As a team, we overcome every obstacle.

Matthias Wirth joined Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants at the turn of the millennium. In 2003, Manuel Konen and Arne Lorenzen appointed him as first additional Partner and Managing Director.

Following his apprenticeship in a Relais & Chateaux Hotel as a cook, Matthias was eager to gain additional experience in various other departments in the hotel business. He therefore continued on his career path first as Management Assistant at Steinberger Hotels & Resorts and afterwards as Human Resources Manager for Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts. During his studies in Economy, Matthias developed his taste for crunching the numbers, which helped him tremendously in becoming the undisputed expert in taking care of all finance related issues. But Matthias is also a people-Person, who highly appreciates the daily exchange with clients and applicants. And if there is one thing he cares more about than business, it is the weekly results of his favorite football team, FC Bayern München.

Fun fact: Family, football and skiing

Motto: Never give up! Always keep moving forward!

Ulrich Wilhelm joined Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants in 2004 and progressed into Managing Director and business partner in 2013.

Ulrich spearheaded the expansion of Konen & Lorenzen into Dubai and thereby venturing into the Middle Eastern market. Following his successful assignment in Dubai, he relocated to our Swiss office in 2009 and transferred to Düsseldorf, Germany with his family in 2013.

Prior to Ulrich’s professional journey with Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants, he was an avid traveller exploring different parts of the world. After his apprenticeships in culinary and restaurant management, Ulrich joined hotels part of the ‘Leading Hotels of the World’ group. Amongst others, he held various positions such as Food & Beverage Manager at the ‘The Orchards Hotel’ in Williamstown, MA, in the United States, and Director of Food & Beverage at the Kempinski Grand Hotel Europe in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Hospitality industry is his passion, and with Ulrich’s worldwide experience and extensive network, he is able to connect customers and applicants successfully. Even though Ulrich is no longer a globetrotter, he now enjoys travelling on holidays with his family.

Fun fact: Anything related to cuisine, good wine, good food and quality time with his family

Motto: Our heads are round, so that thoughts can change direction.

Antje-Katrin Scheller joined Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants in 2006 and supports our Team Executive & Rooms Division Europe.

Antje-Katrin is a specialist when it comes to Rooms Division. Before she came to Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants, she had already worked in the same field at the Four Seasons Hotels on Hawaii and The Ritz-Carlton in Wolfsburg. She finished her studies in Business Administration with a diploma in Tourism & Marketing. Today Antje-Katrin focuses on helping others with their career, for which she uses her own experiences. She is not only a reliable contact person for her clients and applicants, but she is also appreciated by her colleagues for her honesty and commitment.

Fun fact: Spending time with her children, travelling with family and friends, sewing, going out for dinner, working in the garden, skiing

Motto: per aspera ad astra

After completing her apprenticeship in hotel management Kirsten worked in Germany, Great Britain and Switzerland. She joined the Konen & Lorenzen family in August 2008 after visiting the hotel management school in Berlin. Since then she proofed her versatility and flexibility by fulfilling a variety of positions as Office Manager or Consultant for the teams Admin, Rooms and Executive. She is a passionate networker and likes to pair people, who otherwise possibly never met for successful cooperations.

Fun Fact: Family & Friends, travelling, culture and good food

Motto: Never catch to stop, never stop to begin. (Marcus Tullius Cicero)

Malu Lopez joined Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants in July 2015 straight from the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom with a Master of Science in Business and Management.

As Consultant, Malu supports our Team Executive & Rooms Division Europe. For clients, applicants and colleagues she is a competent and reliable contact person. In addition, she is fast, nimble and always “on the ball” – she puts all her energy into her job. After previous stays in Spain, Great Britain and the Netherlands, her next destinations will be Namibia and Tanzania. Fortunately for us, this will only be for her holidays, and on returning she will have lots of exciting stories to tell.

Fun fact: She loves rollercoasters.

Motto: Love it, leave it or change it.

Maresa von Eynern joined our Team Executive & Rooms Division Europe at Konen & Lorenzen as Consultant in November 2018.

