Head of Business Development in Berlin
matched in minutes from over 15.000 CVs with the power of AI.Unlock new B2B sales channels, negotiate strategic partnerships, and accelerate market entry in Germany and Europe with vetted, available business development leaders.
Meet FRATCH Heads of Business Development
Malte Koslowski
Last position:
Interim-Leiter Marketing & Digitale Geschäftsentwicklung at FORIS AG
Established legal and financial service provider building a new digital business area for incorporation, tax, and compliance services.
- Developed and launched the service offering as segmented service and pricing packages in under 5 months.
- Designed a seamless digital user experience from ad contact through landing pages and ordering flow to completion.
- Worked out the strategic direction with department leadership and the executive board and managed the operational rollout in a five-person team.
Archie Graesser
Last position:
Business Development Executive at Gartner
- Joined as Gartner's youngest global hire into this role.
- Closed $391K USD in new business across mid-sized enterprises within 2025, achieving the second-highest contribution of net-new-revenue across the APAC HR practice.
- Contributed and reframed executive directions, driving greater outcomes and mitigating quantifiable risks from planning to execution.
- Positioned board-level ROI with CHROs and their leadership teams using Gartner's research to diagnose exposures in workforce planning gaps, capability risks, and strategic misalignment during cross-functional transformations.
- Closed multi-year advisory partnerships with government organisations by understanding buyer profiles, navigating stakeholders, procurement processes, and competing board-level priorities.
- Coached a direct report through career progression and supported regional AI adoption across sales workflows, saving each representative over 3 hours weekly.
- Learned that executives need information reframed to make optimal decisions and built enough trust for them to act on insights they couldn’t see from inside their organisations.
Vincenzo Ferrera
Last position:
Head of Business Development DACH at Culcha GmbH
Management of all sales activities including lead generation and customer development (midmarket and enterprise, C-Level) for the market establishment of our proprietary SaaS product. Implementation of the entire sales structure (team, processes) and sales strategy as well as measures and preparations for the scale up into new markets and countries.
- Technical and disciplinary personnel management of a total of 9 sales employees.
- Support of B2B key accounts for our SaaS product (midmarket and enterprise, ticket sizes in the 6-digit range)
- Development and implementation of sales processes and scaling sales strategies within the complete sales funnel
- Provide leadership and direction to achieve corporate goals using sales models and management tools
- Cross-departmental transfer of know-how and understanding of the market, as well as networking and cooperation within the framework of OKR measures
- Building strategic partnerships, from identifying relevant partners to closing deals
- Recruiting and team building
Rene Wetzel
Last position:
Personal break and professional development
- Time for family and personal development 03/2024 - 07/2024
- Deepened knowledge in business administration, finance, management, and leadership through training and certification "Certified Bachelor Professional of Business (CCI) / Certified Business Specialist (IHK)" 08/2024 - 07/2025
Johannes Weicksel
Last position:
Head of Sales and Business Development at CampusGenius GmbH
Skills: Private5G, Strategy&Execution, Sales, PartnerManagement, NewLogos, BrandAwareness
Mihaela Vacari
Last position:
Business Development Lead at EqualTo GmbH
- Leading and coaching the BD team, consisting of 2 reps
- Found strategies for new client acquisition, created the GTM playbook
- Defined, implemented, and oversaw the processes and tech stack for the sales team to improve efficiency
- Cold outreach (emails, calls (making up to 250 calls/week), attending events every quarter)
Discover over 15,000 top freelancers
Heads of Business Development statistics
Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.
Experience
16 years
Position duration
2.5 years
Positions per freelancer
9
Top business areas
Sales, Strategy, Human Resources
Top industries
Information Technology, Professional Services, Energy
Certification focus areas
Accounting, Finance, Human Resources
Bachelor's degree or higher
100%
Master's degree or higher
80%
Certifications per freelancer
1
Most common languages
English, German, Spanish
Speak two or more languages
83%
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 Heads of Business Development & 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.
