The strategy, IT and management consultancy zeb will be managed by a dual leadership team in the future. With Thorsten Helbig (52) and Sven Krämer (49), two long-standing, experienced zeb Partners and proven industry specialists are taking the helm of the renowned consulting firm for the financial services industry. Both were elected this week by the shareholders’ meeting and appointed as equal successors to Dr. Markus Thiesmeyer (56). zeb is thus arranging the scheduled succession at an early stage and ensuring a careful transition. Thiesmeyer is going to hand over his duties as Managing Director after two terms of office by the end of the year. Helbig and Krämer will then lead the consultancy together as a management duo for three years.

Thorsten Helbig joined zeb in 2002 after stints in the banking and insurance sector and the completion of a degree in business administration. In 2016, he became a Partner in the management consultancy based, among other things, on his extensive expertise in the merger and restructuring business. Helbig has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry and is considered a proven expert in the banking sector. With his clear client focus and collaborative leadership style, he has been a key driver of growth at zeb for many years. His future-oriented and strategic consulting approach is highly valued both within the company and by its clients.

Sven Krämer has also been working for zeb since 2002 and holds a degree in business informatics from the University of Münster. He was appointed Partner in 2013. Krämer has been responsible for client business in the areas of IT consulting, digital transformation, data management and artificial intelligence for several years. Among other things, he is the initiator of the regtech platform regulatory-hub.com and the fintech platform digital-services.zeb-consulting.com. His team-oriented leadership style and his innovative spirit have significantly advanced the far-reaching integration of consulting and IT services, without which zeb’s success in recent years would not have been possible.

Prof. Dr. Bernd Rolfes, principal shareholder and founding partner of zeb, states:
“At zeb, all roles are temporary. With Thorsten Helbig and Sven Krämer, two experienced, strong and team-oriented Partners are taking the helm of zeb. They will continue the company’s successful course in a challenging environment with a clear focus on the needs of our clients and together open up new perspectives for zeb. I am delighted that they will be managing zeb together. At the same time, the new dual leadership underlines the increasingly important combination of future-oriented financial services expertise with highly efficient IT.
I would like to thank Markus Thiesmeyer, who will be handing over his position as scheduled by the end of the year. He has led zeb very successfully through turbulent times during his two terms in office. It is thanks to him that zeb is a key driver of innovation in the European financial services industry in 2025 and that we, as a specialized consultancy with in-depth industry expertise, can look to the future with confidence and optimism.”

Thiesmeyer took over the position of Managing Director in July 2019. Under his leadership, zeb accelerated its growth to a turnover of EUR 250 million in the 2024 financial year. The Münster-based consultancy was able to reinforce and expand its position as the leading consultancy for the financial services industry in Europe with currently 1,200 employees.

About zeb
zeb offers a full range of consulting services in an industry that is heavily influenced by regulation and digital transformation. Clients include banks (incl. savings banks and neobanks) and fintech companies, insurers and insurtech companies, asset managers, captives, as well as numerous other specialized European financial services providers and financial intermediaries.
zeb was founded in 1992 and operates offices in Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Münster (HQ). Its international offices are located in Amsterdam, Kyiv, London, Luxembourg, Milan, Oslo, Stockholm, Vienna, Warsaw and Zurich. In industry rankings, zeb has repeatedly been classed and acknowledged as the “best consultancy” for the banking and insurance industry.