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- Management Changeover & Succession Planning
Whether a sudden change of CEO or a long-planned transition at the head of a family-owned company: Management changeovers are watersheds for the reputation of executives and companies. Correctly communicated and professionally executed, they form the basis for a successful positioning and term of office. What does a good 100-day plan look like? How, when, and on which topics should you communicate? On what channels? And what awaits you in your new role and what pitfalls are lurking? We answer such questions and work with you to develop a targeted and effective communications strategy for the changeover at the top:
- We precisely analyze the communicative starting position, including your stakeholders’ expectations and the biggest opportunities and challenges
- We work with you to formulate the right communications goals for the respective stakeholders
- We develop an effective story line and create a custom-tailored plan for your internal and external communications
- We support your in-house communications experts
- We coach and train you for your first few appearances in your new role
Marcus Brans heads our Zurich office and advises clients from the industrial and technology sectors, private equity, family offices and professional services. He will focus on advising clients on M&A, restructuring, transformation, crisis and financial communications as well as C-level consulting, CommTech and litigation PR.
Prior to entering the field of consulting, Marcus Brans spent over 25 years in various management and consulting roles. Most recently, he established and managed an in-house communications consultancy for Triton Funds and its portfolio companies. Prior to that, he was responsible for global communications, strategy and marketing for the automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler as Senior Vice President. His broad international experience in corporate, capital market and strategic communications is complemented by his experiences at Linklaters, Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling.
Marcus Brans studied management and politics at the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich and holds an MBA from the Universities of Minnesota and Vienna.
Alexander Cordes heads our Berlin office and advises clients on strategic communications as well as financial communications and M&A transactions. In addition, his main areas of expertise include C-level consultancy and communications advice on regulatory and legal issues. Alexander worked as a corporate spokesman for many years. Most recently as Head of External Communications for thyssenkrupp AG in Essen and Head of External Communications Finance & Strategy for Commerzbank AG.
Trained as a lawyer in Münster, Sheffield, and Düsseldorf, he also worked for regional newspapers in Bremen and Münster, the European Parliament in Brussels, and the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce in Mumbai.
In addition to her current responsibilities in management, Sandra Fabian has 20 years of experience in financial communications and investor relations. She has also advised numerous companies on all matters of strategic communications and positioning. Before joining the company upon its founding, Sandra worked for an international communications consultancy and has many years of corporate experience as an IR manager at ALTANA and Fresenius Medical Care.
She holds a degree in business administration and studied international business at the University of Paderborn.
Dr. Thomas Gauly has advised numerous domestic and foreign companies on transactions, positioning, and crisis situations. Before founding GAULY, he was, among other things, a member of the extended management board of ALTANA AG and spokesman for the Herbert Quandt family. Prior to this, he worked for the Secretary General of Germany’s CDU party, and he served as advisor to the party chairman and German Chancellor Dr. Helmut Kohl.
Thomas has been honored with a number of awards, including the German Corporate Image Award and the German PR Prize in Gold.
Vanessa Haumberger, Managing Partner, advises clients on public affairs and government relations at EU, federal, and state level from our Munich and Brussels offices. Her focus is on regulatory issues including sustainability and ESG, as well as strategic communications in special situations.
As a public affairs and networking expert, she contributes extensive experience from the aviation, transportation and logistics industries. Before joining GAULY, she worked for Munich Airport for almost 20 years in successive functions, most recently as Head of Policy and Region and Deputy Head of Communications.
Vanessa Haumberger grew up in Brussels. She studied business administration at ISM Dortmund, and holds an MBA from the University of Seekirchen (Austria).
Helge Hoffmeister heads our Frankfurt office. With over 20 years of experience in corporate communications, he advises clients in all matters of strategic communications, with a focus on special situations that are critical to success and reputation. His areas of expertise include crisis communication, M&A communication, reputation management, CEO and executive communication, change management, the (further) development of purpose and values statements as well as digital communication.
Before entering consulting, Helge spent 12 years in successive positions in corporate communications at Bertelsmann, where he last served as Senior Vice President overseeing strategic communications.
Helge studied media management at the Institute for Journalism and Communication Research (IJK) of HMTM Hannover and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA). He holds an Executive MBA from the TUM School of Management (TU Munich).
Andreas Martin offers stakeholder management support in challenging situations such as restructuring, strategic reorientation, reputation crises, and M&A processes. Decision-makers also take advantage of his expertise in financial communication and corporate brand positioning.
Before joining GAULY, Andreas was a principal at Roland Berger, where he managed communications in transformation projects. Prior to that, he headed Edelman’s Corporate Reputation department in Germany as well as the External Communications department at mg technologies.
Andreas is a trained business journalist (Cologne School of Journalism) and holds a degree in economics.
Christian Pfennig advises companies, organizations and associations across all sectors on all issues of strategic communications – especially with regard to media relations, crisis communications, and public affairs. As the long time head of communications and marketing at the German Football League (DFL), he has extensive experience at the interface between business, society and politics.
Before joining the consultancy, Christian Pfennig helped shape the DFL's path to becoming an international media company as a member of the management team and was responsible, among other things, for crisis communications during the Corona pandemic. He is a graduate of the German School of Journalism (DJS) and started his professional career at a news agency after graduating with a degree in journalism from Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich (communication sciences, political science and sociology).