Zanders enters Germany with offices in Cologne and Frankfurt

Zanders has entered the German market with a permanent presence, establishing two offices simultaneously and onboarding a launching team of experts to pursue its ambition of becoming a leading player in the country’s treasury and risk consulting scene.

The Dutch-origin consultancy has been active in the German market for close to a decade, serving clients through fly-in teams staffed from its offices in Zurich (launched in 2010), London (launched in 2008) and Amsterdam (headquarters).

Now with an on the ground operation in Germany, Zanders will be able to better serve its international customers in Germany and deepen its client relationships with local clients.

“We are very excited about expanding our activities in the DACH region,” said Laurens Tijdhof, CEO and Managing Partner at Zanders, adding that the move aligns with the firm’s ambition to scale-up its business.

Zanders has hired a team of seasoned experts for both offices, who will advise both corporations and financial institutions on treasury and risk management topics. This includes the high-profile hire of Carsten Jäkel – most recently Global Head of Treasury at EY – and a number of his team members also crossing from the Big Four firm, including Stephan Plein.

Jäkel, who is a Principal at Zanders, was a partner at EY and previously spent over a decade with fellow Big Four companies PwC and KPMG. Plein was a director at EY (he also is a director at Zanders) and before that spent fifteen years at KPMG. Among the other senior hires is Robert Richter, a former Deloitter appointed a senior manager.

Commenting on the launch, Jäkel said: “As Zanders does in many countries worldwide, we offer treasury consulting from A to Z, so from treasury strategy and organization to technology selection & implementation, including servicing corporations and private equity firms in treasury related topics of transactions.”

Martijn Wycisk, Principal at Zanders and Head of the Zurich office, welcomed the expansion into Germany, stating: “The German offices offer us extra foundation for our services in Switzerland and the entire DACH region, which gives a broader base in resources and expertise.”

Across its offices in Europe, the US and Asia, Zanders has over 225 specialist treasury and risk consultants.