Hans Gaertner is a graduate sociologist (Dipl. Soziologe) and a self-employed management consultant since 1994. His main fields of consultancy are organizational design, change management, and coaching. After graduating in sociology and psychology, Hans Gärtner began his professional career in 1979 as a junior consultant in an American research and consultancy company (Battelle), working in the human resources and technology field. His work there mainly involved industrial psychology projects examining human-machine communication and the design of initial and continuing training programs. Writing expertise on the application of industrial psychology research findings in companies familiarized him with a diversity of issues faced by companies and organizations. In 1985, Hans Gärtner joined a major German bank, where he discharged various functions as project manager in the fields of structural organization and human resource management. Before leaving, he held the position of head of personnel development and personnel planning. During his time there, the bank went through several restructuring phases in which Hans Gärtner gained hands-on experience as a line manager with change management processes. After five years, he moved to north Germany and joined a plant engineering company (working in shipbuilding, mechanical engineering and shipping). Initially responsible for personnel development, which he established and professionalized, later expanding it to all personnel management departments within the group, He left this position in 1994 to become a self-employed business consultant. Over the years, he became progressively specialized in change management processes and strategic consultancy. Long-standing customer relations provide the foundation for large-scale projects of major importance for driving company value (mergers & acquisitions, strategy development, and implementation, organizational design).Specialties: design & management, collaboration in virtual teams