Seven things that shape a German executive appointment
Each one is company law or collective law, not preference.
Board appointments are a company law act
A Vorstand member of an AG is appointed by the Aufsichtsrat for a term of up to five years under the Aktiengesetz, on a service agreement rather than an employment contract. A Geschäftsführer of a GmbH is appointed by the shareholders. The approval body and its meeting calendar, not the hiring manager, set the appointment date.
Co-determination puts employees on the supervisory board
Under German co-determination law, companies above employee thresholds have employee representatives on the supervisory board — up to half the seats in the largest companies. For a board appointment, that is part of the approving body, and a search process that has not anticipated it will stall.
A non-compete must be paid for
Under the Handelsgesetzbuch, a post-contractual non-compete is only binding if the employer pays compensation of at least half the employee’s last contractual remuneration for its duration, up to a maximum of two years. That makes German restrictions expensive and therefore more deliberate — and it is a cost the hiring company should know about before an offer.
Notice runs to month-end or quarter-end
German statutory notice periods lengthen with service and terminate at the end of a calendar month, with contractual notice at executive level commonly six to twelve months to quarter-end. A candidate accepting in February may not start until the following January. The start date is a calendar question, not a negotiation.
Board gender requirements apply to large listed companies
Germany’s second leadership positions act requires listed and co-determined companies with a management board of more than three members to include at least one woman, alongside supervisory board quota requirements. A board search has to produce a qualified pool that meets the requirement, which means widening the research early.
The Mittelstand holds the leadership nobody maps
Privately held mid-sized companies across Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony hold a large share of German industrial and engineering leadership. They file less publicly and are poorly covered by database products, so reaching them requires primary research.
Working language changes the candidate set
Berlin technology operates substantially in English; industrial Baden-Württemberg and most of the Mittelstand do not. For a German leadership role, fluent business German is frequently a hard requirement rather than a preference, and assuming otherwise is how a search produces an unappointable shortlist.
The german search process, week by week
Seven stages. Nothing begins until the brief and success profile are written down.
| Stage | What happens | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 0–1 | Scoping and approval route | Brief, success profile, and explicit agreement on who approves the appointment — shareholders, Aufsichtsrat, or both — and when that body next meets |
| Weeks 1–3 | Market mapping | The qualified population identified including Mittelstand employers, with working language, tariff position and mobility recorded |
| Weeks 3–5 | Discreet approach | Named approaches, with notice terms and any post-contractual non-compete and its compensation obligation established |
| Weeks 5–8 | Longlist to shortlist | Structured interviews, written assessments, shortlist with reasons for every exclusion |
| Weeks 8–11 | Client and supervisory board process | Interviews, and where required presentation to the Aufsichtsrat or shareholders on their meeting calendar |
| Weeks 11–14 | Referencing, appointment and contract | Referencing, formal appointment resolution, and negotiation of a service agreement rather than a standard employment contract |
| Weeks 14–52 | Notice and start | Six to twelve months’ notice to quarter-end is common at this level. We stay engaged through the gap, which in Germany is frequently the longest part of the process |
Two dates matter, and we quote them separately. Time to offer is what a search firm controls. Time to start depends on notice, garden leave, regulatory approval and relocation — and in several of our markets it is the longer of the two by a wide margin. A plan built on the first date alone will slip.
Roles and levels we search for
Where the qualified population is small and not actively looking, search is the right instrument. Where it is deep and available, it is not — and we will say so.
| Level | Typical roles | What the search turns on |
|---|---|---|
| Board and non-executive | Chair, non-executive director, senior independent director, audit and remuneration committee chairs | Governance process, documented search, composition requirements and committee calendar |
| Chief executive | CEO, managing director, country head, general manager | Confidentiality, succession context and the business case the appointee is being hired to deliver |
| Chief financial officer | CFO, finance director, group financial controller | Listed or private experience, transaction background and regulatory exposure |
| Technology and digital | CTO, CIO, CPO, CISO, chief data or AI officer | Depth of hands-on capability versus governance experience, and which one the role actually needs |
| Commercial and operations | CCO, COO, chief revenue officer, supply chain director | Sector adjacency, scale of operation and route-to-market fit |
| People and risk | CHRO, chief people officer, chief risk officer, general counsel | Regulatory exposure, works council or employee representative experience where relevant |
| Senior specialist | Head of function, principal, technical fellow, regulated specialist | A scarce capability where the qualified population is small and not looking |
Governance and regulation
The machinery around a german appointment, and where it sits in the timeline.
| Area | Framework | What it means for a search |
|---|---|---|
| Management board (AG) | Aktiengesetz — appointment by the supervisory board for up to five years | The Aufsichtsrat approves the appointment; its calendar sets the date |
| Managing director (GmbH) | GmbH-Gesetz — appointment by the shareholders | A service agreement, not an employment contract |
| Co-determination | Mitbestimmungsgesetz and related law | Employee representation on the supervisory board above employee thresholds |
| Board gender requirements | Second Leadership Positions Act (FüPoG II) | At least one woman on the management board of larger listed and co-determined companies |
| Non-compete compensation | Handelsgesetzbuch sections 74 and following | A post-contractual non-compete requires at least 50% of last remuneration, for up to two years |
| Regulated appointments | BaFin fit and proper assessment | Senior appointments in regulated financial institutions require notification and assessment |
We are a research firm, not a law firm. The purpose of this table is to make sure the right questions are asked early and the right specialists are engaged, not to give legal advice. Every one of these frameworks changes periodically — confirm the current position with your own counsel before an appointment date is fixed.
