Frankfurt – November 05, 2026 -- Spencer Stuart has added five senior consultants to its German and Austrian teams, growing its Vienna office to six consultants and expanding the Healthcare, Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT), Industry and Human Resources practices.
The new hires are Isabel De Paoli, Dr. Dominique Friederich, Katrin Habenschaden, Dr. Sabine Bothe and Dr. Ferdinand Mahr. They bring experience from management, private equity, politics and transformation projects. The executive search firm is using the hires to build out its Leadership Advisory offering alongside its core search business.
Andrea Mohnsame drives expansion since taking over as managing director on January 1, 2026
Mohnsame has led Spencer Stuart Germany and Austria since that date. She has pushed the combination of executive search with advisory work on succession planning, leadership and top-team development, corporate culture and transformation. She said client challenges now extend well beyond filling individual leadership roles, and that companies face deep transformation tasks.
Two private-equity and strategy veterans join the Healthcare practice
De Paoli was most recently a partner in Private Capital Healthcare at EQT. Before that she spent about 15 years at Merck, including as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. Friederich combines years of strategy consulting at BCG with operating roles as CSO, COO and, most recently, CEO at private-equity-backed companies. Together they cover transformation, value creation, governance and changing ownership structures.
Former Munich deputy mayor Katrin Habenschaden joins the Industry practice
Habenschaden was Second Mayor of Munich and most recently headed sustainability and environment group-wide at Deutsche Bahn. She previously spent more than 15 years in finance. At Spencer Stuart she will advise German and international clients in public-sector, infrastructure-based and regulation-heavy industries.
Ferdinand Mahr brings Penguin Random House marketing transformation experience to TMT
Mahr's career includes Penguin Random House, ProSiebenSat.1, Weltbild and Boston Consulting Group. He was most recently Senior Vice President Marketing and a member of the Executive Committee at Penguin Random House Germany, where he led the transformation of marketing. His experience spans media, e-commerce, marketing and sales, and digital and data-driven transformation.
Sabine Bothe lifts the Vienna team to six consultants
Bothe, former Group Head of People & Culture at Erste Group Bank AG, will advise on TMT, Human Resources, leadership and transformation. She previously held senior roles at Deutsche Telekom, Magenta Telekom, A1 Telekom Austria and T-Mobile Austria.
Munich team moves into larger offices near Marienplatz
At the end of October, the Munich team moved into new, larger premises on Prannerstraße near Marienplatz. Mohnsame said the space provides room for further growth.