Oliver Kempkens

Oliver has been the youngest executive hire at Russell Reynolds Associates Germany, where he co-founded the digital practice. Before that, he served as VP at SAP in Palo Alto and Walldorf, playing a pivotal role in the firm's intellectual renewal.

Venturing beyond Russell Reynolds, Oliver led the scaling of ITMP, a St. Gallen-based Strategy Consultancy. Subsequently, he held a significant role as Managing Director/Acting VP for Digital Platform Strategy (965 FTE) at Europe's largest bank, Sberbank, in Moscow from 2019 to February 2022.

Educationally accomplished, Oliver holds degrees in Law (BA, MA), Mediation (MA), and a Sociology PhD. He was also awarded a PhD hc at the University of Southampton, England.

In addition to his career, Oliver has shared his expertise through teaching Management & Leadership at prestigious universities like Stanford University, Hasso-Plattner Institute, University of St. Gallen, University of Vienna, and Johannes Kepler University Linz.

His outstanding contributions in the industry have earned him the title of Best Headhunter of the Year (2019) and the second-place award for providing the best candidate experience.

Throughout his journey, Oliver has successfully placed well over 100 executives across diverse industries.

Experience

• Kempkens x Kohler GmbH - Managing Partner Mar 2023 -
• Powerplay Systems - CFO Jan 2021 -
• Talent Tree GmbH - Advisory Board Membe Jun 2016 - Jun 2023
• Sberbank - Managing Director & Chief Product Officer Jul 2019 - Mar 2022
• Boston Consulting Group (BCG) - Sr. Advisor Jan 2018 - Dec 2018
• IT Management Partner St. Gallen (ITMP) - Managing Director Jan 2016 - Sep 2017
• Russell Reynolds Associates - Executive Search and Assessment Consultant (Director) Sep 2015 - Jan 2016
• SAP - Global Lead Design Thinking, Workspace Redesign at Scale (VP) Sep 2011 - Aug 2015