Sectors we search in Germany
Deepest where the qualified population is smallest.
- Automotive and mobility — OEM and tier one leadership, including software-defined vehicle and electrification.
- Industrial and mechanical engineering — Mittelstand managing director and technical leadership.
- Semiconductors and electronics — design, process and site leadership in Dresden and Munich.
- Financial services — banking, asset management and insurance leadership in Frankfurt and Munich, including BaFin-assessed roles.
- Technology and software — enterprise and platform leadership in Berlin and Munich.
- Chemicals, pharma and life sciences — from the Rhine corridor to the biotech clusters.
- Energy and renewables — wind, grid and hydrogen leadership.
Confidentiality and ethics
In senior markets this decides whether a search succeeds, and whose reputation carries the cost if it does not.
The client is not named until engagement
We approach the market describing the opportunity, not the employer, until a candidate is genuinely interested and an NDA is in place where appropriate. The disclosure point is agreed in writing before the first call.
No pretext, ever
We do not misrepresent who we are or who we are working for in order to obtain information, and we do not solicit confidential information from current or former employees. A firm willing to do that for you will do it about you.
Off-limits agreed up front
Which organisations are off-limits, and for how long, is written into the scope. So is what happens if a candidate approaches us independently during the search.
Candidate data handled to one standard
Professional information only, sourced per field, transferred securely, and no special-category data compiled against named individuals. See the methodology for the full standard.
Declines are reported, with reasons
Who declined and why is as useful as who accepted. It is the clearest evidence you will get about how the role, the package and the employer brand are actually perceived.
The market map stays with you
Not with us. We do not recycle a client’s search into another client’s shortlist, and we do not resell research.
Search, mapping and contingency recruitment
Three different instruments. The expensive mistake is using the wrong one.
| Executive search (this) | Talent mapping | Contingency recruitment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starts from | A defined appointment | A role or population to understand | A live vacancy |
| Covers | The whole qualified population, approached | The whole qualified population, profiled but not approached | Whoever the recruiter can reach quickly |
| Best when | The right people are not looking | You need to decide before you commit | The market is deep and candidates are available |
| Output | An appointment, plus the full search report | A named population and analysis | A shortlist of available candidates |
| Our fee model | Fixed project fee | Fixed project fee | We do not work on contingency |
| Market fee model | 25–33% of first-year package, retained | Project fee | 15–25% on placement |
| Who owns the research | You | You | The agency |
| Confidentiality | High — client unnamed until engagement | High — no approach made at all | Low by construction |
The honest guidance: if the role is one where good people are actively looking and several agencies already have them on file, contingency recruitment is cheaper and faster, and we will tell you so. Search earns its fee where the qualified population is small, not looking, and reachable only through a researched and credible approach.
Many clients buy a Germany talent map first, use it to decide whether to open the role at all, and convert into a search only if the answer is yes. The map is not wasted either way — it becomes the search’s first stage.
What executive search costs in Germany
Fixed project fees, scoped on the search rather than on the salary.
| Engagement | What it covers | Typical fee | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior or specialist appointment | One senior or specialist role, one German market | €12,000–€26,000 | 10–15 weeks to offer |
| Vorstand, Geschäftsführer or board appointment | Full market map including the Mittelstand, with documentation to supervisory board standard | €26,000–€52,000 | 14–20 weeks to appointment |
| Leadership team build | Three to five linked appointments, or a DACH-wide build | €52,000–€110,000 | 5–9 months |
A retained German search is normally charged at 25 to 33 per cent of first-year remuneration. On a €300,000 appointment that is €75,000 to €99,000 for one hire. Our fee is for the work the search takes, and the full market map — including the Mittelstand employers most databases miss — stays with you.
Our fee is for the work the search takes, agreed in writing before it starts. It does not move with the appointee’s package, and there is no success fee. That is what allows a search to conclude that the role should be restructured, the package re-priced, or an internal candidate appointed. The fee comparison calculator runs it against a percentage model on your own numbers.
What you receive
The appointment is the outcome. The search report is the asset.
- The appointment — managed through offer, acceptance, notice and start, not handed over at signature.
- The market definition — the written scope every figure and judgement in the search rests on.
- The complete market map — the full qualified population, not only the people who responded. This is the asset most search firms keep.
- Approach and response record — who was approached, who engaged, who declined and the reason each gave.
- Written assessments — every shortlisted candidate against the agreed success profile, with the reasons for each exclusion.
