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Jahrelang haben Fahrradhersteller ihre Marken über Zulieferer definiert. Mit DJI wiederholt sich derselbe Fehler. Was das mit Brand Management zu tun hat – und warum die richtigen Menschen über den Ausweg entscheiden.

When I talk to managing directors in the bike industry about a mandate, the question almost always comes up at some point: "How does this actually show up on our balance sheet?" Understandable – a fee of €20,000 to €30,000 for a sales leadership position is not pocket change, and before management signs off, the CFO or tax advisor wants to know where these costs land and whether they make financial sense. Let's run through it the way a CFO would. What a Headhunter Costs For r

"Can't we just skip that and post the role ourselves?" I hear this question in almost every first conversation with clients in the bicycle and sports industry. Understandable — at first glance, posting the job yourself looks free, while a headhunter looks like an added cost. But run the numbers on what a bad hire in a sales director or product management role actually costs, and the picture flips fast. My guiding principle: A good match costs a fee. A bad match costs the fisc

WHAT A STRONG CV DOESN'T SHOW The CV was strong. No question about it. Clean C-level layout. The right positions, the right titles. Anyone familiar with the brief would have found every keyword in that document: market development, product positioning, international expansion, P&L responsibility. On paper, this candidate was a better fit than most I had seen throughout the mandate. Then we sat down to talk. THIRTY MINUTES I don't run HR interviews. No questions about leadersh

If you're a company trying to fill a leadership role in the bicycle industry, you're dealing with a real information problem. Reliable salary data for the sector barely exists. Generic job portals mix bicycle OEM roles with unrelated outdoor retail positions — which helps no one when it comes to budget planning or negotiating with a strong candidate. That's the problem we set out to solve. How the benchmark was built The foundation is real conversations. With candidates, hiri

In late March, I signed two mandates. Senior Sales Managers for two geographically and culturally challenging territories at a DACH premium cycling manufacturer: Western Germany combined with a parallel BENELUX market entry, and Eastern Germany in the premium segment. Both territories had to be built from scratch — no predecessor, no established distribution network, no revenue. Every additional week of vacancy cost the client immediate market presence. By early May, both emp