Since its foundation in 2004, one of the company’s core competences has been the successful implementation of complex (IT) projects (more than 50 core bank/WP migration projects). Many years of experience in all common system solutions and a well-established team of consultants with migration experience are decisive success factors.
The managing partner is Mr Michael Rother. He is a passionate practitioner who always supports customer projects 5 days a week. bankon is 100% independent of manufacturers or other third parties.
bankon stands for the pragmatic management of highly complex projects that encompass strategic, procedural, banking, economic, personnel or regulatory aspects and often entail massive changes in the structures and processes of the specialist departments and IT (including architecture, system support). bankon plays a prominent role in most projects as a “transformation partner” with planning and management expertise and migration-tested, customised project management solutions.
Without exception, our clients are leading financial service providers and IT service providers who place the highest demands on consultants. We value intensive and lasting partnerships. This is also the basis for bankon’s qualitative growth. The fact that over 80% of our projects are follow-up projects confirms our approach, which is geared towards long-term customer relationships.
bankon stands for the pragmatic management of highly complex projects that encompass strategic, procedural, banking, economic, personnel or regulatory aspects and often entail massive changes in the structures and processes of the specialist departments and IT (including architecture, system support). bankon plays a prominent role in most projects as a “transformation partner” with planning and management expertise and migration-tested, customised project management solutions.
Without exception, our clients are leading financial service providers and IT service providers who place the highest demands on consultants. We value intensive and lasting partnerships. This is also the basis for bankon’s qualitative growth. The fact that over 80% of our projects are follow-up projects confirms our approach, which is geared towards long-term customer relationships.
The managing partner is Mr Michael Rother. He is a passionate practitioner who always supports customer projects 5 days a week. bankon is 100% independent of manufacturers or other third parties.
bankon stands for the pragmatic management of highly complex projects that encompass strategic, procedural, banking, economic, personnel or regulatory aspects and often entail massive changes in the structures and processes of the specialist departments and IT (including architecture, system support). bankon plays a prominent role in most projects as a “transformation partner” with planning and management expertise and migration-tested, customised project management solutions.
Without exception, our clients are leading financial service providers and IT service providers who place the highest demands on consultants. We value intensive and lasting partnerships. This is also the basis for bankon’s qualitative growth. The fact that over 80% of our projects are follow-up projects confirms our approach, which is geared towards long-term customer relationships.
bankon stands for the pragmatic management of highly complex projects that encompass strategic, procedural, banking, economic, personnel or regulatory aspects and often entail massive changes in the structures and processes of the specialist departments and IT (including architecture, system support). bankon plays a prominent role in most projects as a “transformation partner” with planning and management expertise and migration-tested, customised project management solutions.
Without exception, our clients are leading financial service providers and IT service providers who place the highest demands on consultants. We value intensive and lasting partnerships. This is also the basis for bankon’s qualitative growth. The fact that over 80% of our projects are follow-up projects confirms our approach, which is geared towards long-term customer relationships.
Interdisciplinary cooperation is achieved by combining different academic and professional experiences. This allows us to combine different perspectives and ways of thinking to create unconventional solutions. As a result, our projects are concrete, customer-specific and results-orientated right from the start.
Michael Rother
Founder, Managing Director and Partner
Steffen Rummel
Senior Manager
“The freedom to develop and help shape the company as well as the consistent and efficient management of strategically important projects make bankon an excellent overall package.”
Carsten C. Wendt
Manager
“In time, in budget, in quality” – the bankon DNA is the reason for above-average project success and consistently high customer satisfaction.
Daniel Jähde
Senior Manager
“Creating customised solutions in highly complex projects is one of the team’s core competencies. The synergies that result from the technical and methodological expertise of each individual are the success factor for always meeting all customer requirements in the project business.”
Ralf-Michael Jendro
Senior Manager
“Varied and challenging projects with interesting clients have confirmed my decision to “come on board” at bankon time and again over the years.”
Matthias Schmidt
Senior Manager
“A successful project is only possible with clearly defined goals. As bankon, we not only support our clients in defining specific goals, but also confidently lead projects to a positive outcome. In doing so, we draw on our many years of project, process and quality management experience as a team and thus ensure the long-term success of our clients – just differently than the others.”
