Germany Shrugs Off Russian Turmoil

Cornerstone International Group leads off a new series of daily national market reports with an update on Germany

DUSSELDORF, Germany. February 17, 2015 —   Executive search in Germany remains a buoyant business, despite internal and external setbacks to the economy.

Markets in Germany are proving sufficiently robust to cope with the turmoil in Russia, a major trading partner, as well as introduction in 2015 of a minimum wage of €8.5.

The German market overview is the first in a new series of national reports by Cornerstone International Group, a leading global executive search network. The series launched today with the first of 19 reports from the organization’s members in Europe, the U.K. and the Middle East.

“We are seeing an upsurge of foreign business contacting us and wanting to get established in Germany,” says Gerhard Benneck of Cornerstone Dusseldorf, one of two Cornerstone members for executive search in Germany.

“We see this as a sign of strengthening economies in other regions and markets, giving business confidence to expand internationally.”

According to the report, the introduction of the minimum wage of €8.50, while not an issue for many, for some industries, particularly in the service sector, will be a real problem. Prior to 2015, Germany was one of only seven EU countries without a minimum wage.

In the Summer and early Fall of 2014 the German business confidence dipped (together with the stock markets) but then started a recovery towards the latter part of the year so that confidence is back at a good level at this point. The dip in oil prices will certainly help.

National reports will be published on a daily basis at www.cornerstone-group.com.

Cornerstone International Group is a leading Executive Search firm, with more than 300 consultants in offices spanning Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Clients range from the largest corporations to local companies and core services include Executive Search, CEO Advisory Services, Leadership Assessment and Executive Coaching.