Our mission
Developing professional organisations. Thinking like entrepreneurs. Providing trusted advice. Leveraging extensive networks. Encouraging personal advancement.
By entrepreneurs. For entrepreneurs.
When Marcus Wittner and Heiko Hempe founded contagi in 2012, they were not actually HR professionals yet. But as serial entrepreneurs, they knew what other entrepreneurs needed. And that is how they came up with the idea of offering a different – and better – type of executive search services. It is this spirit that still motivates us today, even beyond our executive search division.
We are the first point of contact within the contagi network when it comes to organisational development and qualitative growth – this is our vision, and what we strive to be for you, too, of course. We have the confidence to do this because our team is made up of people who can understand and accommodate the challenges you face.
The result is a partnership-based dialogue regarding the right solution for you. Being able to discuss your issues with a partner on equal footing not only makes the entire process more enjoyable for both sides – it also leads to better results. Put us to the test, that is what we are here for!
contagi = through contacts.
You expect us to deliver trustworthy advice, whether we are connecting you with a person or designing a solution for you. The nucleus for this are partnership-based contacts – with you, with experts, with candidates. The clue is in our name!
“contagi” derives from the Latin word “contages”, meaning “contact”. Thus, the ablative, “contagi”, can be literally translated as “through contacts”. And we use ours to your fullest advantage. Drawing upon our extensive networks, we can identify the employee, expert or consultant that is right for you. Of course, maintaining and continuously expanding this asset requires not only a lot of work, but also a lot of passion. But when we see the results, we know that it is time well spent.
Ni hao, Grüezi and Hallo
We speak German, Swiss German and Chinese. Above all, we know and understand each of these markets, which is only possible when – like us – you have experts located in the actual country. And our experts are, of course, happy to work together on any cross-border topics you may need support with.
There are contagi offices in Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Zurich, St. Gallen and Shanghai. Regardless of the location, you can be sure that you will be advised by people who are masters of their trade. Every one of them has a different personal background, which is precisely what enables us to help you successfully address a wide range of challenges – at one site or across different locations. In this context, we benefit from being one organisation. While each and every one of us displays that entrepreneurial spirit, we are also aware that we can offer you better services by working across the contagi group, rather than by acting as individual entities.
Systematic growth.
contagi is PEOPLE and ADVISORY. This means that we draw on our different business areas to offer you the right people and the right solutions. Our company has grown accordingly – organically, but also through joint ventures that complement our existing range of services.
- 2012 Foundation of contagi by Dr. Marcus Wittner and Heiko Hempe, with locations in Switzerland and Germany and a focus on executive search
- 2014 Foundation of contagi INTERIM as a provider of temporary placements of specialists and executives
- 2015 Foundation of contagi GROUP as a holding structure to manage future growth
- 2015 Foundation of contagi MANAGEMENT as a consultancy with a focus on HR and organisations
- 2018 Foundation of JP contagi, a joint venture with locations in Dusseldorf and Shanghai to address the local Chinese market and also act as an interface between D/CH and China
- 2018 Foundation of contagi DIGITAL IMPACT GROUP as a business development service provider for the digital economy and infrastructure
- 2019 Foundation of contagi MEDIA + IT as the successor organisation to established personnel consultancy Ulf Genzel Consulting in the field of media and IT
- To be continued
#teampurple
“People business” is an umbrella term often used to describe our field of activity. And we think this term is very appropriate. But we don’t stop at good client relationships; we want to be able to count on a strong team – our #teampurple! Why purple?
First of all: it’s not just purple, it’s “elegant purple”. And we would be happy to explain this to you in more detail over a coffee!
You will see this colour in everything we do. We like it, it’s as simple as that. But what matters more than the colour itself is what it signifies for us:
It represents the high standards that each and every one of us sets themselves, and the enthusiasm with which we pursue our job. Our #teampurple unites people who want more than just your average 9-to-5.
Keeping up this entrepreneurial spirit is one of our very own central challenges. It’s not an easy one, but we are happy to face it.