We are happy share that Niklas Schirra has been appointed Delivery Team Leader in Germany as of 1 January 2026.
Niklas, who joined MU in 2025 as a Delivery Lead, has a background in the recruiting industry from international boutiques and is a specialist in Financial Services. Having held a 360-degree consultant role in the past, he understands what it means to be successful in both sales and delivery, making him a well-rounded addition to our delivery leadership team.
I have been impressed with Niklas’ contribution and commitment to delivering a high level of delivery quality and look forward to our collaboration.
Now, let's hear from Niklas.
I am grateful for the trust placed in me and look forward to the new challenges as well as the opportunity to contribute to the development of the Delivery Community at MU. Success in Executive Search is always a team effort. Therefore, I am even more thankful to be able to take this next step together with a strong team.
When I first learned about MU, what caught my attention wasn’t just the reputation or the international reach, it was the people. During my first interviews, I spoke with colleagues who hadn’t spent their entire careers in executive search but had worked directly in the industries and roles we recruit for today. That hands-on experience shapes how they approach clients, candidates as well as each other, and it’s a major reason why they’re successful in my opinion.
Another reason I was drawn to MU is the way we do things differently. Instead of relying on off-the-shelf tools, we’ve developed and continuously refined our own assessment methodology over the last decades. Every client project is tailor-made and designed to truly reflect the client’s context and leadership needs rather than ticking generic boxes.
Beyond that, I really appreciate the range of services we can offer our clients, from Executive and Professional Recruitment to Leadership Assessment, Advisory or Coaching. Our integrated solutions with certified coaches ensure continuity and measurable impact far beyond the initial placement.
For me, that combination, people with genuine industry experience and a company with a variety of standalone and complementary services, constantly redefining itself to stay ahead of the curve and to integrate the latest scientific approaches into its work, is what makes MU unique to me.
Looking back, one of the highlights of my career was building my first own clients from scratch in a 360° role before joining MU. I wasn’t calling on the “usual suspects”, the big, shiny brand names everyone knows, but on smaller and mid-sized companies that most people in the office had never heard of. One of them was a mid-sized bank in Frankfurt, just a short walk from our office, that no one internally even knew existed. Turning that into a long-term client, with repeat business and direct access to decision-makers instead of a generic HR inbox, was a defining moment for me. It showed me how much trust you can build when clients feel you genuinely care about them and their challenges instead of the brand reputation.
At MU, a second highlight has been experiencing how quickly the company entrusts people with real responsibility when they show commitment and ownership. About a year after joining, I was given the opportunity to step into a leadership position and having the chance to be a part of shaping how we deliver on our projects as a team. What I appreciate most is that development here is not a single, predefined career ladder. It feels more like a road with many possible stops, you can move forward, change direction or decide to stay and build something bigger at one station you truly enjoy.
For me, that combination of earning client trust and having the freedom to shape my path is what makes my journey so far both rich in variety and very enjoyable and why I’m excited about what comes next.
At the moment, one of the most exciting things I am working on is turning a first-time MU client into a long-term partner. Last year, my colleague Alexander Mora and I supported a mid-sized PE firm and one of their portfolio companies in Germany with an executive search project. It wasn’t a globally famous name, but a highly reputable player in its niche, exactly the kind of client where a tailored approach really matters. The challenge was to find someone with M&A experience who could operate strategically with the PE investors while also being close enough to the business to drive concrete value creation.
Our solution combined MU’s structured assessment approach with very close alignment to both the investor and the portfolio company. Because Alex had worked for many years in the industry before moving into executive search, we were able to challenge and refine the brief in a very practical way. The result was a successful placement that not only met the original expectations but led the client to re-engage us for a second role less than six months later and to recommend us internally for searches at other portfolio companies of the PE outside of Germany (coincidentally we’re having an office there as well).
What makes this especially rewarding for me is seeing how our international reach and local expertise come together. Being able to connect with colleagues in the relevant industry, tap into their market knowledge and present ourselves as one global team is exactly what turns a single search into a growing trust-based relationship.
Are you curious about a global career at MU, where you can make a genuine impact on your clients, grow alongside exceptional colleagues, and work in a dynamic, supportive culture? Read more at our a career at MU page and reach out to Robin Karlestedt, Global Talent Aquisition, to learn more!