
— Degree in business law, MBA
— 20 years of experience in the legal and professional services industry in Germany and Europe
— Expertise and leadership in the fields of strategy, marketing, business development and communications
— (International) Project and change management
— Experience in lecturing and training delivery on Marketing, Business Development and Diversity topics
I am a business development consultant with 20 years of experience in the professional services sector. A strategic thinker and hands-on doer with leadership and creative skills, practical management experience and a strong track record in professional services management and marketing.
My academic background includes a law and business degree awarded with a thesis on law firm marketing perceived from a client’s perspective and I am MBA-qualified with a thesis on managerial aspects of implementing and operating a marketing and business development function in a law firm or professional services firm.
With my own LGBT+ background I was a founding member of the German branch of my former firm’s global LGBT+ employee network where I served as a global co-chair for a number of years. Today I am a Diversity Speaker and author and I deliver speeches, training sessions and workshops around LGBT+ diversity and inclusion with a special emphasis on transidentity in the workplace and unconscious bias.
Past experiences (selection)
Head of Business Development Germany, Europe BD Lead at Ashurst LLP, Frankfurt and Munich
(2018 – 2019)
Senior Business Development Manager at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, Cologne and Frankfurt
(2012 – 2018)
Business Development Manager (Head of division) at Beiten Burkhardt GmbH, Berlin and Frankfurt
(2010 – 2012)
International Business Development Manager at CMS Legal/CMS Hasche Sigle, Berlin and Europe
(2007 – 2010)
“Successful business development in law firms requires intellect, creativity, initiative, persistence and personality; all of these David brings to the table. David makes things happen.”
Axel Koelsch, Chief Operating Officer at Addleshaw Goddard LLP