Andreas von Specht, based in Paris and Frankfurt, founded AvS – International Trusted Advisors in 2011. He advises international Family Businesses, Family Offices and Financial Investors on CEO and Chair searches, board assessments, and family succession planning & corporate governance projects.
During his 17 years as a Partner with global search firm Egon Zehnder, Andreas was part of the German Leadership Team, headed the Frankfurt office, and led the European and later – based out of Paris – the Global Consumer and Retail Practice. Over time, Andreas increasingly focused on global family businesses and their succession and governance issues. He started his professional career in the consumer goods industry where he worked in various marketing, sales and general management positions with international family businesses Mars, Bacardi and Van Houten.
Andreas is a shareholder in several private companies and serves on a number of boards. He has represented the shareholders of his own extended family for more than 25 years on the Advisory Board of Berenberg Bank, Germany’s oldest private bank. He gained a degree in Business Administration from the European Business School network in Germany, the UK and France. In his free time, he enjoys outdoor sports, gardening and fine dining in France – and is passionate about international politics.
Thought Leadership by Andreas von Specht
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The Chair of the Advisory Board in Family Businesses
Conductor, Bridge Builder and Tone Setter
by Andreas von Specht
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Assessing the Potential of your Leadership Team – as a Catalyst for Transformation
How Management Potential Analysis enables transformation in Family Businesses
by Andreas von Specht & Susanne Lang
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Why Silence Is Not an Option for CEOs
Leadership with Purpose: A Call to Social Responsibility
by Andreas von Specht
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Championing Sustainability from the Boardroom to the Bottom Line
In Conversation with Lorna Davis: Lessons from a Sustainability Pioneer
by Alexandra Jequier & Andreas von Specht
Consulting Focus
- Succession Management (CEO and C-level succession planning, searches and evaluations)
- Boards: evaluation / search
- Ownership Advisory (strategy, governance), Next Generation development, stakeholder mediation
- Family Office / Family Equity / Private Equity
- Founder, Managing Partner and responsible for the firm’s internationalisation








