A Business with a Future

Consultants in the media

Peter Zwegat from Berlin achieved something extraordinary: He is consultant and pop star at the same time. In the RTL show »Raus aus den Schulden« he helps people to get rid of their debts. »I want to make clear that you don't have to be ashamed to be caught in this trap«, the consultant explains. »This job is the most stressful one I ever had, in the evening I feel like a lemon squeezed out completely. But at least people listen to me today.«

But management consultants are also much sought-after behind the scenes as employees of media companies. The long-time executive board chairman of the television company ProSiebenSat.1, Guillaume de Posch, was previously management consultant at McKinsey. While the private television companies have been moving in troubled waters since 2001, consulting continues to appear to be a business with a future. According to the study »Facts & Figures on the Consulting Market in 2007/08« commissioned by the German Management Consultants’ Association (BDU) the industry recorded an 11.8 % increase in turnover to 16.4 billion euros throughout Germany in 2007.

Subsidised Consulting

Many consulting firms have settled in Berlin over the last few decades. Many major international management consultants, such as Roland Berger, McKinsey, PricewaterhouseCoopers oder Booz & Company who also work for media or telecommunications companies, have also established their German offices here. At the same time, Berlin is also home to many medium-sized consulting firms and freelance consultants.
Those just starting up in business and medium-sized companies can also benefit, because the consulting costs can be subsidised from funds of the German Commerce Ministry and the European Social Fund (ESF). Consulting services by qualified management consultants are subsidised by means of payment of 50 % of the consulting fee up to a maximum of 3,000 euros.

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