Hire the best General Managers in Germany from 15,000 CVs with the power of AI
From P&L ownership and team leadership to market expansion, operational turnaround and stakeholder management, the right General Manager must fit the business and the mandate. Get fast, precise matching with vetted, available freelancers.
About the role
Business leadership A General Manager runs the business side of a unit, brand, site, or region. The role combines strategy, operations, finance, sales, and people leadership into one clear mandate.
Typical work includes:
- Owning P&L, budget, and business targets
- Leading department heads and cross-functional teams
- Turning strategy into operating plans and routines
- Managing growth, cost control, and execution
- Reporting to founders, executives, or investors
What they deliver A strong General Manager brings order to complex priorities and keeps decisions close to the business. They define goals, remove friction, and make sure teams execute with discipline.
They are often brought in for:
- Market entry or a new country setup
- Restructuring or turnaround work
- Fast growth that needs stronger management cadence
- Interim leadership during a vacancy or transition
- Alignment between sales, operations, and finance
Core skills The best General Managers combine commercial thinking with strong operational judgment. They understand numbers, but they also know how to lead people through change.
Common strengths are:
- P&L ownership and forecasting
- Leadership of managers and mixed teams
- Stakeholder communication at executive level
- Process design and performance tracking
- Decision-making under uncertainty
Tools and focus areas A General Manager does not work with one fixed tool stack. The focus is on business control, not on a single software system.
In practice, that often means working with:
- ERP and reporting systems
- Budgeting and planning tools
- CRM data and sales funnels
- KPI dashboards and operational reviews
- Project plans for launches, integrations, or change programs
When to hire freelance Companies bring in a freelance General Manager when the need is urgent, specific, or temporary. This is common when leadership must start quickly and the internal team needs a steady operator.
It is a good fit if you need someone who can step into a line-management role, cover an interim gap, or lead a defined initiative in Germany. Many clients also want a General Manager who can work in English and German, especially in international setups.
What strong profiles stand out on A strong General Manager understands both the boardroom and the day-to-day reality of execution. They are clear in communication, calm in pressure, and practical in how they solve problems.
Look for someone who can:
- Translate strategy into measurable action
- Balance commercial goals with team capacity
- Build trust across functions and locations
- Handle ambiguity without losing control
- Deliver results without needing close supervision
Meet FRATCH General Managers
Steffen Eschinger
Stream Lead, Consultant FI, CO, MM, SD
Last position:
Domain Lead FI, CO, HR, Investor Relations at Douglas Group
- Process Owner SAP ERP 8 FI, CO & Investor Relations
- Process Owner SAP Success Factors
- Responsible for 4 teams, 39 FTE
- Full responsibility for end-to-end processes in SAP for Finance, Controlling, HR, Investor Relations
- Interface to certified public accountants for Finance IT (KPMG)
- ITIL-4 implementation for service request change request and project management with Service Now (Project Manager)
Thomas Gaiser
Interim Digital Product Manager
Last position:
Interim Digital Product Manager at Novartis Pharma GmbH
- Defined and established a clear product strategy and roadmap to align product development with business goals and market trends
- Led and prioritized product requirements for cross-functional, international stakeholder groups (TA, brand family, content managers, legal)
- Efficiently managed the development process in international agile teams for on-time and on-budget delivery of critical product releases
- Led product launch and marketing activities in coordination with channel orchestration experts
- Monitored and analyzed product performance metrics (KPIs) to optimize and maximize business value with data-driven insights
Dominic Schober
Operations Technology & Analytics
Last position:
Operations Technology & Analytics at Self-directed
- Built operational analytics dashboard suite for a multi-unit F&B group from granular Lightspeed POS data — KPI reporting, product-mix analysis, demand forecasting and expansion site-selection
- Automated weekly, monthly and quarterly reporting and P&L variance analysis, plus a demand-forecasting tool that converts POS data into hourly kitchen prep schedules
- Developed a customer-review intelligence system across six sites — automated data collection, AI classification into operational themes with bilingual reply drafting and an interactive dashboard, cutting weekly review analysis from 2.5 hours to minutes
Michael Ferchland
Branch Manager, Authorized Signatory, Turnkey Construction Bavaria
Last position:
Branch Manager, Authorized Signatory, Turnkey Construction Bavaria at Swietelsky Deutschland GmbH
