Restructuring · Transformation · Interim Leadership

More than 20 mandates.
Every single one
successfully concluded.

One executive. Personal accountability. Full management authority. A leader who steps into the role, does what needs to be done, and leaves when the result is secured and the organisation stands on its own.

DACH · Nordics · Europe  ·  20+ mandates — 100% success rate  ·  Always personally led

Start a confidential conversation See the mandates
Jörg Weidenfeld — Lighthouse Advisors AG
20+Mandates — all successful
30Years operating experience
CEOCRO · CTO — personally in the role
OwnCapital invested — personal accountability
What Lighthouse Advisors does

Operational leadership when it matters — personally delivered, not delegated.

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Interim CEO & CRO

Jörg Weidenfeld takes on the management role directly — with full authority to lead, decide, and be accountable for the outcome. Available as interim CEO, CRO, or Chief Transformation Officer. He remains until the result is delivered and a successor is firmly established.

Also available as the operating arm alongside your advisory firm — for firms that develop the strategy but prefer not to take the management mandate.
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Advisory Board & Supervisory Board

Independent board membership for companies navigating growth, succession, or transformation. Brings the perspective of someone who has led from the inside — operational depth combined with strategic distance. Available as Beirat member or Aufsichtsrat.

Particularly valuable in PE-backed or family-owned companies where the board needs a voice with genuine turnaround experience.
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Personal CEO Advisory

One-on-one advisory for CEOs and senior executives navigating critical decisions, major transformations, or personal turning points. Completely confidential. No framework, no programme — built entirely around what you actually need.

The questions that matter most are the ones you cannot take to your board or your team. This is the space for those.

Working alongside advisory firms: Lighthouse Advisors actively partners with strategy consultancies and restructuring advisors who develop the concept but prefer not to take on the management mandate themselves. We provide the operational leadership — taking on the Geschäftsführer or CRO role — while you retain the advisory relationship. A combination that delivers better outcomes for everyone, and above all for the company.

Who works with Lighthouse Advisors

Private equity investors & lenders

Your portfolio company requires more than analysis — it needs someone who can take the helm immediately. A leader with the authority to act, the credibility to align management and lenders, and the track record to give everyone confidence that the situation will be resolved.

You know what happens when three months pass without decisive leadership. You are not prepared to find out again.

  • Management has lost the confidence of lenders, board, or both
  • Performance is deteriorating and the current plan is not credible
  • A transaction or refinancing requires operational stability as a prerequisite

Owner-managed companies & family shareholders

You have built or inherited a company that now faces a challenge beyond what internal resources can resolve. You want someone who understands what the business means — not just what the numbers say — and who has the experience to navigate a difficult situation without losing what makes the company worth saving.

Direct, discreet, and with no agenda beyond a good outcome for the company.

  • The bank relationship has moved to a critical stage
  • A leadership gap has opened at a decisive moment
  • Transformation is needed but internal capacity is not sufficient
How a mandate works
01

Confidential first conversation

You speak directly with Jörg Weidenfeld — no intake form, no junior pre-call. The conversation is completely off the record. No names in the market, no commitment. The goal is a clear and honest mutual understanding of the situation.

02

Focused situation assessment

If there is a fit, a concise structured assessment follows: financial position, organisation, key stakeholders, timeline. Completed in days. You receive a direct diagnosis and a clear mandate proposal — no ambiguity about the objective or what success looks like.

03

Mandate with full accountability

Jörg takes the role — CEO, CRO, or transformation officer — with the authority and the obligation to deliver. He stays until the company is stable, the result is documented, and a capable successor is in place.

"Most situations become clearer faster than people expect — once someone is in the room who is willing to name what everyone already knows. That is always the first step."

Selected mandates

Every mandate listed here was brought to a successful conclusion. In more than twenty engagements, across industries and geographies, not a single assignment has ended without a measurable, documented positive outcome.

CEO · Consumer goods · DACH

Heritage consumer brand — over a century in operation

Debt reduced by 80%  ·  EBITDA from breakeven to double digit

Full financial and operational restructuring. New capital secured, debt substantially reduced. The leadership team put in place during this mandate still runs the company.

Transformation Officer · Automotive · Europe

European division — global market leader in passive safety

EBIT swing of 8 percentage points  ·  USD 240M performance uplift

27,000 employees. Profitability programme and leadership capability build delivered in parallel — both on time, both measurable.

Managing Director · Packaging · PE-backed

Premium packaging group — €300M revenue

EBITDA improved by €30M  ·  Leverage reduced from 10× to below 2×

Without fresh capital or external consultants. The organisation had the capacity — it needed leadership that could unlock it under pressure.

CEO · Lighting industry · Nordics · PE-backed

European market leader — four-country operation

Full restructuring across four European markets

Profitability restored country by country. Leverage reduced, new financing secured. Leadership structure built to be independent of the mandate.

Entrepreneur · Own capital · Industrial

Industrial refrigeration business

Negative equity on entry — profitable exit

Acquired with personal capital. When the consequences are your own, every decision is sharper. That perspective informs every subsequent mandate.

Co-Founder · AI-powered · Built from zero

Savify AG — indirect procurement

€5B+ managed spend in year one

The instinct that turns a company around and the instinct that builds one from scratch are the same: see what others miss, act when others hesitate.

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20+ mandates every one concluded with a measurable positive outcome
What clients and colleagues say

"Transparent, fact-based, and decisive from the first day. What we valued most was the combination of operational focus and the integrity to tell us plainly what he saw — even when it was difficult to hear."

Head of Special Credits ManagementMajor Nordic investment bank

"Jörg analyses organisations and people with unusual precision — and then acts on what he sees. Not reports, not recommendations. He leads. Three years of working together and I watched that approach turn a company around."

Frank Hornung, Dr.  ·  CRO, CEO, CFOFormer client & transformation co-leader

"Under Jörg's leadership we not only turned the numbers — the energy and commitment across the team was exceptional throughout. He returned the company to success faster than any of us thought possible."

Frank Veldhoven  ·  Senior Business AdvisorFormer direct report

13 detailed recommendations on LinkedIn ↗

Lighthouse Academy

Leadership under pressure —
learned from those who have been through it.

Lighthouse Academy offers targeted development programmes for executives and leadership teams navigating transformation, restructuring, or significant organisational change. Built on more than 30 years of operational experience — not theory.

Formats range from intensive workshops to longer leadership journeys, delivered in-house or as open programmes. Language: German, English, or bilingual.

  • Leading through crisis — clarity, communication, and decision-making under pressure
  • Restructuring fundamentals for management teams — financial, operational, and human dimensions
  • Strategy workshops for boards and senior leadership in transformation situations
  • Executive coaching — individual development for CEOs and senior leaders at turning points

Who this is for

Management teams preparing for or navigating a restructuring. Boards and supervisory boards seeking a grounded perspective on transformation. Individual executives who want to develop their leadership in high-pressure environments.

All programmes are designed around the specific situation — not off-the-shelf.

First conversation to discuss a programme is always without commitment.

Begin a confidential conversation.

The first call is always off the record. No names in the market, no obligation. You speak directly with Jörg Weidenfeld — no intake process, no junior pre-screening.

If you prefer to write first: every message is read and answered personally.

jw@lighthouseadvisors.ag

Jörg Weidenfeld · Lighthouse Advisors AG · St. Gallen, Switzerland
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