When the Swiss company Brainforce AG celebrates its 45th anniversary in early July, it will also mark the birthday of an entire industry that is now prospering worldwide. When company founder Hans Häusermann launched the company in June 1979, the concept of interim management was still largely unknown. Today, more than four decades later, not only is "temporary management" an established method of overcoming short-term challenges in corporate management, but the name Brainforce is inextricably linked with interim management in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and beyond.
The company established its reputation in the first 15 years of its history. As the only service provider with an exclusive focus on the new discipline of interim management in German-speaking countries, Brainforce was able to establish itself as a true pioneer and maintain its reputation in the face of growing international competition in the years that followed. Even macroeconomic setbacks, such as the swelling and final bursting of the dotcom bubble in the late 1990s, with all the upheavals associated with it, could not stop the company's long-term success.
Since 2004, Martin Schneider has been managing the company's fortunes as CEO and since 2007, following the departure of the company founder, as the new majority shareholder. He has already seen a significant change in the discipline of interim management in the first few years. Last but not least, the image of the interim manager has changed since the end of the millennium, moving away from the retired expert to the senior executive manager in their 50s, with an increasing number of female managers. Today, interim management is seen as an attractive alternative to long-term employment and as an expression of a lifestyle that is lived to the full.
Overall, Brainforce has repeatedly asserted itself in phases that presented a particular challenge for companies. During the coronavirus pandemic, for example, the Swiss company was able to support companies in bridging the phase of severely limited opportunities for international corporate management due to travel restrictions, based on its local presence at 12 locations worldwide at the time. In addition, in the years following the pandemic, an accumulation of compliance cases became apparent because of the long-term decoupling of the management of subsidiaries abroad, which in turn could be corrected through the targeted use of unbiased interim managers.
The company's success is also based on continuous, strategic growth. While Brainforce was already operating from 12 locations worldwide at the time of its 40th anniversary in 2019, two more branches have been added in the last five years: Geneva and Manila (Philippines). While Geneva serves French-speaking Switzerland and neighboring France, the location in Manila is a further investment in the geopolitical future of the global economy. Against the backdrop of current tensions, Brainforce predicts that most small and medium-sized companies still active in China will relocate to South East Asia. The experts at Brainforce expect a growing demand for executives in the field of interim management for the necessary measures. In addition to Shanghai, Bangkok and Hong Kong, experienced interim managers can now also be deployed efficiently and quickly from Manila.
For the future, Martin Schneider expects the demand for international interim management services to continue to grow exponentially, creating the ideal conditions for Brainforce AG to continue its success story. Brainforce's understanding of interim management goes far beyond traditional management bridging or crisis management. For transition and transformation management situations in which sustainable changes are implemented, Brainforce is very well positioned due to its combination of interim management with expert solutions.
"When there is change, interim management is not far away," explains Schneider. "And our times are currently and in the longer term characterized by many fundamental changes. Whether challenges in supply chain management or the transformation of the economy due to a wide range of changes in the political environment: New problems constantly need to be solved operationally. Interim management is a tried-and-tested and demonstrably promising tool for this."
The company established its reputation in the first 15 years of its history. As the only service provider with an exclusive focus on the new discipline of interim management in German-speaking countries, Brainforce was able to establish itself as a true pioneer and maintain its reputation in the face of growing international competition in the years that followed. Even macroeconomic setbacks, such as the swelling and final bursting of the dotcom bubble in the late 1990s, with all the upheavals associated with it, could not stop the company's long-term success.
Since 2004, Martin Schneider has been managing the company's fortunes as CEO and since 2007, following the departure of the company founder, as the new majority shareholder. He has already seen a significant change in the discipline of interim management in the first few years. Last but not least, the image of the interim manager has changed since the end of the millennium, moving away from the retired expert to the senior executive manager in their 50s, with an increasing number of female managers. Today, interim management is seen as an attractive alternative to long-term employment and as an expression of a lifestyle that is lived to the full.
Overall, Brainforce has repeatedly asserted itself in phases that presented a particular challenge for companies. During the coronavirus pandemic, for example, the Swiss company was able to support companies in bridging the phase of severely limited opportunities for international corporate management due to travel restrictions, based on its local presence at 12 locations worldwide at the time. In addition, in the years following the pandemic, an accumulation of compliance cases became apparent because of the long-term decoupling of the management of subsidiaries abroad, which in turn could be corrected through the targeted use of unbiased interim managers.
The company's success is also based on continuous, strategic growth. While Brainforce was already operating from 12 locations worldwide at the time of its 40th anniversary in 2019, two more branches have been added in the last five years: Geneva and Manila (Philippines). While Geneva serves French-speaking Switzerland and neighboring France, the location in Manila is a further investment in the geopolitical future of the global economy. Against the backdrop of current tensions, Brainforce predicts that most small and medium-sized companies still active in China will relocate to South East Asia. The experts at Brainforce expect a growing demand for executives in the field of interim management for the necessary measures. In addition to Shanghai, Bangkok and Hong Kong, experienced interim managers can now also be deployed efficiently and quickly from Manila.
For the future, Martin Schneider expects the demand for international interim management services to continue to grow exponentially, creating the ideal conditions for Brainforce AG to continue its success story. Brainforce's understanding of interim management goes far beyond traditional management bridging or crisis management. For transition and transformation management situations in which sustainable changes are implemented, Brainforce is very well positioned due to its combination of interim management with expert solutions.
"When there is change, interim management is not far away," explains Schneider. "And our times are currently and in the longer term characterized by many fundamental changes. Whether challenges in supply chain management or the transformation of the economy due to a wide range of changes in the political environment: New problems constantly need to be solved operationally. Interim management is a tried-and-tested and demonstrably promising tool for this."
