The Executives Online Team

Stephan H. Aschenbrenner
CEO
Executives Online Germany

Stephan H. Aschenbrenner has broad international experience in management and recruitment. After completing his studies as Master of Business Science at University of Witten / Herdecke (Germany), Pennsylvania State University (USA) and University of Stockholm (Sweden) he worked for several multinational companies in Germany and Italy. In 2002 he founded “initiat” his first entrepreneurial venture recruiting and financing franchisees where he has developed the brand to become the German market leader with over 1,000 franchisees placed into a wide spectrum of branded franchise systems.

Patric Kistner
Head of Recruiting Executives Online

Patric Kistner started his career in sales and marketing in the automotive industry. Then, after five years, he moved to a well-known recruitment consultancy and, at the same time, successfully set up his own business as a trainer and coach. Since 1999, many prestigious companies, employees and freelancers in different industries and specialisms have benefited from his expertise. His special talent as a personnel consultant is to guide and give support on complex projects, such as the implementation, set-up and building of new brands.

Since early 2011, Patric has contributed his experience and expertise to Executives Online, since when he has been extending the recruitment business in Germany. He is our Head of Recruiting for Permanent Placement and Interim Management

Oliver Becker
Managing Director/Owner
Executives Online Munich

Oliver Becker is the Managing Director/Owner of Executive Online Munich. His special focus is recruitment and selection of interim managers and executives in the financial services sector, in particular private equity and venture capital, banking, investment banking and international law firms. Among his clients are holding companies, financial services institutions, foundations and family offices, as well as owner-managed firms and SMEs. Oliver has more than 15 years of professional experience. After training in banking and law, he began his career in 1998 as a lawyer in an international M&A firm. After holding various positions in investment banking, he served as a CEO for more than seven years, and has held positions with private equity firms and investment managers.

Ralf Déus
From July 2012 Managing Director/Owner
Executives Online Limburb

Ralf Deus is the Managing Director/Owner of Executive Online Limburg. Ralf has wide-ranging experience and is particularly focused on the recruitment and selection of interim managers and executives in the healthcare and pharmaceutical, and professional services sectors within medium-sized companies as well as the management teams and boards of large companies.

Ralf has over 30 years experience in the sales and marketing sector. After completing his marketing degree, he began his professional career at various well-known brand companies in the food, publishing and communications industries. In 1990 he became a Director of a major German bank in Frankfurt and following that, in early 2000, he moved into a managerial position in one of the big 4 consulting companies.

Frank Goerlich
Owner
Executives Online Münster

Frank Goerlich has 15 years experience as a CEO of medium sized enterprises and concerns. He started his career after university, where he studied economics, as marketing and sales manager at a brand name furniture manufacturer. He later assumed progressive roles with managerial responsibilities in several different businesses, all in fast moving consumer goods. Levering this experience and his considerable contacts and relationships, Frank became an independent personnel consultant in 2009. He has founded Executives Online Münster to develop his business to an international level and to fulfill the growing demand he observes in the market for interim managers.

Olaf Schnell
Owner
Executives Online Gummersbach

Olaf Schnell has worked in personnel services for 15 years. After completing his studies, he started his working career as head of a medium-sized engineering services in the automotive industry in North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1999, he became CEO of an international corporation in the technology consulting field. Since then Olaf worked for consultancies in Germany, in particular in the automotive, aerospace, mechanical engineering and electronics sectors. His leadership skills and cross-industry networking ability eventually led to him being made CEO of a German organisation with approximately 1,300 employees, before he became a self-employed personnel consultant.

Olaf's particular areas of expertise is the automotive industry, and he has experience across the spectrum of mid-tier companies.

James O’Brien
Managing Director

James joined Executives Online in March 2007 to help spearhead the growth and development of the Executives Online business worldwide. Prior to joining Executives Online, James was Director of Franchising at Choice Hotels Europe and has also held senior positions as Managing Director of Business Education International, a management training franchisor and prior to that was Managing Director of Pitman Training Group (which operated over one hundred franchise locations) where he previously held positions as Group Operations Director and Franchise Director. Earlier in his career he also spent four years as a recruiter and regional manager in a national recruitment business. James O’Brien’s career achievements include personally negotiating, selling and opening Master Franchises in UK, Germany, New Zealand, Ireland, Kuwait and several other Middle East countries; personally selling and opening fifty UK and Ireland training franchises and managing the brand conversion of a franchise network of 50 franchises. He also won the highly commended British Franchise Association award for Franchisor of the Year in 2000 and 2001.

Anne Beitel
BA, MBA Harvard
Marketing Director

Anne brings more than 10 years' experience marketing in high-growth environments to her role as Marketing Director for Executives Online. With an MBA from Harvard and a top-flight track record in product and services marketing 'both sides of the pond', Anne developed her marketing and management expertise in previous roles as Director of New Product Marketing for ON Technology Corporation, Vice President of Marketing for Dr Solomon's Software Inc., and European Marketing Director of specialist staffing company Aquent.

In addition to directing Executives Online's award-winning marketing programmes, Anne recruits for clients in the software, technology and new media sectors and led the 2008 MBO of Executives Online. She serves on the executive committee of the Interim Management Association, the trade body which represents the majority of established interim management provider firms operating in the UK.

Norrie Johnston
BSc, CEng, MIChemE, CMC
Non-Executive Director

Norrie is founder and a non-executive director of Executives Online Ltd. He provided interim management services since 1997. Norrie's career shows wide hands-on experience in the successful management of dot.com, telecom, technology, and technical services businesses in home and international markets. In his earlier career Norrie held marketing and sales directorships in the engineering sector, involving residential periods in the USA and Pakistan. In December 2008 Norrie sold a controlling interest in Executives Online to the management team and two regional directors in a Management Buy-Out. He retired from his executive role in the business in March 2011.