Our leaders
Joachim Schroeder
Founder and Chairman
Pfaeffikon, Switzerland
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j.schroeder@rcg-ag.com
Linkedin
Joachim Schroeder is the Founder and Chairman of Research & Consulting Group (RCG). He founded the company in 2001 and has offices in Pfaeffikon and Duesseldorf.
Under his leadership, RCG has experienced strong global growth in all regions and practice areas, continuously reinventing the group.
Joachim is a recognized steel, metals & mining industry expert, strategy partner and regular speaker on the global metals and mining conferences. He is also a cooperation partner of the leading European universities and research institutes.
Since founding RCG in 2001, Joachim’s client work has focused on strategy, business transformation, industry 4.0 and digitalization, and leadership.
Prior to joining RCG, Joachim was a Partner at Westerhoff Partner Consulting. He received an MBA from University Cologne, Vancouver and Giessen and speaks fluently German and English.
Areas of expertise:
- Project experience in more than 70 companies in
– Asia (China, India)
– Americas (Brazil, Canada, USA)
– Europe (EU-28)
– CIS
– ME and Turkey - Various corporate strategy projects in international steel, metals & mining companies
- Development and realization of market entry strategies for long and flat products
- Leading Advisor in JV- and M&A-projects
- Successful managing of turn-around situations in various steel, metals & mining companies in CIS, Latin-and North America, Europe and India
- Industry 4.0 and digitalization projects in steel industry and distribution companies
Education:
- MBA, University Cologne, Vancouver and Giessen
Jens Barth
CEO
Duesseldorf, Germany
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Jens Barth is the CEO of Research & Consulting (Deutschland) GmbH. He is based in Duesseldorf and has served as CEO since 2015.
Under his leadership, RCG has continued its growth especially in the CIS region. Since joining RCG, Jens’ client work has focused on technology and manufacturing concepts, business development, sales, and project execution and controlling.
Previously, Jens was Executive Vice President at SMS Group and Member of the Managing Board at SMS Meer. He has worked in various executive positions in the SMS Group for more than 15 years.
Jens received a M.Sc. in Machine building and Electrotechnics from Technical University Stankin and speaks fluently German, English and Russian.
Areas of expertise:
- Technology and Operations
- Cooperate Culture
- Sales
- CRM and SAP Development and Implementation
- Production planning
- M & A
Education:
- Senior Executive Programme, London Business
School - M.Sc., Machine building and Electrotechnics,
Technical University Stankin
Peter Schwarze
Managing Partner
Singapore
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Peter Schwarze serves as Managing Partner at RCG Research & Consulting Asia. He has an office in Singapore and has worked as Managing Partner since 2017.
Prior to joining RCG, Peter was CEO at NCM Capital Management. He has more than 20 years of experience holding a variety of officer and CEO positions in the metals and mining industry as well as in the consulting business. Peter also worked, among others, as CEO Asia / Pacific at Schmolz + Bickenbach and in various leading positions at Klöckner organization, in several Group Country organizations all over Europe.
Peter received an MBA at Wilhelms-University Münster and speaks fluently German, English and Spanish.
Areas of expertise:
- Various product strategy projects, e.g. long-products for a leading international steel producer considering Europe, CIS, and the US
- Repositioning and expansion of the Schmolz + Bickenbach in the Asia / Pacific region by internal and external growth
- Evaluating and pursuing strategic partnerships in order to strengthen positions in selective markets
- Development and realization of market entry strategies regarding SBQ products in various countries
- Participation in > 15 M&A projects worldwide, recently successfully completed the sale of Laminoir de Landes (Plate reroller in France)
- Implementation of a strategic purchasing and global co-ordination of all purchasing activities groupwise (10 countries, 5 Mio. To, purchasing volume of > 4 billion €)
- Successful Managing of turn-around situations in various countries (e.g. Comercial de Laminados, Spain or Schmolz + Bickenbach in China)
- Development and Implementation of stock management system to reduce working capital and improve sales performance and margins by increasing the availability
Education:
- MBA, Wilhelms-University Münster
John Lichtenstein
Managing Partner
Global
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j.lichtenstein@rcg-ag.com Linkedin
John Lichtenstein serves as Managing Partner of Research & Consulting Group. He has joined RCG in 2018 and operates globally.
Prior to joining RCG, John was Managing Director (Partner) and Global Metals Practice Leader at Accenture. He has more than 25 years of experience as strategy consultant at Inland Steel, ADL, and Beddows & Co, and is a trusted business advisor to global metals and mining clients such as Vale, and Cliffs resources.
John is also a frequently invited speaker addressing strategic topics at major industry events such as American Iron and Steel Institute, Brazil Steel Association, and World Steel Association.
John has received an MBA from Yale School of Management and a B.A. in Philosophy from Yale University.
Areas of expertise:
- Corporate and business-level strategy
- Organization and leadership
- Restructuring and business transformation
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Post-merger integration
- Operational turn-arounds
- Continuous international experience including: Australia, China (2 years in country), EU, India, Japan, Korea, CIS, South America
Education:
- MBA, Yale School of Management, New Haven
- B.A., Philosophy, Yale University, New Haven
Richard Oppelt
Managing Partner
Global
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Richard Oppelt serves as Managing Partner of Research & Consulting Group. He joined RCG in 2019 and operates globally.
Prior to joining RCG, Richard was a Strategy Principal Director with Accenture within the Natural Resources practice. He has more than 40 years of experience in consulting and roles in industry such as business and production planning, division financial controller, sales and production operations.
As a consulting practice leader Richard has worked primarily in the areas of performance improvement and strategy development, and is a trusted business advisor to global metals and mining clients such as US Steel, ArcelorMittal North America, Tata Steel Europe, Outokumpu, Steel Dynamics and Rio Tinto. Moreover, he has made presentations to a variety of conferences including the World Steel Association and Steel Success Strategies.
Richard holds an MBA from Wharton and a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Cornell University.
Areas of expertise:
- Growth strategies
- Operations cost reduction
- Organization and leadership
- Business process focused administrative cost reduction
- Business turn-arounds
Education:
- MBA, The Wharton School, Philadelphia
- B.S., Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University