Roland Berger
Born 1937 · Age 88
German entrepreneur, founder of the global strategy consulting firm Roland Berger; consultant, professor and philanthropist. Founded Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in 1967 and led it through international expansion, ownership changes with Deutsche Bank and a partner-led buyback, and continued influence in business, academia and public life.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Berlin
Roland Berger (born Robert Altmann) was born in Berlin; family later took the name Berger after his father's remarriage.
Graduated Neuen Gymnasium Nürnberg
Completed secondary (humanistic) education at Neuen Gymnasium Nürnberg.
Sold laundry business
Sold a laundry business he had run (with ~15 employees) for 600,000 Deutsche Marks.
Joined Boston Consulting Group
Started working as a consultant for the Boston Consulting Group, initially in Boston.
Completed Diplom-Kaufmann at LMU Munich (top of class)
Graduated from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München as Diplom-Kaufmann and ranked best of his year.
BCG: Relocated to Milan office
Worked for BCG in Milan as part of his early consulting career (BCG 1962–1967).
Founded Roland Berger International Marketing Consultants
Left BCG and founded the predecessor to Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in Munich, starting as a sole proprietorship.
Advised on founding of TUI (major early client impact)
Provided the recommendation/forecast that led to the foundation of the travel company TUI from multiple tour operators, based on expected charter flight growth.
Opened Milan branch
Roland Berger internationalized the firm by opening a branch office in Milan, beginning its international expansion.
Expanded to São Paulo (Brazil)
Opened an office in São Paulo as part of global expansion into Latin America.
First European firm admitted to ACME
Roland Berger (the firm) became the first European management consultancy admitted to the Association of Consulting Management Engineers (ACME) in the U.S.
Deutsche Bank acquired majority stake (~75.1%)
Deutsche Bank bought 75.1% of Roland Berger & Partner for almost 100 million Deutsche Marks (major ownership change).
Began advisory work in former GDR and Treuhandanstalt
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Roland Berger rapidly built presence in East Germany and advised the Treuhandanstalt on privatization and restructuring.
Firm doubled turnover via globalization
Through globalization and international projects (post-DB entry), Roland Berger almost doubled its turnover in a multi-year span (reported around 1989–1991).
Cooperation/expansion in China
Roland Berger began cooperating in China as part of Asia expansion.
Visiting professorship at TU Munich
Roland Berger accepted a visiting professorship at the Technical University of Munich (TU Munich).
Deutsche Bank raised stake to 95%
Deutsche Bank increased its ownership stake in Roland Berger to about 95%.
Partners (including Berger) bought company back
Management/partners executed a buyback (management buyout) and reclaimed ownership of Roland Berger from Deutsche Bank; restored partner control.
Roland Berger resumed full independence
After Deutsche Bank exited fully (sold remaining stake by 2000), the firm was again independently partner-owned.
Deutsche Bank sold remaining stake
Deutsche Bank sold its remaining minority stake and Roland Berger became completely independent again.
Announced move from management to supervisory board
Roland Berger announced his move from day-to-day management to a role on the supervisory board of the firm.
Burkhard Schwenker elected CEO
Partners elected Burkhard Schwenker to lead Roland Berger, signaling a leadership transition.
Stepped down as CEO; became supervisory board chairman
Roland Berger stepped down from CEO duties and became chairman of the supervisory board of his firm.
Public controversies over government contracts
Roland Berger (firm) faced criticism for government contracts (e.g., Federal Ministry of Defense, Federal Employment Agency) awarded without tender; public debate erupted in 2003–2004.
Launch / publication: Think:Act magazine (company publication)
Roland Berger launched Think:Act magazine (company thought-leadership publication); later won multiple content awards.
Founded Best of European Business competition
Roland Berger launched the 'Best of European Business' award in partnership with Financial Times Deutschland and Manager Magazin.
Named to Boards / Advisory: Fresenius, Miller Buckfire
Held board/advisory positions including supervisory board member at Fresenius SE (2008–2016) and advisory roles (Miller Buckfire and others).