About the role
Strategic Growth in the Capital Tech Hub
Berlin serves as a critical launchpad for both scaling startups and established enterprises looking to capture the DACH and broader European markets. A freelance business development leader helps companies identify untapped market segments, structure complex joint ventures, and establish a local footprint quickly. They bring immediate commercial maturity without the lengthy onboarding cycles of permanent executive hires.
Core Deliverables and Project Milestones
- Design and execution of market entry strategies for Germany and international territories
- Identification, negotiation, and closing of high-value strategic B2B partnerships
- Structuring and optimization of local and remote outbound sales pipelines
- Alignment of product capabilities with corporate client requirements
- Handover of repeatable sales playbooks to internal permanent teams
Essential Skills and Commercial Tools
Successful professionals in this domain possess deep expertise in structured negotiation, financial modeling, and corporate matchmaking. They regularly leverage modern CRM systems, business intelligence platforms, and pipeline automation tools to track partner engagement and forecast revenue. Their background typically combines strong analytical thinking with the interpersonal skills required to negotiate contracts at the C-suite level.
When to Engage an Interim Commercial Leader
Companies bring in external expertise during critical transition phases, such as raising a funding round, launching a new product line, or expanding into German-speaking countries. An interim leader provides the strategic direction needed to validate new channels before committing to long-term executive hiring. This agile approach minimizes overhead while ensuring that high-stakes commercial opportunities are not missed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Looking for clear information? Everything important about FRATCH is here
A freelance Head of Business Development focuses on identifying new market opportunities, building strategic alliances, and setting up scalable sales channels. Unlike a consultant who only offers advice, this leader actively negotiates contracts, initiates high-level B2B contact, and establishes repeatable commercial frameworks.
While a Head of Sales primarily focuses on closing immediate transactions and managing the daily sales pipeline, an interim commercial growth leader looks at long-term strategic value. They focus on finding new target groups, structuring complex partnerships, and opening up new distribution channels rather than managing volume-based sales teams.
While Berlin is highly international, a professional working as a business development executive in Germany often needs fluent German to close local corporate partnerships. For international startups targeting global markets from Berlin, English might be the primary working language, but local DACH market expansion heavily relies on native or bilingual German skills.
A qualified interim business development director is judged by their track record of closed partnerships and generated pipeline value. Look for concrete examples of past market entries, successful negotiations with enterprise clients, and their ability to quickly understand complex technical products.
While strategic planning and initial outreach can be done remotely, a business development consultant often benefits from occasional on-site presence in Berlin for key client workshops and networking events. Face-to-face meetings remain a powerful tool for building trust during high-value contract negotiations.
Companies in fintech, software-as-a-service, e-commerce, and deep tech sectors in the capital region frequently utilize an external growth strategist. These industries move rapidly and require immediate market validation to stay ahead of regional and global competitors.
An engagement with a freelance business development manager usually spans several months, depending on the complexity of the market expansion or partnership pipeline. The project typically concludes once a stable partner network is established and a permanent internal team is hired and trained.
An experienced freelance business developer requires minimal onboarding, focusing primarily on understanding your product's unique value proposition and existing client data. They should be granted immediate access to CRM tools and relevant product documentation to begin market outreach within their first week.
The average hourly rate for Heads of Business Development in Berlin is 103 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 820 € based on an 8-hour working day.
Of the freelancers working as Heads of Business Development in Berlin, 100% hold at least a Bachelor's degree and 80% hold at least a Master's degree.
On average, freelancers working as Heads of Business Development in Berlin have 16 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 2.5 years.
The most common languages among freelancers working as Heads of Business Development in Berlin are English (100%), German (83%), and Spanish (50%).
The most common industries among freelancers working as Heads of Business Development in Berlin are Information Technology (100%), Professional Services (67%), and Energy (50%).
The most common business areas among freelancers working as Heads of Business Development in Berlin are Sales (100%), Strategy (100%), and Human Resources (67%).
FRATCH Heads of Business Development 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.
Berlin 
Hamburg Munich Cologne Frankfurt Stuttgart Dusseldorf Leipzig Dortmund Essen Bremen Dresden Hanover Nuremberg Request a Free Demo
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Philipp Thomaschewski
FRATCH CEO