- Independent leadership of the SFB Bavaria branch, including the Munich and Regensburg sub-branches, both technically and in personnel matters
- Strategy, development and establishment of the branch as one of the leading general contractors in Germany
- Ultimately responsible for successful contract acquisition, maintaining client relationships and the overall financial success
- Ensuring smooth operation of all processes from acquisition and bid preparation to resource planning and technical execution
- Representation and leadership of the branch and its operations according to laws, shareholder agreement rules, shareholder resolutions and company regulations
- Results-oriented implementation of Swietelsky's corporate goals
- Revenue responsibility of over EUR 40 million per year
- Responsibility for 40 employees
- Strategic development and implementation of growth targets for Swietelsky International
- Active market monitoring to open up new business areas
- Representation of the company in handling projects in the public eye
- Representation of the company at national events and with associations such as the Construction Industry Association
- Representation of the company in compliance auditing procedures
- Successful turnaround of the Regensburg branch, improving results and addressing legacy issues
- Successful establishment of the Munich branch
- Acquisition of Dawonia as a key client
- Implementation and execution of DIN ISO 9001 with successful certification in own units
- Management and execution of bids for the business unit with individual project volumes of EUR 500 million
- Development, installation and deployment of BIM expertise for business operations
Frank Tautermann
Business and HR Consultant
Last position:
HR Director Germany and Calibration & Testing Nordics ad interim at Element Materials Technologies
Filled the managing director position for the German branch
Revised and optimized collaboration between Finance and HR for Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Germany
René König
Head of HR Division
Last position:
TRiANDO people & culture
HR process consulting, GDPR, direct sourcing, performance recruiting, social media recruiting, effective job postings, employer marketing, HR training, HR processes
Sayed Menayar
Branch Manager
Last position:
Branch Manager at Konzephaus Consulting GmbH
- Built the Peax Berlin team
- Candidate selection and interviews
- Hiring in coordination with the Recruitment Manager
- Coaching and mentoring to develop team members and the team
- Technical and disciplinary leadership of team members
- Acquired new key clients and expanded existing accounts
- Sales and business development
- Ongoing staff development
- Acted as information link between the team and Recruitment Manager, including reporting
- Supported brand growth in collaboration with marketing (online & offline)
- Participated in trade shows and events
- Defined and enforced standards
- Developed new services in cooperation with company management
- Revenue responsibility and ensured profitability
- Budget management
- Daily operational tasks as a recruiting consultant
- Built a talent pool and client portfolio in strategic target markets
Muharrem Saglam
Technical Project Management (Porsche Project)
Last position:
General Manager at REPSEM/REPKON-Energetic (Mechanical Engineering)
REPSEM/REPKON-Energetic (Mechanical Engineering) – General Manager. Start-up company. Setting up the company and its structure. Creating processes, preparing document templates, planning workflows, hiring employees to meet company goals. Training employees and introducing them to the first company project. Project acquisition, meetings about projects with companies. Expanding company goals and strategy. Visiting companies for partnerships. Leading the first company project together with the PM.
Dirk Wiesner
General Management Consultant
Last position:
General Management Consultant at Start-up in the e-commerce sector
- created a comprehensive business plan for investor meetings
- developed strategy, legal frameworks, partner selection processes, and planned operational processes and risks using AI tools
- mediated between the owner and the team
Martin Heinhold
Operations Plant Manager & Site Lead
Last position:
Operations Plant Manager & Site Lead at Fluke Process Instruments GmbH
- Managed the entire plant with focus on optimization of daily functions, exceeding customer expectations, and achieving KPIs.
- Provided direction and leadership to all levels of employees and managers.
- Reduced costs by eliminating waste and unnecessary labor hours.
- Maximized safety through proactive strategies and well-structured training.
- Directed employees and related programs to maximize team productivity and facility output.
- Monitored and evaluated plant performance to identify areas for improvement and took corrective measures.
- Identified and implemented viable strategies for continuous improvement.
- Led, trained and coached plant staff to facilitate high levels of productivity and quality.
- Promoted collaborative work environment to motivate and engage staff to achieve company objectives.
- Researched latest industry trends and technologies, boosting knowledge and understanding of industrial production.