Sebastian Sieber
Consultant
“The mix of corporate culture and working on exciting topics makes bankon unique for me. From day one, I was able to take on direct responsibility and get actively involved, which naturally involves a steep learning curve.”
“bankon offers me the opportunity to use my sustainable entrepreneurial mindset every day for the benefit of the customer. It is very important to me to provide value-oriented advice and to achieve optimal results for our clients when implementing projects.”
Benjamin Baughman
Consultant
“Exciting projects and a great, very experienced team give me the opportunity to constantly develop professionally and personally.”
Bernd Maaßen
Senior Manager
“Understanding our clients and designing and implementing tailor-made solutions for them is the aim of our consulting mandates. In highly complex projects, we align our clients’ strategy, employees, processes and IT to achieve sustainable success. The challenging projects and the opportunity to help shape change with my bankon colleagues never cease to inspire me.”
Jürgen Engelke
Senior Manager
“The broad spectrum of our projects at bankon constantly presents me with new challenges in order to find the best solution for our customers so that they are successful with their customers.”
Kai Baumann
Manager
“A transformation begins with the optimization of cost structures, whereby the major levers should be digitalization initiatives. We need a strong financial system for the challenges ahead (climate change and digital transformation). Furthermore, a uniform capital market across Europe with a position of power ahead of the competition from China and the USA is necessary in order to provide the best possible support for the real economy in the transformation processes.”
Matthias Höltermann
Manager
“bankon offers me a supportive environment that focuses exclusively on enabling my colleagues and me to successfully manage challenging project situations at the interface between business and information technology and to create added value for the customer every day.”
Matthias Hotzel
Senior Manager
“The distinct opportunity to contribute my many years of expert knowledge to consulting mandates motivated me to switch to bankon. I am always enthusiastic about successfully implementing innovative and complex projects with our clear team approach.”
Michael Jesch
Senior Manager
“Nowadays, consultants are no longer measured by the number of innovative proposals, but rather by the successful and sustainable implementation of project goals. Our teams face this challenge anew every day and the trust our clients place in us repeatedly confirms the expertise and quality of our work.”
Paul Patrick Buenger
Manager
“We help our clients to align their company for long-term success by integrating business, risk and data management and IT. A collaborative partnership, both within the team and with our clients, and our focus on excellence in implementation are what set bankon apart.”
Wolfgang Weber
Senior Manager
“To face the ever-changing requirements with enthusiasm and enthusiasm, to implement projects in a hands-on manner and to develop pragmatic ideas and solutions for the customer is a very personal concern for me at bankon.”
Werner Netzel
Advisory Board
Günther Distelrath
Advisory Board
Helmut Gottschalk
Advisory Board
Gerhard Schorr
Advisory Board
Franz-Theo Brockhoff
Advisory Board
Franz-Theo Brockhoff
As a member of bankon’s advisory board, Theo Brockhoff contributes his more than 40 years of experience in leading positions at well-known IT companies. He has strategically managed key IT projects and shaped them in practice. As former Chairman of the Management Board of Finanz Informatik, he worked with the committees at Management Board level to shape the link between business strategy and IT. He actively contributes his expertise from managing large IT organizations to bankon’s advisory board. Even after his retirement, he remains active, advising institutions on regulatory issues such as BAIT and DORA and is involved in IT-related start-ups. Having worked with bankon for several clients over many years, he knows and appreciates bankon’s special skills:
“in particular the high reliability including clear, critical analysis and sophisticated updating of large IT projects – in all “realities of life of these projects ”, be it that they were updated more quickly, restarted in decisive parts or reorganized and thus always successfully brought to the finish line.”
