Strategy& Amsterdam promotes two partners and three directors
The Dutch wing of Strategy& has promoted two senior advisors, Lucas Prat Bertrams and Marc Hoogenberg, to the role of partner. In addition, three consultants have been promoted to director level: Christel Karsten, Edgar Simons and Marcel Otten.
The appointments are part of a wider round of promotions announced by PwC in the Netherlands, as part of the company’s annual performance management cycle. Across the board the Big Four firm appointed 45 new partners and directors, with Advisory the largest beneficiary of the move (16), equal to the Assurance business unit (also 16). Five of the Advisory professionals recognised for their service to the firm serve Strategy& – PwC’s strategy consulting arm founded three years ago after the company acquired Booz & Company for an estimated $1 billion.
Lucas Prat Bertrams has been with Strategy& and Booz & Company in Amsterdam since 2005, after he completed his MSc from Delft University of Technology. He primarily focuses on serving Energy, Chemicals and Utilities clients and supports them in realising their growth ambitions and in improving commercial capabilities by building differentiated go-to-market models and pricing, sales and marketing optimisation. Prat Bertrams has a dual Dutch and Spanish nationality, and also completed an MBA from INSEAD in France.
Marc Hoogenberg joined Strategy&’s Dutch outfit in since May 2010 from Accenture, where he latterly served as a Senior Manager. Previously he worked for Etcetera and as a consultant for McKinsey & Company and PPMC, a boutique Dutch marketing consultancy. Hoogenberg, who studied Econometrics at Erasmus University Rotterdam (RSM) and holds an MBA from Lemniscaat Business School, specialises in the retail and consumer industry. He has over the past 15+ years helped dozens of companies improve their commercial capabilities across functions such as marketing, sales, revenue management, category management (consumer and shopper) insights and business analytics.
The addition of Prat Bertrams and Hoogenberg takes Strategy&’s Amsterdam partner team to the size of six. Other partners are Marco Kesteloo, Managing Partner of the Dutch office, and Paul Nillesen, Steven Pattheeuws and Sander Visser.
Christel Karsten joined Strategy& in the summer of 2013, following completion of her PhD in Finance and Law from the University of Amsterdam. She has grown rapidly through the ranks, promoted to Senior Associate in 2014, Manager in 2015 and per the 1st of July 2017 now serves as a director. Karsten works for clients in the financial services sector, with a focus on banks, and has contributed to several Strategy& research reports on the banking sector and studies for banking clients.
Edgar Simons most recently served rival management consultancy A.T. Kearney in the Netherlands, where he worked for over ten years. In his role as a director in Strategy&’s Digital and Technology team, he will work on strategic digital and IT projects across industries, with a strong focus on telecommunication, high tech and utilities. His core expertise lies in Digital and IT strategy development and transformation, as well as operating model design and governance.
Marcel Otten has a passion for the healthcare and life sciences / pharma sectors. He has been with Strategy& in Amsterdam since 2008, when he graduated from the University of Groningen with a Msc in Biotechnology. Working with medical doctors, general practicioners, hospital board / management and insurance companies, Otten has supported several players in the domain with strategy development and execution, operating model optimisation, financials, performance management and change management.