Lorenz Freudenberg
In 2012 I set up my own consulting company outside of my family’s business in order to support clients in issues relating to business management, the development of company leaders, and strategic change initiatives.
Since then I have served as trusted advisor for individual entrepreneurs and owner families as well as for selected leaders and executive teams in corporate settings, helping them succeed with succession, leadership, team development and change management.
My background benefits my work with my clients. I am a member of the fifth generation to go into the family business, the corporate group Freudenberg. With around 48,000 employees over six continents, the Freudenberg Group achieves sales of around EUR 9 billion.
I worked in our family business for around 20 years and have a wealth of experience in business management, industrial sales, logistics and the management of production facilities. For more than eight years, I was responsible for global human resources activities and shaped the company’s talent management and organisational development.
My roles as family member, board leader and executive gave me a keen sense of what it means to be a responsible owner and a strong corporate leader. Experiencing from within Freudenberg’s transition to its first non-family chief executive and handling numerous succession challenges around the world provided me with direct exposure to the dynamics of cultural diversity, change management and leadership succession and development. I gained experience in dozens of countries and became skilled at managing intergenerational and intercultural issues, as well as in the interfaces between family members and non-family managers.
I hold a master’s degree in economics from the University of Witten/Herdecke, master’s degree in clinical organizational psychology from INSEAD Business School, Fontainebleau, and qualifications in strategic management, for example from SGMI in St. Gallen.
I provide consulting and coaching in German and English. I also speak fluent French.