After an apprenticeship in the hotel industry, Maresa completed a degree in business administration with a focus on Hospitality Management. She occupied various Sales & Marketing positions e.g. at Le Mériden Piccadilly London and worked her way up to Executive Assistant. She has been in charge of career fairs and various recruiting events at the YOURCAREERGROUP for over 8 years. When it comes to promoting our Hospitality industry to young graduates and managers, Maresa works hard and with enthusiasm to match companies with talents. She combines her good knowledge of the industry and her networking skills with charm and empathy.

Fun fact: My both sons, activities with family and friends, at last doing sports and seeing London again

Motto: Happiness is not about having little or no difficulties, it is about overcoming them victoriously and gloriously (Carl Hilty)

Vanessa Tönges joined the Konen & Lorenzen family in April 2019 to support our Team Executive & Rooms Division Europe as a Consultant / Assistant to Managing Director.

After graduating from high school, Vanessa moved to the other end of the world and lived in Australia for almost one year. She returned back to Germany to complete her apprenticeship in the hotel business at Lindner Hotels & Resorts, which sparked her passion for working with many different personalities in the hotel industry. After four years in various Sales positions with different Lindner Hotels, Vanessa left the company as Sales Manager and deputy head of department, to fulfill her lifelong dream, returning to Australia to improve her language skills. With fresh spirit and full of go, she is now back in Dusseldorf, supporting Konen & Lorenzen as a Consultant.

Fun Fact: Travelling (leaving the continent at least once a year), visiting restaurants, reading, amusement parks, sports, game nights

Motto: If you can dream it, you can do it. (Walt Disney)

Marco Willer joined the Konen & Lorenzen family in April 2024 and has been supporting our Executive & Rooms Division Europe team as a consultant since then.

Before Marco came to Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants, he had already been a hotel tenant in Poland for 7 years, hotel director for the “Privathotels Dr. Lohbeck” in Austria and as resident manager for the “Halbersbacher Hospitality Group” in the franchise model for Dorint. With his positive nature and open-minded nature, Marco and his dog Lex quickly integrated into the team. Today, Marco is particularly happy when he supports other careers through his own experiences. With new goals in life, Marco decided to work for us as a consultant in spring 2024.

Fun Fact: A dog’s nose is as unique as a humans fingerprint

Motto: Come. Sit and stay

Annabel has been part of the Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants team since April 2023.

After her apprenticeship, Annabel first worked in the service area before she moved to the reception. Her last station before Konen & Lorenzen was at 25hours Das Tour in Düsseldorf as Junior Groups Reservations Manager. So that she doesn’t turn her back on the hotel industry completely, she decided to take on the position of assistant to the management, so that she can continue to get a taste of hotel air from time to time.

Fun Fact: Travel, family, friends, baking and cooking

Motto: “It’s possible, if you believe.” The Mad Hatter, from Alice in Wonderland

Margaux Hansen has been supporting Konen & Lorenzen Recruiting Consultants in Düsseldorf as an executive assistant since August 2023. After graduating from school, Margaux worked for a trade fair agency for six months, where she worked at a wide variety of trade fairs in Germany and gained various impressions. Afterwards she started her apprenticeship at the Breidenbacher Hof in Düsseldorf. After completing her apprenticeship, she moved to the Front Office of the Breidenbacher Hof for one year. Margaux was looking for a change, but didn’t want to turn her back on the hotel business, so she decided to join us in the summer of 2023 as an executive assistant.

Fun Fact: Motorcycling, snowboarding, spending time with friends & family

Motto: „Don’t take what you can get. Fight for what you want.”

Our specialist in Sales & Marketing, has been in the Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants team since 2003. He became Partner in 2004 and Managing Director in 2013.

