Dr. Markus Thiesmeyer takes the helm at zeb

Since the beginning of the year, Dr. Markus Thiesmeyer has been the sole Managing Director of zeb. The 52-year-old has succeeded Prof. Dr. Stefan Kirmße (55), whose tenure ended according to schedule in December 2020 after six years and two terms of office. The two of them jointly ran the strategy and management consultancy, which specializes in the European financial sector, from July 2019 to December 2020. Thiesmeyer had been appointed as co-managing director of zeb at the shareholders’ meeting on July 1, 2019.

With Dr. Markus Thiesmeyer, a recognized regional banking specialist with extensive management and consulting experience in all fields of banking takes the helm at zeb. He joined the company back in 1995. After graduating from high school and completing a banking apprenticeship at Deutsche Bank AG, Thiesmeyer studied business administration and received his doctorate in 2002. In 1998, he was responsible for the opening of the zeb office in Berlin. In 2002, Thiesmeyer was appointed Partner; later on he became Senior Partner. Dr. Markus Thiesmeyer has been a member of the Management Team, zeb’s operational management body, since 2015.

Prof. Dr. Bernd Rolfes, principal shareholder and founding partner of zeb, said, “Markus Thiesmeyer will further develop zeb’s acknowledged strategy and management expertise as a financial service specialist in a targeted manner and, in doing so, will work in close partnership with our clients. I would like to thank Stefan Kirmße for his 25 successful years at the helm of zeb. During his tenure, he has significantly developed zeb’s change and transformation expertise and comprehensively strengthened and expanded our company’s network.”

At the beginning of 2021, the consulting firm zeb looks back on a stable corporate development. In 2020, the company was able to maintain or even slightly increase its sales and earnings respectively, despite the coronavirus pandemic. One focus of zeb’s activities in 2021 will once again be on supporting and assisting its own clients in their holistic and long-term transformation in the German and European banking and insurance markets. In this context, the issues of sustainability and social responsibility are becoming increasingly important.

The company also expanded its group of Partners at the turn of the year. Dr. Andreas Scheuermann (37), a long-standing member of the zeb consulting team with extensive experience in the areas of artificial intelligence and digital transformation, joined their ranks and will be working from the Frankfurt office. All in all, the zeb group of Partners currently consists of 62 members who advise banking and insurance clients across Europe.

zeb, which now has 1,000 employees, has significantly internationalized its consulting and competence profile in recent years. It operates offices in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Kiev, London, Luxembourg, Milan, Moscow, Oslo, Stockholm, Vienna, Warsaw and Zurich. In Germany, there are zeb offices in Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich and Münster (HQ).