People & Leadership

At 4C, you will not encounter the widespread interchangeable type of consulting. Especially not in the person of Joerg Bassen, who as an engineer stands for the principle of down-to-earthness, objectivity, consideration and careful analysis. His "engineer's view" and his distinctive analytical skills benefit not only the customers, but also the internal exchange of experience and qualification of the employees. In the area of Digital Health, Jörg Bassen is our specialist for the alignment of hospitals to an efficient, modern and innovative organization. He uses his experience from the development in the field of digital business innovation for companies and brings this to hospitals and clinics - for the benefit of patients and hospital staff. His consulting focus includes digitalization strategy, digital business model analysis and development, as well as digitalization of the patient journey and automation of hospital processes.

For Stephan Grunwald, consulting is an entrepreneurial activity with many variations; in various industries, for companies of different sizes, in different management structures. Yet always with the same sense of entrepreneurship. The prerequisite for all this is a sound and broadly diversified foundation in business administration. For him, however, the consistent realization of a concept is the ultimate entrepreneurial aspect of consulting differentiating 4C GROUP from its competition. His focus lies in the CFO Advisory covering all aspects of decision making and controlling, reporting & planning, cost management, new role of finance (Industry 4.0), HR digitization and innovation management. He has extensive experience in various industries and consulting of owner-managed and family led companies.

Patrick Utsch gets up every morning to make things a little better—not theoretically, but effectively. This is also how he understands his consulting approach. He doesn't ask whether transformation is possible, but how organizations can develop the courage to implement it. His personal motto sums it up: Change begins when we stop asking whether it's possible!

In critical situations, Patrick combines clarity in analysis with closeness to the people involved. He supports management teams in stabilizing organizations, realigning them, and restoring their ability to act. Passion, positive thinking, and genuine interest in others drive him. For him, “It's always about people!” Only those who take people with them, involve them, and empower them can bring about sustainable transformation and genuine turnaround.

Patrick combines more than 20 years of experience in senior management positions with extensive consulting experience. He has led and supported companies in challenging transformation and turnaround situations, particularly in the financial services and consumer goods sectors. His focus is on the rapid stabilization of organizations, sustainable performance improvement, the development of resilient business models, and the holistic transformation of organizations with a clear focus on leadership, culture, and implementation power.

An absolute determination to change things for the better is part of every 4C consultant’s core mindset. Anyone who demonstrates this ability in challenging project situations will go far at 4C. This is particularly true for Hans-Martin Schneider, whose assertiveness and talent for business development are combined with a good sense of humor. His focus lies on business transformation, digitization, business development and growth, as well as restructuring. He has extensive experience in the financial services, services, and technology sectors, as well as with owner-managed companies.

Clients today expect far more from consultants than mere project management and methodological expertise. The demands on the consultant's role have evolved significantly. Expert knowledge and specialized skills in transformation management, combined with deep industry experience and a comprehensive overview, are crucial abilities that Daniel Lovric consistently brings to each project. These are the key prerequisites for genuine added value and the ultimate overall success for our clients. Daniel Lovric has outstanding experience in the Financial Services sector, with a special focus on Regulatory Management. He specializes in Compliance Innovation, Compliance Strategy, ESG Compliance, and Compliance Excellence.

Where does the "extra mile" many people talk about exactly begin? For Focke Meyer it really starts with true curiosity and a genuine interest for the products and services of his clients. And it goes further if one makes our clients' problems his own. “Success justifies the extra mile,” he says and is sure that decision-makers especially in bottom-line oriented and owner-led companies appreciate his attitude. His main focus lies within the CFO and CIO Advisory especially in the integration of performance management, reporting, consolidation and planning systems, sourcing management, IT strategy and decision making systems. He has extensive experience in numerous industries, especially healthcare, financial services, technology, industrial services as well as manufacturing.

Zarah Bruhn founded the social enterprise Social-Bee gGmbH in 2016 out of her Master’s studies in Business Administration at the Universities of Mannheim and Munich. Social-Bee focuses on the labor market integration of refugees and today supports more than 70 companies through a combination of non-profit employee leasing as well as support and integration measures, helping refugees secure long-term employment and overcome cultural barriers. She has received multiple awards for her social entrepreneurial work, most recently the “Audi Generation Award 2021.” As an expert in diversity, integration, and female entrepreneurship, she advises the German government and speaks at conferences such as Bits & Pretzels and TEDx. Capital named her one of the “Top 40 under 40.” In addition, Social-Bee was selected by Google.org from more than 8,000 companies worldwide to join the Google.org Accelerator program. Today, Zarah works at the intersection of startups, politics, and social and technological innovation. At the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIND), she identifies breakthrough innovations worldwide that strengthen society and the public sector in a sustainable way. Zarah is passionate about diversity and actively contributes this commitment to her collaboration with 4C.

