Dr. Oliver Köster leads the Financial Officer Practice in Germany and Austria. He is a member of the firm’s Board & CEO, Private Equity, Family-Owned Business, Supply Chain & Operations Officer, Industrial and Industrial Technology practices.
As a leadership advisor and executive search consultant with over 30 years of experience in industry and consulting, his work in the sector has focused on helping family-owned businesses, publicly traded corporations and private equity firms worldwide recruit top board and C-level positions, as well as build, evaluate and develop supervisory boards, advisory boards and executive teams. His main industry focus is on engineered products & solutions, industrial technology and process industries. Furthermore, he advises clients on a range of leadership, succession, value creation, culture and onboarding topics.
In-depth consulting and industry experience
- Oliver's consulting expertise stems from his experience working at senior levels with many leading technology-driven companies across the entire value chain. His focus has been on corporate strategy, complexity management, innovation management and lean management.
- Before joining Spencer Stuart, he was a partner with Schuh & Co. Complexity Management Group, where he was responsible for the industrial and process practices of the firm. He conducted consulting assignments to increase profitability on behalf of corporate clients.
- Earlier in his career, Oliver spent seven years with the Dürr Group, a leading supplier of products, systems, and services mainly for the car-making industry. He served as managing director with oversight of sales, marketing, finance, controlling and purchasing, administration and also held leadership roles in business development.
Oliver graduated with a doctorate in business administration from the University of St. Gallen. He has lived in Germany, Switzerland, France, the U.S. and China. In addition to his native German, Oliver speaks English and French.