Franz-Theo Brockhoff
Theo Brockhoff bringt als Beiratsmitglied von bankon seine über 40-jährige Erfahrung in führenden Positionen bei namhaften IT-Unternehmen ein. Er hat entscheidende IT-Projekte strategisch geleitet und in der Praxis geprägt. Als ehemaliger Vorsitzender der Geschäftsführung der Finanz Informatik gestaltete er in Zusammenarbeit mit den Gremien auf Vorstandsebene die Verbindung von Geschäftsstrategie und IT. Seine Expertise aus der Steuerung großer IT-Organisationen bringt er aktiv in den Beirat von bankon ein. Auch nach seiner Pensionierung bleibt er aktiv, berät Institute zu regulatorischen Themen wie BAIT und DORA und engagiert sich in IT-nahen Startups. Auf Basis einer langjährigen Zusammenarbeit bei mehreren Kunden mit bankon kennt und schätzt er deren besonderen Fähigkeiten:
“insbesondere die hohe Verlässlichkeit samt klarer, kritischer Analyse und anspruchsvoller Fortschreibung von großen IT- Projekten – in allen „Lebenswirklichkeiten dieser Projekte “, sei es dass diese zügiger fortgeschrieben, in entscheidenden Teilen neu bzw. saniert wieder aufgesetzt und damit stets erfolgreich ins Ziel gebracht wurden.”
Michael Rother
Founder, managing director and partner
Michael Rother is an experienced, passionate practitioner. That is why he is present in customer projects as a mediator of values and a source of inspiration. One of his most important principles is independence. To ensure this in the long term, all shares are held by the employees.
“His experience as a manager at an international commercial bank in Germany and abroad and as a project and competence center manager at a renowned German management consultancy also reflects bankon’s business model. Sustainable and measurable added value is created with professional and technical know-how and a high level of implementation expertise. A customized, transparent approach and the highest standards of quality of results are essential. The proof of a successful business model has been provided for years by successful projects without exception, lasting partnerships with customers and employees and, last but not least, a permanently high order situation.”
– Michael Rother
Gerhard Schorr
Gerhard Schorr studied business administration at the University of Cologne and joined the auditing department of the Rhineland Cooperative Association in 1981. In 1992, he was appointed to the Board of the Saxony Cooperative Association and in 1997 he accepted the position of Association Director of the Württemberg Cooperative Association in Stuttgart. Mr. Schorr helped shape the merger to form the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative Association in 2008 and retired at the end of 2018. In 2019/2020, he was Audit Director of the vbw housing industry association in Stuttgart. He has been a member of the Chamber of Public Accountants’ Quality Control Commission since 2004. His private passion has been running for 40 years – he has now successfully completed 100 marathons.
“What inspires me about bankon is the unique combination of strategic expertise and implementation strength. The consultants at bankon combine a helicopter view with the ability to roll up their sleeves in the engine room of IT and regulation. bankon is a sustainable consultant in the best sense of the word.”
– Gerhard Schorr
Helmut Gottschalk
After completing his training and studies, Helmut Gottschalk was a member of the Board of Management of a large regional cooperative bank in Baden-Württemberg for around 35 years. In this role, he also served on the Supervisory Board of DZ-Bank, the cooperative central institution, for 15 years and was Chairman of the Board for 10 years. Following his active board activities, he was Chairman of the Supervisory Board of IBB, Internationales Bankhaus Bidensee AG until 2021 and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Commerzbank AG from 2021 to 2023. Mr. Gottschalk now brings his extensive experience in the financial services sector to bankon’s Advisory Board in addition to several mandates in foundations.
Günther Distelrath
Following his training as an industrial clerk, Mr. Distelrath’s professional development was shaped by the savings bank organization. He first passed his examination as a savings bank clerk at Sparkasse Essen before completing the savings bank specialist course and further training as a savings bank business administrator at the training institute in Bonn. In 1981, the Gelsenkirchen native moved to Lower Saxony. From 1981 to 1985, he was a member of the Management Board and Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Stadtsparkasse Barsinghausen. From 1985 to 2001, he was Chairman of the Management Board of Sparkasse des Landkreises Goslar in Salzgitter-Bad. From 2001 until his retirement on December 31, 2017, he was Managing Director of the Lower Saxony Savings Banks and Giro Association. From October 2017 to the end of the 2022 season, he was President of the Lower Saxony Football Association and from June 2018 to 2021 he was also President of the North German Football Association. He was also Vice President and Board Member of the DFB until March 2022.
“What inspires me about bankon is the consultants’ instinct for tackling precisely the points that are necessary for the successful implementation of strategies. I have experienced the goal-oriented, yet pragmatic approach to process and business management as well as sales-related implementation topics, e.g. performance analysis, which can be implemented for savings banks without great effort. The strength of bankon’s experienced consultants lies not only in setting up new strategies, but also in advising on their successful implementation. The satisfaction of many board members with this practice-oriented implementation approach has encouraged me to be available to the management as a partner on the advisory board.”