Paul Oesterwitz
Senior Manager
Last position:
Product Owner / Project Manager at Auditor, software vendor for German tax consultancies
- Project environment: Python, Java, Azure AI Studio & OpenAI Studio, embedding models, LLM as a judge
- Project language: German
- Project role(s): Project manager
- Project management for improving the performance of a chatbot
- Research and evaluation of approaches to improve and measure response accuracy and improve the chatbot's understanding of context
- Coordination of architecture decisions with the technical team and architects
- Coordination and transfer of research results into development tasks
Reinhard Schroers
Site Management and Business Development
Last position:
Site Management and Business Development at Cyberport IT-Services, Hubert Burda Media
- Building and strategically developing the newly founded company to establish new business areas and partnerships in the IT services sector
- Successfully restructuring the sales team using AI-driven sales
- Introducing professional managed services including related service structures
- Increasing recurring revenue from 10% to 25%
Carlos Czerwinski
Integration of Ratioform GmbH
Last position:
Integration of Ratioform GmbH at Kaiser+Kraft GmbH
Provided a full transformation organisation covering Sales, Procurement, Product Management, HR, Finance, IT and Logistics
Acted as Project Sponsor and led implementation in the German market
Launched unified sales structure (Field Sales, Inside Sales, Key Account Management) in January 2024
Transferred all Ratioform customers to Kaiser+Kraft by May 2024
Went live with a joint online shop in June 2024; completed final merger in August 2024
Completed project on schedule
Achieved over 98 % large customer retention and 100 % small customer migration
Kept unwanted staff turnover at 10 %
Stefan Hagen
Global Sales & General Management | Enterprise Software | MES · PLM · SCM | Leading Growth & Change
Last position:
Interim Sales (Management) at SteveVentures
- Interim sales mandates across multiple industries and market environments
- Targeted professional development in Artificial Intelligence and Professional Scrum Master
- Operational optimization and management of own business activities in property management and short-term vacation rental operations
Marcus Kikisch
General Manager Central and Southeastern Europe
Last position:
General Manager Central and Southeastern Europe at VEACT GmbH
- International customer acquisition and development in the CSEE region, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and the Nordics
- International growth strategy development and implementation
- Business-planning, -controlling and -process optimisation
- Key account management e.g. BMW, MINI, JLR
- Significant contribution to the quadrupling of the company’s revenue from 2019 to the end of 2024
- COO until June 2022, when a change in strategy aimed at focusing on international growth was implemented
Discover over 15,000 top freelancers
General Managers statistics
Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.
Experience
29 years
Position duration
3.9 years
Positions per freelancer
12
Top business areas
Project Management, Operations, Sales
Top industries
Professional Services, Information Technology, Manufacturing
Certification focus areas
Human Resources, Project Management, Operations
Bachelor's degree or higher
81%
Master's degree or higher
45%
Doctorate
10%
Certifications per freelancer
3
Most common languages
German, English, French
Speak two or more languages
100%
Daily Rate Distribution
The chart shows how the daily rates of freelancers in this role are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows how many freelancers charge within that range. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
Average rates for General Managers & Seniority distribution
Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.
The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.
The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.
Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions? See our quick guide to FRATCH
A General Manager takes responsibility for the overall business performance of a unit, region, or function. That usually includes P&L ownership, team leadership, operating rhythm, and coordination across sales, operations, finance, and HR. The exact scope depends on the company stage and the mandate.
Hire a General Manager when the problem is broader than one department. If you need one person to align commercial priorities, delivery, and people management, a specialist lead is usually not enough. A GM is the right choice when ownership and cross-functional control matter.
A strong General Manager should combine commercial judgment, leadership, and operational discipline. Look for clear P&L experience, structured decision-making, and the ability to lead managers, not only individual contributors. Industry knowledge helps, but execution quality matters more.
Not always. An interim manager is defined by the temporary setup, while a country manager usually owns a specific national market. A General Manager can overlap with both, but the title is broader and often used for a business unit or site leader.
A freelance General Manager is often the better choice when speed matters, the need is temporary, or the scope is still evolving. This works well for transitions, launches, turnarounds, or leadership gaps. It also helps when you want senior ownership before committing to a permanent hire.
Yes, many can, but the right setup depends on the mandate. A General Manager who leads a local team, site, or client-facing business often needs regular on-site presence in Germany. For strategy, restructuring, or interim oversight, a hybrid or remote setup can work well.
Start with results, not titles. Ask for examples of business turnaround, team leadership, budget ownership, and difficult trade-offs. A strong General Manager explains how they made decisions, what changed, and how they kept the organization aligned.
Freelancers should expect broad responsibility, not a narrow task list. A GM role often needs fast onboarding, strong stakeholder handling, and comfort with incomplete information. It helps to clarify decision rights, reporting lines, and which outcomes define success before starting.
The average hourly rate for General Managers in Germany is 140 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 1,118 € based on an 8-hour working day.
Of the freelancers working as General Managers in Germany, 81% hold at least a Bachelor's degree, 45% hold at least a Master's degree, and 10% hold a doctorate.
On average, freelancers working as General Managers in Germany have 29 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 3.9 years.
The most common languages among freelancers working as General Managers in Germany are German (97%), English (97%), and French (42%).
The most common industries among freelancers working as General Managers in Germany are Professional Services (72%), Information Technology (61%), and Manufacturing (53%).
The most common business areas among freelancers working as General Managers in Germany are Project Management (83%), Operations (81%), and Sales (64%).
FRATCH General Managers main locations
Our freelancers and interim experts are at home across the DACH region — available on-site in the major business hubs or fully remote. Choose a location to discover matched specialists, local market insights and up-to-date availability.
Request a Free Demo
Get in touch with the FRATCH team and we will get back to you within 4 hours.
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Philipp Thomaschewski
FRATCH CEO