Successful mediators are usually familiar with both sides of a problem. Uwe Dorst is such an intermediary. As an industrial engineer, he throws both weights his technical understanding as well as equally extensive expertise in business administration into the balance of his consulting work. A virtue extremely beneficial when orchestrating optimization and transformation initiatives. Particularly when it is executed in his typical style: quietly, calmly and deliberately. Uwe Dorst has outstanding experience in financial services and business transformation. He focuses on IT strategy, modernization of IT platforms, sourcing management, processing and operations, digitization and project governance/management.

In consulting creating benefit for a customer is considered to be a given. In practice, this is not necessarily the case. At least according to Dr. Heiko Mauterer's experience in several management positions in banking. Creating true value is a key concept for him, that determines his thinking as well as his work with his clients. If applicable, all benefit aspects - in his eyes - are to be quantified and made measurable. And that's also not self-evident. Heiko Mauterer has outstanding experience in financial services and focuses on regulatory management, Human Resources, digitization, operations and project management.

Planning and decision making, organizational development or down-to-earth change management – in these disciplines 4C consultants develop profound competences. The commitment of those involved, however, is decisive to deliver individualized solutions. For Manuel Iserloh, a passionate mountaineer, there is a close parallel: success depends on individual capabilities and team cooperation. He has outstanding experience in the healthcare sector focusing on strategy development, digitization, decision making, process optimization, change management and restructuring.

"The best concepts, new methods and optimized processes are only sustainable if they are borne and put into practice by the employees and the organization." That is Peter Keefer's true conviction. He transports with this attitude our idea that "true excellence means keeping the grip". A solution not only depends on theory, but more than that on a deep understanding of our clients' organization and the ability to adapt. His focus lies within the CFO Advisory and especially in digitalization (within CFO Advisory), new role of finance (operating model), controlling & reporting, planning as well as in group accounting and consolidation,. He has extensive experience in numerous industries, among others Manufacturing, Healthcare, Industrial Services.

“People, who really want to move things forward” – are the ones Markus Noçon wants to work with. We are happily quoting Markus, since it expresses a central consulting challenge. Namely, mastering the balancing act between corporate decision-making concepts on the one hand and a pragmatic implementation of methods and instruments on the other. This works best with partners on the client, side who want and actively drive change. His main focus lies within the CFO Advisory, especially in group accounting and consolidation, controlling & reporting, planning as well as performance management systems and consolidation systems. He has extensive experience in many industries.

What are tomorrow's business models? How will companies make their profits in the future? What spaces will digitization open up? Felix Hesse is already asking himself these questions today: With his pronounced passion for digitalization topics, Felix supports his customers in questioning their existing business models and making them fit for the future. His sense of customer needs and, above all, his sense of smart solutions help him to do this. Felix focuses on the development of innovative digital services and products and sees himself as an innovation driver - especially when it comes to creating added value for his customers. In addition, he is an expert in business model development and in "finding" new sources of revenue. For him, this is perfectly combined in the "Digitization" Competence Center.

Dr Michael Thiel is Managing Director at Dr Kleeberg & Partner GmbH. He studied law and earned his doctorate at the LMU Munich. Dr Michael H. Thiel acts as Trusted Advisor for entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial families, board members and managing directors, but also for high-net-worth individuals. Advising national and international clients on M&A transactions as well as on restructurings and transformations and specialising in these areas have long formed the basis of his successful work with all representatives of the business community. Michael has accompanied 4C GROUP AG and its partners in these focal areas since the foundation of 4C GROUP AG in 1997 in the role of Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

Martin Stephany sees the successful transformation as the focus of his consultancy work in order to achieve sustainable customer benefit, with qualitative and quantitative analysis being the basis for consultation and complex content. He specializes in the areas of IT strategy, IT innovation & transformation and operational excellence and has extensive experience in numerous industries including IT services, financial services, energy, telco and manufacturing.

Dorothee Deyhle has been a member of the executive board of CA Akademie AG since 2016. CA Akademie AG was founded by her father in 1971 and specialises in business training seminars for companies - the market leader for in-service controlling training. Dorothee holds a degree in communication design and is responsible for marketing and branding at CA Akademie AG. Before joining the owner-managed company in a responsible position, she founded the current deyhle & löwe Werbeagentur GmbH in 1994, of which she is still the managing director. Dorothee is a mother of three children and lives for the design of "lifelong learning" in companies in all media forms and knows the challenges of owner-managed companies in transition and transformation.