- Compensation evidence — what the market pays on a stated and normalised basis, which is what makes an offer defensible internally.
- Referencing — structured, including regulatory references where the market requires them.
- Permanent ownership — all of the above is yours. Most clients reuse the map within a year for the next appointment or for succession planning.
German executive search FAQs
What is executive search in Germany?
Executive search in Germany is a managed, research-led process for appointing senior leaders: defining the role and the market, mapping the qualified population including the privately held Mittelstand, approaching discreetly, and running an appointment process that accounts for supervisory board approval, statutory notice to quarter-end, and the compensation a post-contractual non-compete legally requires.
Who actually appoints a German executive?
It depends on the company form. A Vorstand member of an AG is appointed by the Aufsichtsrat for a term of up to five years under the Aktiengesetz. A Geschäftsführer of a GmbH is appointed by the shareholders.
In both cases the appointment is a company law act on a service agreement rather than an ordinary employment contract, and the approving body’s meeting calendar sets the date. We establish the approval route at scoping, because it is the single biggest cause of slipped German timelines.
How long does a German executive search take?
Ten to fifteen weeks from brief to offer for a senior appointment, and fourteen to twenty weeks for a Vorstand or Geschäftsführer role where supervisory board approval is required.
The start date is usually much later. Contractual notice at this level is commonly six to twelve months terminating at quarter-end, so a candidate accepting in February may not start until the following January. We quote both dates separately.
How much does executive search cost in Germany?
A senior or specialist appointment typically costs €12,000 to €26,000. A Vorstand, Geschäftsführer or board appointment typically costs €26,000 to €52,000. A leadership team or DACH-wide build typically costs €52,000 to €110,000.
A retained German search at 25 to 33 per cent of first-year remuneration on a €300,000 appointment would be €75,000 to €99,000 for a single hire.
Does a candidate's non-compete cost us money?
It can, and it is worth knowing before you make an offer. Under the Handelsgesetzbuch, a post-contractual non-compete is only binding if the employer pays compensation of at least half the employee’s last contractual remuneration for its duration, up to a maximum of two years.
That makes German restrictions deliberate rather than routine. We establish during research whether a candidate is subject to one and on what terms, so the cost is in the business case rather than a surprise. Specific advice is a matter for German counsel.
How does co-determination affect a board search?
It changes who approves the appointment. Under German co-determination law, companies above employee thresholds have employee representatives on the supervisory board, up to half the seats in the largest companies.
For a board appointment that body is the approving authority, so the process has to be documented to a standard that will satisfy it, and the timetable has to follow its meeting calendar. We recommend engaging early rather than presenting a conclusion.
Do German board gender requirements affect the shortlist?
They affect how early the research has to widen. Germany’s second leadership positions act requires listed and co-determined companies with a management board of more than three members to include at least one woman, alongside supervisory board quota requirements.
A board search that anchors on a narrow comparator set will not produce a qualified pool that satisfies it. We define the role on capability rather than pedigree and research adjacent sectors and non-linear paths from the outset.
Can you reach Mittelstand leadership?
Yes, and it is usually where the capability is. Privately held mid-sized companies across Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony hold a large share of German industrial and engineering leadership.
They file less publicly and are poorly covered by database products, so reaching them requires primary research into the companies themselves. A German search built from brand recognition misses most of the relevant market.
Is fluent German required?
For most German leadership roles outside Berlin technology, yes — and treating it as a preference rather than a requirement is how a search produces an unappointable shortlist.
We record working language as evidenced from current and previous roles rather than assuming it, and we agree the requirement explicitly at scoping so the market size is honest from the start.
Do you charge a percentage of salary?
No. We charge a fixed project fee based on the work the search requires. There is no percentage, no placement fee and no success fee, and the full market map is yours.
Can you run a confidential search?
Yes, and in the Mittelstand it is often essential, because senior industrial markets in a given region are small and well-connected. We approach without naming the client until a candidate is genuinely engaged and an NDA is in place.
Can you cover Austria and Switzerland in the same search?
Yes, and for senior and specialist roles it is often the right scope, because the realistic pool for a Munich or Stuttgart appointment regularly includes people in Vienna, Zurich and Basel.
DACH searches are scoped as one project. Pay is normalised across the markets — necessary, because Austria pays fourteen salaries a year and Germany does not. See our Austrian page.
Primary sources and how we check
- Aktiengesetz (German Stock Corporation Act)Federal Ministry of Justice
- Handelsgesetzbuch (Commercial Code), sections 74 and followingFederal Ministry of Justice
- German Corporate Governance CodeRegierungskommission Deutscher Corporate Governance Kodex
- BaFin — management board member notificationsFederal Financial Supervisory Authority
- Earnings and labour costsStatistisches Bundesamt (Destatis)
- Bundesanzeiger company filingsBundesanzeiger Verlag
- Second Leadership Positions Act — backgroundFederal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
Figures quoted on this page were checked against the sources above on 20 October 2026. Statutory rates, thresholds and quotas change: where a number drives a budget or a legal obligation, confirm it against the primary source before you rely on it.