– Günter Distelrath
Werner Netzel
After completing his training at Stadtsparkasse Cologne and attending the savings bank training course, Werner Netzel graduated from the training institute in Bonn. From 1983 to 1993, he was a member of the Management Board and Deputy Chairman of Vereinigte Sparkassen Weissenburg. From 1994 to January 2000, Mr. Netzel was Chairman of the Management Board of Sparkasse Straubing-Bogen. From 2001 to 2002, he took over the management of IZB-Soft as interim manager. From 2002 to October 2006, Mr. Netzel held the office of Vice President of the Bavarian Savings Banks Association. Since November 1, 2006, Werner Netzel has been an executive board member of the German Savings Banks and Giro Association, responsible for market and personnel strategy. He retired from this position in spring 2013.
“bankon’s partnership-based approach to customers and the distinctive line and management experience of its consultants clearly sets it apart from many other consulting firms I know. The focus is always on finding the best possible and most resource-efficient solution together with the customer. bankon is perceived as an absolute specialist in implementation. I am delighted to be able to continue supporting this highly motivated team with my advice and experience.”
– Werner Netzel
Gerhard Schorr
Gerhard Schorr studierte an der Universität Köln Betriebswirtschaftslehre und trat 1981 in den Prüfungsdienst des Genossenschaftsverbandes Rheinland ein. 1992 wurde er in den Verbandsvorstand des Genossenschaftsverbandes Sachsen berufen und folgte 1997 dem Ruf als Verbandsdirektor des Württembergischen Genossenschaftsverbandes in Stuttgart. Herr Schorr gestaltete die Fusion zum Baden-Württembergischen Genossenschaftsverband in 2008 mit und schied Ende 2018 altersbedingt aus. 2019/2020 war er Prüfungsdirektor des wohnungswirtschaftlichen Verbandes vbw in Stuttgart. Er ist seit 2004 Mitglied der Kommission für Qualitätskontrolle der Wirtschaftsprüferkammer. Seine private Leidenschaft gilt seit 40 Jahren dem Laufsport – er hat mittlerweile 100 Marathons erfolgreich absolviert.
“An bankon begeistert mich die einzigartige Verbindung von strategischer Kompetenz mit Umsetzungsstärke. Die Berater von bankon vereinen den Helikopterblick mit der Fähigkeit, im Maschinenraum der IT und der Regulatorik die Ärmel hochzukrempeln. bankon ist im besten Sinne ein nachhaltiger Berater.”
– Gerhard Schorr
Michael Rother
Gründer, Geschäftsführer und Gesellschafter
Michael Rother ist ein erfahrener, leidenschaftlicher Praktiker. Darum ist er bei Kundenprojekten als Wertevermittler und Impulsgeber präsent. Einer seiner wichtigsten Prinzipien ist Unabhängigkeit. Um diese dauerhaft zu sichern, werden alle Gesellschafteranteile von den Mitarbeitern gehalten.
“Die Erfahrungen als Führungskraft einer internationalen Geschäftsbank im In- und Ausland sowie als Projekt- und Competence-Center-Leiter bei einer renommierten deutschen Managementberatung, spiegelt auch das Geschäftsmodell von bankon wieder. Mit fachlichem und technischem Know-how und hoher Umsetzungskompetenz werden nachhaltige und messbare Mehrwerte geschaffen. Ein maßgeschneidertes, transparentes Vorgehen und höchste Ansprüche an Ergebnisqualität sind dabei unverzichtbar. Den Beweis für ein erfolgreiches Geschäftsmodell liefern seit Jahren ausnahmslos erfolgreiche Projekte, dauerhafte Partnerschaften mit Kunden und Mitarbeitern und nicht zuletzt eine permanent hohe Auftragslage.”
– Michael Rother
Helmut Gottschalk
Helmut Gottschalk war nach Ausbildung und Studium rund 35 Jahre Vorstand einer großen regionalen Volksbank in Baden-Württemberg. Aus dieser Funktion heraus hat er unter anderem im Aufsichtsrat der DZ-Bank, des Genossenschaftlichen Spitzeninstituts, 15 Jahre mitgewirkt und war 10 Jahre Vorsitzender des Gremiums. Im Anschluß an die aktive Vorstandstätigkeit war er Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrates der IBB, Internationales Bankhaus Bidensee AG bis 2021 und von 2021 bis 2023 Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats der Commerzbank AG. Herr Gottschalk bringt nun neben mehreren Mandaten in Stiftungen seine umfangreichen Erfahrungen im Finanzdienstleistungssektor auch in den Beirat von bankon ein.
