Interpath in DACH is delighted to have been named “Consultant of the Year” at the annual TOP CONSULTANT awards, which were held as part of the annual German SME Summit in Heidelberg on 26 June 2026.
The international financial advisory firm, which has six offices across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, took first place in Category C (more than 50 employees). Representatives from Interpath were awarded the prize by former Federal Minister, Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg.
Interpath supports companies, investors, and lenders in the provision of transactions and restructuring service. In January 2025, the firm acquired the procurement and supply chain specialist Kerkhoff, expanding its geographic footprint across DACH. Following the integration, the firm provides a seamless service to its clients, analysing financing, transaction, or restructuring information alongside procurement data, production processes, and supplier structures. Earlier this year, the private equity investor Bridgepoint acquired a majority stake in Interpath.
A total of 132 consulting firms, divided by size into three categories, took part in the analysis conducted by the Scientific Society for Management and Consulting (WGMB). Ninety-eight companies were successful and may now carry the TOP CONSULTANT seal. At the heart of the competition, which targets SME-focused consultancies, is a scientific customer survey. Interpath named medium-sized reference clients in advance, who then provided the WGMB with information on how satisfied they were with Interpath’s consulting services and whether they would recommend the firm to others.
A core part of Interpath’s consulting philosophy is the willingness to address uncomfortable truths when necessary, such as when a client begins a mandate with a preconceived opinion. “The obvious step is not always the right one, and a standard solution even less so,” explains Julia Schreitl, who serves as Managing Director for the Austrian office. “What clients value in working with us is how we engage with their specific situation,” she adds.
For Interpath, a mandate is not complete with the submission of the final report; instead, it is only finished when the solution is proven to have worked. What has been developed together must hold true at least six months later. In reality, many projects can lose momentum because implementation is underestimated, internal resistance is not sufficiently considered, or the solution is too far removed from the client’s operational day-to-day reality. Interpath’s teams address this early in the consulting process by clarifying who supports key decisions, and who will later work with them. This approach drives sustained success and often leads to a steady flow of new mandates through direct recommendations to Interpath.
Prof. Dr. Dietmar Fink, Professor of Management Consulting at Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, and Dr. Bianka Knoblach lead the WGMB. They determine who receives the TOP CONSULTANT seal and emphasise how important interpersonal skills are for successful SME consulting:
“A consultant for medium-sized companies needs not only technical expertise but also a very fine sense for entrepreneurship and the unique culture of SMEs,” says Dr. Bianka Knoblach. Professor Fink adds, “A firm must understand that this is not about optimising an anonymous organisation, but an established mix of responsibility, emotion, tradition, and personal risk.”
