Entrepreneur creates one of the most successful consulting companies of the last 25 years
Heidelberg, January 4th, 2022 – cbs Corporate Business Solutions is entering 2022 with a new management team. After 26 years at the management consultancy for world market leaders, CEO and company founder Harald Sulovsky handed over the reins to his successors at the turn of the year. His successor as CEO will be Rainer Wittwen – Holger Scheel and Stefan Risse complete the new cbs management team. Sulovsky’s exit was carefully planned and had been in preparation for a long time. The reasons are purely private. Sulovsky wants to dedicate more time to his family.
As a great entrepreneurial personality, Sulovsky has created one of the most successful consulting firms of the last 25 years. The former start-up cbs, founded with two SAP consultants, has long since become a global player with 20 offices worldwide and 850 employees. Today, cbs is at home on all continents and again recorded sales growth in the clear double-digit percentage range in 2021. The 56-year-old is handing over a flourishing, fast-growing company with excellent prospects for the future.
Designing business processes of industrial companies based on modern information technology was Harald Sulovsky’s passion from an early age. In 1989, he graduated with a degree in industrial engineering from the Technical University of Karlsruhe. At SAP AG, which was still a small company at the time, Sulovsky quickly took on responsibility as a program manager for large projects at global corporations. In 1995, he founded cbs together with his SAP colleague Tarek Kramer, and quickly gained his first well-known customers, such as Siemens and Nokia. And word of these positive references spread throughout the market, attracting more big names. cbs became a hidden champion, a specialist for business transformations, harmonizations, globalization projects and holistically optimized business processes with SAP at their core.
Founder Harald Sulovsky (right) is given a ceremonial farewell by cbs managing directors Rainer Wittwen (left) and Holger Scheel. Photo: cbs.
In the years that followed, the consulting firm grew continuously and steadily. cbs became the market leader for enterprise-wide business process solutions in the manufacturing industry. Sulovsky recognized early on what his customers really needed and consistently aligned his strategy for his company and his actions accordingly. As an entrepreneur who was a consultant with heart and soul, he brought his understanding to the orientation of his company cbs. The goal: business process optimization with the help of SAP software tools not only conceptualized, but created and implemented in real terms, with a holistic consulting approach, on an international level, for the entire customer organization worldwide. In other words, “Corporate Business Solutions,” as the company cbs is still called today. Sulovsky, who excelled as a networker and always acted with a clear compass, managed to find the right companions and to inspire them with his entrepreneurial spirit.
Corporate culture promotes entrepreneurial thinking
“Harald Sulovsky is not only a far-sighted and clever entrepreneur who has an excellent feel for the market, he also has the ability to sustainably inspire others for his plans – and that was certainly one of the keys to success,” explains cbs Managing Director Holger Scheel.
Following the global market leaders among its customers, Sulovsky implemented a strong corporate concept. Success factors and central values: long-term strategic focus on a defined target market, absolute performance orientation, high innovative strength and professional excellence. In addition, there is a strong corporate culture that promotes entrepreneurial thinking, open communication and trust in individual creative power. Today, cbs has an exceptionally broad and stable customer base, a high reputation in the SAP community, and enjoys great trust in the international manufacturing industry.
At the peak of his career, Sulovsky has now handed over the baton. “The step is not easy for me, of course, because cbs is on a very good path and we have found many good comrades-in-arms. It has been an exciting quarter of a century with many highlights, but now as a private citizen I would like to devote more time to my family,” explains Sulovsky. “Of course, as the founder, I will always remain closely connected with the company cbs and follow its further path closely. It is nice to see that cbs will continue in my spirit. My heart remains in it, I am cheering along from afar and wish my successors the greatest possible success,” adds the 56-year-old.
The change has no impact on the corporate vision
“We all thank Harald Sulovsky for his life’s work, he has done great things. He hands over a strong, global company with a clear strategic course, a unique portfolio and exceptional performance. We developed the corporate vision 2025 together; it is our mission. The change at the top has no impact on this. Our customers can rest assured that cbs will continue in Harald Sulovsky’s spirit. It is an honor for us and we are looking forward to developing cbs further in this continuity,” emphasizes Managing Director Rainer Wittwen, who succeeds Sulovsky as CEO. Wittwen, who holds a degree in business administration, has been with cbs since 1998. Holger Scheel and Stefan Risse complete the cbs management team.