Founded Roland Berger Foundation for Human Dignity
Established a philanthropic foundation focusing on education and human dignity; foundation also provided temporary mezzanine capital to the firm.
Appointed to supervisory board of Fresenius SE
Became a member of the supervisory board of Fresenius SE (served 2008–2016).
Honorary professorship at Brandenburg Technical University Cottbus
Appointed honorary professor in business administration and management consulting at BTU Cottbus (reported since 2000; appointment reiterated in sources).
Firm increased focus on restructuring & strategy
Company strategy realigned to strengthen traditional competencies such as restructuring and strategy consulting; engineering hires increased thereafter.
Roland Berger Foundation provided mezzanine capital to firm
The foundation provided temporary mezzanine capital to the consulting firm and received interest in return (foundation–firm financial interaction).
Merger talks with Deloitte announced and failed
A proposed merger of Roland Berger with Deloitte's consulting division was announced in 2010 but failed due to partner resistance and founder intervention.
Became honorary chairman
After stepping down as supervisory board chair, Roland Berger became honorary chairman of the firm in 2010.
Member of Bocconi University International Advisory Council (honorary/former)
Served as honorary/former member of Bocconi University's International Advisory Council (dates not precisely specified in sources).
Member of INSEAD Advisory Council (term began)
Became a member of INSEAD's Advisory Council (service listed 2011–2017).
Concept for a European rating agency
Roland Berger (firm) developed a concept to create a European rating agency (estimated costs €300–500m); project launched as initiative but later failed due to financing issues.
Michel Péretié joined RiverRock as partner/CEO
Michel Péretié (ex-Société Générale) joined RiverRock (BLM Partners) where Roland Berger is a founding partner/chairman.
European rating agency project failed
The plan for a European rating agency did not find sufficient financing and was shelved in 2013.
Company wins awards for Think:Act and content
Think:Act and other Roland Berger publishing/content efforts received awards (Best of Corporate Publishing, Mercury, BCM among others).
Launched Terra Numerata digital ecosystem
Roland Berger (firm) launched Terra Numerata, a digital ecosystem to connect clients and high-tech hubs for AI and smart data initiatives.
Charles-Édouard Bouée elected CEO (first non-German partner leader)
Company partners elected Charles-Édouard Bouée as CEO in 2014, the first international partner to head the firm.
Acquired specialist consultancy FMC team
Roland Berger took over the team from specialist consultancy FMC to strengthen its digital and specialized offerings.
Appointed Singapore's honorary consul general in Munich
Roland Berger was appointed Honorary Consul General of Singapore in Munich (reported Dec 2015).
Introduced new brand identity (name change)
Roland Berger introduced a new brand identity and removed 'Strategy Consultants' from its company name to reflect diversification.
Roland Berger Group launched Digital Hub with Visa (Berlin/Paris)
Launched Digital Hub to connect established firms with new technologies and startups.
Roland Berger and Visa launched Digital Hub
Roland Berger and Visa founded a cross-industry Digital Hub for innovation in Berlin and Paris.
Company 50-year anniversary
Roland Berger Strategy Consultants celebrated 50 years in business (founded 1967).
Reported revenue ~€600M (company)
Public sources reported Roland Berger revenue around €600 million (circa 2018 figures cited in various sources).
Public revelations about father's Nazi past
Press investigations and interviews in 2019 highlighted the Nazi-era activities of his father, Georg Berger; Roland Berger publicly confronted the topic.
Reported capital injection to defend firm independence (~€80M)
Sources report Roland Berger (founder) injected approximately €80 million into the firm to help retain independence (reported around 2020); details and structure vary by report.
Company headcount ~2,400 (public reporting)
Public reporting cited Roland Berger with ~2,400 employees (figure varies by year and source).
Reported revenue €870M (company)
Roland Berger reported revenue of €870 million in 2022 (company reported figure).
Company revenue passed €1 billion
Roland Berger generated revenues of over €1 billion in 2023 (company reported milestone).
Key Achievement Ages
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