Deloitte Digital Germany hires former FCB Hamburg CEO Daniel Könnecke

13 June 2018 Consultancy.eu

The German wing of Deloitte Digital has appointed ex-FCB Hamburg CEO Daniel Könnecke as a new Partner at the firm. Könnecke will focus on the Branding and Digital Brand service line within the practice.

Around 300 employees work for Deloitte Digital in Germany, a number which was reached after the opening of two studios in 2016. A locale in the nation’s capital, Berlin, saw 70 employees of the Deloitte Analytics Institute and Deloitte Creative Consultancy move into a new building on the Hohenzollerndamm, while in Dusseldorf’s entrepreneurial town of Rather Strasse, around 80 employees were brought together in interdisciplinary teams of creative people, technologists and strategy consultants.

Speaking at the time, Florian Schültke, Partner at Deloitte Digital, said, "We create an independent culture with a tailor-made team and consciously refrain from acquisitions of entire agencies. The new environment provides a productive, inspiring work environment and helps us to better meet the challenges of our customers."

Daniel Könnecke, Partner - Deloitte Digital

Now, as the firm continues to expand in the largest EU economy, Deloitte Digital has appointed a new Partner. Former FCB Hamburg CEO Daniel Könnecke has joined the consulting firm, working alongside Schültke and Andreas Harting to strengthen the firm’s senior management team there. Prior to joining FCB Hamburg as CEO in 2015, Könnecke worked in the management of the Aegis subsidiary Isobar. Before this, he was stationed with Plan.Net, DDB and Springer & Jacoby, having commenced professional life in 1998 as a digital designer and programmer at the Hamburg-based digital agency Medienwerft.

The 39-year-old had vacated his post with interpublic agency FCB Hamburg at the beginning of 2018, following an illness of a family member, which he had struggled to reconcile with his work. Könnecke had been at the head of FCB Hamburg since the summer of 2015, when he arrived from advertising agency Dentsu Aegis’ subsidiary, Isobar. FCB Hamburg was left to be led by the existing management of Head of Strategy Clara Schmidt-von Groeling, Creative Director Christoph Nann and CFO Michael Carl.

Könnecke said at the time he wanted to concentrate completely on private matters and emphasised that the decision to step down as CEO was his, and his alone. Now, however, as he begins life at Deloitte, Könnecke has revealed that his new employer offers a level of flexibility which has enabled him to adequately balance work and his private situation.

Unlike competitors such as Accenture, which continues to work to land major acquisitions in Germany, in line with the likes of Sinner Schrader in 2017, Deloitte relies more on organic growth and the commitment of prominent people. While targeted acquisitions are also part of the strategy for expansion, Deloitte Digital’s securing of Könnecke as a Partner is geared toward expanding the agency business in Germany via bringing in new business.