Comatch hires Bernhard Ney from BCG to lead French operations
Comatch has bolstered its operations in France with Bernhard Ney, who has been appointed Managing Director France. Ney, a German national, joins from strategy consultancy firm The Boston Consulting Group.
With a market size of €6 billion, the French management consulting industry is an important growth target for Comatch. The company, which provides an online marketplace for top-level management consultants and industry experts, launched in spring 2015 in Germany, and has since grown from strength to strength across Europe. In Germany, its home base and largest locale, its operations are relatively mature, while the firm has built a mark in the Netherlands and the Nordics too, where it recently broke through the barrier of 200 independent consultants.
“With France being the third biggest consulting market in Europe we need to have a strong local presence in order to be top of mind of French clients and consultants”, commented Managing Partner Christoph Hardt on the firm’s plans for France. Comatch has been active in France for six months now – with the addition of Bernhard Ney, the online player aims at accelerating growth, building on its current database of 400 French and francophone independent consultants.
Similar to other mature consulting markets, including the United Kingdom, France is seeing growth in the number of independent consultants in the field, on the back of the privileges freelance work can offer. According to a survey from Eden McCallum, The Financial Times, London Business School and INSEAD, released late last year, independent management consultants in the higher echelons of the market are in fact highly satisfied with their job and remuneration.
Driving business expansion in France
Ney has been tasked with establishing an office in Paris, and driving business expansion in the capital city and region. “I am sure that Bernhard Ney will lift our French operations to the next level. His understanding of the consulting industry as well as clients’ needs equips him perfectly to establish Comatch on site”, said Hardt.
The new Managing Director France brings with him six years of experience at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the globe’s premier strategy consulting firms, competing with the likes of Bain & Company and McKinsey & Company – the firm where Hardt started his own career before he teamed up with fellow McKinsey consultant Jan Schächtele to launch Comatch. At BCG, Ney was a Project Leader in Paris and previously worked as a Consultant in the firm’s Berlin office. Prior to that, he gained experience at Accenture, B.Braun Medical in the US, and The German American Chamber of Commerce New York, amongst others.
Ney holds a Diplôme de Grande École and a Master's degree in Management from ESCP Europe, graduating with the highest distinction.
Across its operations, Comatch’s network today comprises over 3,000 consultants from more than 50 countries – “all of our consultants have passed a strict quality check” explained Hardt. Together they have completed more than 600 consulting projects since founding, serving a variety of clients, ranging from corporates and large enterprises to SMEs and start-ups, and even consultancies as they tap Comatch’s database to ramp up their own expertise or resourcing. The online marketplace has set ambitious goals, for which it has received funding of over €4 million in the summer of last year.