Günther Distelrath
Herr Distelraths berufliche Entwicklung wurde nach seiner Ausbildung zum Industriekaufmann im Weiteren durch die Sparkassenorganisation geprägt. Bei der Sparkasse Essen legte er zunächst seine Prüfung zum Sparkassenkaufmann ab, bevor er den Sparkassenfachlehrgang sowie die Weiterbildung zum Diplom-Sparkassenbetriebswirt am Lehrinstitut in Bonn absolvierte. 1981 verschlug es den gebürtigen Gelsenkirchener dann nach Niedersachsen. 1981 bis 1985 war er Vorstandsmitglied und stellvertretender Vorstandsvorsitzender der Stadtsparkasse Barsinghausen. 1985 bis 2001 führte als Vorstandsvorsitzender die Sparkasse des Landkreises Goslar in Salzgitter-Bad. Von 2001 bis zu seinem beruflichen altersbedingten Ausscheiden zum 31.12.2017 war er Geschäftsführer des Niedersächsischen Sparkassen- und Giroverbandes. Von Oktober 2017 bis Saisonende 2022 war er Präsident des Niedersächsischen Fußballverbandes und von Juni 2018 bis 2021 darüber hinaus auch Präsident des Norddeutschen Fußballverbandes. Weiterhin war er bis März 2022 Vizepräsident und Vorstandsmitglied des DFB.
“Was mich an bankon begeistert, ist das Gespür der Berater, genau an den Punkten anzusetzen, die für eine erfolgreiche Umsetzung von Strategien notwendig sind. Ich habe die zielorientierte, aber dennoch pragmatische Vorgehensweise sowohl bei prozess- und betriebswirtschaftlichen als auch bei vertrieblichen Umsetzungsthemen erleben dürfen, z. B. bei der Performanceanalyse, die für Sparkassen ohne großen Aufwand realisiert werden kann. Nicht nur das Aufsetzen neuer Strategien, sondern Beratung zur erfolgreichen Umsetzung, das ist die Stärke der erfahrenen bankon-Berater. Die Zufriedenheit vieler Vorstände mit diesem praxisorientierten Umsetzungsansatz hat mich darin bestärkt, gerne der Geschäftsführung im Beirat als Partner zur Verfügung zu stehen.”
– Günter Distelrath
Werner Netzel
Werner Netzel absolvierte nach der Ausbildung bei der Stadtsparkasse Köln und dem Besuch des Sparkassenfachlehrgangs das Lehrinstitut in Bonn. 1983 bis 1993 war er Vorstandsmitglied und stellvertretender Vorsitzender der Vereinigten Sparkassen Weissenburg. 1994 bis Januar 2000 führte Herr Netzel die Sparkasse Straubing-Bogen als Vorstandsvorsitzender. 2001 bis 2002 übernahm er die Leitung der IZB-Soft als Interimsmanager. Von 2002 bis Oktober 2006 bekleidete Herr Netzel beim Sparkassenverband Bayern das Amt des Vizepräsidenten. Seit dem 1. November 2006 war Werner Netzel geschäftsführendes Vorstandsmitglied beim Deutschen Sparkassen- und Giroverband, zuständig für Geschäftsbereiche Markt- und Personalstrategie. Dort schied er im Frühjahr 2013 altersbedingt aus.
“bankon unterscheidet sich durch seinen partnerschaftlichen Umgang mit Kunden und den ausgeprägten Linien bzw. Managementerfahrungen seiner Berater deutlich von vielen, mir bekannten, Beratungsunternehmen. Im Fokus steht stets zusammen mit dem Kunden die bestmögliche und ressourcenschonendste Lösung zu finden. bankon wird als absoluter Spezialist in der Umsetzung wahrgenommen. Ich freue mich, dieses hochmotivierte Team weiterhin mit Rat und Erfahrung unterstützen zu können.”
– Werner Netzel