace they need to work in a concentrated manner. Since her training as a travel agent, she has gained a wide range of experience. Among other things, she managed the family travel agency for several years. In her free time, she likes to help friends and acquaintances prepare their tax returns. To recharge her batteries, Marion goes swimming and reads a lot. She sings in a choir, loves Kölsch beer and carnival and, of course, the Effzeh. Marion has diving training and a boating licence. Her languages are German and a good knowledge of English and French.

Our partner for the Czech Republic is Pavel Capouch. He learned his trade with local M&A advisors before founding CN Finance in 2004. Since then, he has successfully completed many challenging projects, including the sale of an international IT company with operations on three continents, the sale of a stake in the leading Czech video game developer to China’s Tencent, the sale of a leading specialist retailer in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the acquisition of the largest Czech music TV channel and a large Czech dairy producer. Pavel is a passionate amateur gardener, lover of delicious food and a fun-loving colleague with whom it is good to party and talk. He speaks Czech, Slovak, English and a little German.