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NELEX ::: NEXT LEVEL EXECUTIVE SEARCH
23 January 2019

FOUNDING: KARSTEN BERGE STARTS UP THE NEW COMPANY NELEX AG IN COLOGNE

Cologne, 23 January 2019  – Karsten Berge, founder and long-time managing partner of the recruitment consultancy SearchConsult, has founded a new company, NELEX AG, based in the Cologne Crane Houses. He brings along two longtime associates, Dmytro Wolfschaffner and Lars Fricke. The focus of the company is on recruiting specialists and executives from the technology and digital world.

Cyber security experts, AI and robotics developers and 3D printing specialists as well as specialists and executives in cloud computing, industry 4.0 and e-commerce – these are just a few of the job profiles that NELEX will fill, with an annual salary starting at 90,000 EUR upwards. "We're focusing intensely on job profiles in the technology and digital environment", says Karsten Berge, founder and CEO of NELEX AG. "There is currently high demand among German companies. Many don't know how to fill their vacancies with suitable employees within an acceptable time frame."

The executive search market already has options here. "But it takes far too long to fill most positions. And normally there aren't enough profiles available when making a selection", says Berge. That is why NELEX consistently relies on the use of agile management methods. "Up to six consultants work in sprints at the same time on a project", says Berge. "The classic interaction between a consultant and a researcher often doesn't work anymore and takes far too long. Using agile management methods, we can successfully fill any position within four months. Or we have to give up the assignment, because a suitable candidate can't be found in that case."

But until they reach that point, NELEX has a claim to knowing all of the candidates in the field. Karsten Berge says: "We license and adapt cost-intensive, yet cutting-edge, artificial-intelligence tools, including from Silicon Valley. These tools help us to narrow down the pool of candidates very quickly. On the other hand, they also help us to measure the personality profile of the candidates much more precisely than is possible using conventional interviewing techniques."

Senior consultants (Principals) Dmytro Wolfschaffner and Lars Fricke have been involved in the project right from the start. They have extensive experience in German medium-sized enterprises, in MDAX groups, in industry as well as in trading and e-commerce. "Like technology companies, we are focusing on dynamic growth right from the first year", says Karsten Berge. "Our clients are advised exclusively by specialists who have many years of expertise in their industries as well as in IT, digitisation and technology. I've been working together with Dmytro and Lars for many years. They are just as convinced by our concept as I am, which is why they've been involved from the start."

The conviction that this innovative and efficient approach will herald the "Next Level Executive Search" is also reflected in the name of the company. And like digitisation itself, NELEX AG knows no boundaries. That is why the company is starting up with offices in Cape Town and Shanghai in addition to its headquarters in Cologne. Consultants with extensive years of experience support the company in these other locations as well.

About Karsten Berge:
The NELEX AG business model incorporates almost 30 years of experience of the founder and board member Karsten Berge. Berge studied business administration in Cologne, London and St. Etienne, with a focus on business informatics. Following positions as a manager of German and international technology companies, he founded the recruitment consultancy SearchConsult in 2006. Before its sale to the Allgeier Group, the company last employed around 70 consultants.

 

Contact: 
NELEX AG
Kranhaus 1
Im Zollhafen 18
D-50678 Cologne
E-mail: info@nelex.ag