Highberg brings together consulting boutiques under unified brand

09 February 2024 Consultancy.eu

International consulting group Highberg has kickstarted the year with a major rebranding effort, bringing together its brands in four countries under a single banner: Highberg.

Following a buy-and-build campaign that saw Highberg acquire a total of seven consulting firms during a three year-period, the group’s member firms have now all transitioned to the harmonised Highberg brand.

Han Driessen, CEO of Highberg said that the mission of the firm is to build the leading transformation consultancy in Europe with a focus on organizational, digital and sustainability transformations.

“Our boutiques each have the best-in-class expertise in these areas and bringing this expertise together makes us stronger and this means we can accelerate positive and enduring outcomes for our clients,” he said.

The joining of forces also provides Highberg with an end-to-end capacity in its core areas of service, which Ralph Hofman, partner at Highberg describes as one of the key value drivers of its strategy. “Our united offerings preserve the strengths of the seven boutiques, while benefitting from the synergies that are unlocked through greater collaboration and integration.”

Today, Highberg has around 350 consultants, the large majority of which are based in home market the Netherlands, with other teams based in Germany, France, and India. The firm is a proud B Corp, a title attained in May last year.

“At Highberg, we lead by example and being a B Corp demonstrates our intent to drive positive change and be a force for the good,” said Driessen. “The principles of B Corps reflect our goals and embody our goals of creating long term value for all stakeholders, including the planet, people and society.”

In 2024, Highberg has set its sights on further growth. “Alongside achieving organic growth, we are actively seeking opportunities to acquire companies that complement our existing portfolio, bring innovative solutions, and broaden our expertise in key industries”, Driessen said.

The service areas

Highberg advises and supports its clients around three main topics: Organizational transformation, digital transformation, and sustainability. The firm’s 12 key offerings include: business agility, innovation management, people leadership and culture, data and AI, market research, risk, resilience and compliance, strategy and change, digital strategy and execution, sustainability, interim management, and education and coaching.

The journey

The journey of Highberg kicked off in 2000, when BlinkLane Consulting and sister company Gladwell Academy landed growth capital from German private equity firm Auctus Capital Partners. One year on, Verdonck, Klooster & Associates joined the as the inaugural partner, and in 2022, four other consultancies followed suit (House of Performance, Schickler, AgilityMasters, and AnalitiQs).