A ranking you cannot apply for
Leverkusen, Germany, 12 March 2026 — consultingheads is listed among Germany’s best consultant networks for the sixth time in the "Berater 2026" edition of brand eins /thema — after 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025. This year's lists include 275 companies and seven consultant networks. consultingheads was already among the eight networks listed in the previous edition.
Consultant networks are ranked separately from consulting firms — what is assessed is not how well someone consults, but how reliably they find the right consultants. For a matching business, that is the only category that says anything.
The ranking is compiled by brand eins together with Statista and appears this year for the 13th consecutive time. It is not based on applications but on recommendations: consultants and executives at companies that work with consultancies are asked whom they would recommend.
Behind such a recommendation sits a multi-stage selection process. consultingheads admits only those who pass a technical assessment and convince in a personal conversation; on average, consultants in the network bring more than eleven years of project experience. Pre-selection for a specific mandate is AI-supported, while the recommendation that reaches the client is made by a person who knows the market.
"Rankings you can apply for say very little," says Olaf Melsbach, Managing Director of consultingheads. "With this one there is nothing to do but deliver — you are recommended by people for whom results mattered, or you are not. And what counts in the end is not being on the list, but whether the people we propose get the project done. Ninety-five percent of our proposals lead to a placement. Standing in a list of seven networks says more about the market than about us: there are many intermediaries, but few that clients recommend."
The figures in the edition show how thin this category is: 275 listed consulting firms stand against seven networks. For companies weighing a traditional consultancy against a freelancer sourced on their own, the choice of dependable intermediaries is therefore limited — and a repeat listing is an indication of who has delivered over the years.
The consultingheads profile in the "Berater 2026" edition is available at brandeins.de.
About consultingheads
consultingheads. When results matter. The company connects organisations with high-impact freelance management consultants, IT and subject-matter experts, and interim managers — personally selected, typically available within 24 to 36 hours, and dependable throughout the project. With more than 20,000 carefully vetted experts in the German-speaking market: more than eleven years of average project experience, verified in a multi-stage selection process covering technical skills and personal fit alike. Where algorithms reach their limits, a person decides — closing the gap between traditional consulting and pure staffing. Since 2016, leading companies, consultancies and private equity firms have relied on this approach, and more than 3,000 completed projects demonstrate its effectiveness. consultingheads GmbH is headquartered in Leverkusen, Germany. Olaf Melsbach is Managing Director.
Press contact: Olaf Melsbach, Managing Director · consultingheads GmbH, Borsigstr. 1, 51381 Leverkusen, Germany · Tel. +49 2171 795478-0 · presse@consultingheads.com · consultingheads.com