I'm not a consultant who looks at companies from the outside. I was in it myself — as an employee, as a leader, as a managing director, as a restructuring expert. For over 40 years, mostly in difficult situations, almost always in the industrial mid-market. What I offer today is the result of that experience.
After my time as a naval officer and earning my degree in mechanical engineering (Dipl.-Ing.), I spent years watching from the second row as managers and external consultants restructured struggling companies — as an employee, from the inside.
I saw what worked. And what didn't. I experienced how the workforce thought and felt. How communication happened. How consultants stepped into their roles. And what was almost always missing: the necessary attention to people in extraordinary situations — the ability to lead an unsettled team without losing them.
At some point, a recruiter convinced me that I, having become a conspicuously opinionated know-it-all, should contribute to restructuring efforts myself. That worked first at the departmental level, then as a division head, and eventually as an interim managing director and independent consultant. I never saw this as a flaw. That inside perspective remains my greatest advantage to this day.
In my experience, restructuring a company takes more than just numbers. It takes, in equal measure, experience, empathy, and attention — common sense, appreciation, authentic communication, and creativity.
The typical restructuring expert works with financial metrics, IDW S6 reports, process specifications, and KPIs. This knowledge is indispensable. At the same time, in practice, the soft facts are massively underestimated. People hold too rigidly to the numbers — and in doing so, lose exactly the people who matter most.
In my work, I've always brought both together: the hard structure and the ability for proactive, authentic communication in every direction — something I somewhat unacademically call “moti-pulation.” You won't learn that at any university. Not that I'm aware of, anyway.
After more than 40 years in leadership roles and restructuring mandates, I now do something different. I no longer take on operational line responsibility. I don't manage staff, I don't intervene in day-to-day business, and I don't appear publicly.
Was ich tue: Ich begleite Geschäftsführer, Inhaber und Gesellschaftergruppen im industriellen Mittelstand bei Löhmer Executive Advisory. In schwierigen Phasen, in denen Klarheit, Entscheidungssicherheit und ein erfahrener Gesprächspartner auf Augenhöhe den Unterschied machen.
Not once things are already on fire. Ideally, before they get there.
This work is the distillation of everything I've learned over 40 years — from other people's mistakes, from my own mistakes, from what works, and from a deep understanding of what really happens inside a manufacturing company when the pressure builds.
I work confidentially, independently, and without operational visibility to the outside world. At Löhmer Advisory, clients don't pay for days of attendance — they pay for experience, clarity, and avoiding costly missteps. A first conversation is non-binding.