Hendrik has a great passion for travelling, and his favourite destination is the USA. Therefore, after finishing his apprenticeship in Hotel Management at the Grand Elysée Hotel in Hamburg, he first went to Florida. Then, after graduating with an M.A. (Magister Artium) in Applied Culture Sciences, he went to California to gain work experience. Subsequently, he started his career as a Recruitment Consultant in a number of renowned companies in Ludwigsburg and Düsseldorf.  Afterwards he returned to his hometown Hamburg to set up our office and his team. As a proper citizen of Hamburg, he is also a loyal fan of the football team Hamburger SV.

Fun fact: Travelling, friends and family

Motto: Don’t underestimate people, who make a step backwards. They might be preparing a run-up.

Norman Bloemberg joined Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants in Hamburg as Senior Consultant for our Team Commercial Europe in June 2008 and is Head of department since December 2016.

Norman is a likeable maverick and therefore our allround trouble-shooter in the Hamburg office. In addition to his daily search for the missing puzzle piece for his clients, he is a sought-after contact person for any issues concerning IT, as well as for any concerns, wishes and enquiries of any kind. His many years of experience help him to advise our applicants on their careers. After finishing his studies in Hotel Management, he worked for several hotels of the Marriott International Hotel Group in the area of Sales & Marketing, and recently as Director of Sales in Berlin.

Fun fact: Family and his motorbike

Motto: Be yourself!

Sabine Ahlbrecht supports Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants as Senior Consultant of our Team Commercial Europe in Hamburg. She joined the company in July 2003.

Sabine is one of the longest-standing employees at Konen & Lorenzen, and was significantly involved in the setting up of our office in Hamburg. For many years, she has brought clients and applicants together, and she still enjoys getting to know new people and being able to give them career advice based on her own experience. Prior to starting at Konen & Lorenzen, she had already been active in the area of recruitment and marketing. She gained her expertise through years of experience in the hotel business and her studies of Cultural Science with a major in Business Economics, Tourism & Marketing.

Fun fact: Having a relaxing time with family and friends.

Motto: Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. (Albert Einstein)

Henrik Lange supports our Team Commercial since August 2015.

Quite soon, it became obvious to all colleagues that he is a charming, open and hearty man from the North of Germany. A “bad mood” is something unknown to him. All these qualities made it possible for him to gain a firm foothold in Sales. On finishing his apprenticeship at Hotel Louis C. Jacob in Hamburg, and after an internship at Park Hyatt Washington D.C., he went to Zürich where he was responsible for the Event and Sales department of Park Hyatt Zürich. But his hometown Hamburg was calling, which is why he moved back there and strengthened the Cluster Sales Team of both Marriott International Hotels before he started at Konen & Lorenzen. He shares his passion for Hamburg and the football team Hamburger SV with some colleagues, but the title of the most passionate sports fanatic is his alone.

Fun fact: Football, family and travelling

Motto: Never judge a book by its cover.

Wilfried Stübchen started with Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants in October 2013 as Senior Consultant for our Team Dubai and supports now our Team Commercial Europe.

Prior joining Konen & Lorenzen, Wilfried was with Jumeirah Group for many years in Global Sales and on property based in Germany and the UAE. His association to the diversified Middle Eastern culture and multi-national community kindled his enthusiasm to work for our office in Dubai. Wilfried has in-depth expertise in the areas of Sales, Marketing, Revenue/Distribution and Rooms Division, and is in the possession of an extensive network of partners, which today are of great benefit to his applicants and clients.

Fun fact: Tennis and football

Motto: If you don’t try, you will never fly.

Britta Kirsch joined Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants in March 2022 and supports our Team Commercial as a Consultant.

Britta, who is a native of Northern Germany, has joined the Hamburg team and her open-mindedness and positive attitude enabled her to quickly integrate. She knew from an early age that she belonged in the hotel industry because of her cheerful character and lifelong wanderlust.

For her training as a hotel clerk, Britta decided to join the privately run 5* Sport- und Kurhotel “Sonnenalp” in the Oberallgäu, Germany. After a year as a receptionist at the 5* Hotel Grande Roche in Paarl/South Africa, her path led her back to the mountains to Kleinwalsertal/Austria. The opening of the “Travel Charme Ifen Hotel” was one of her most exciting and biggest professional challenges. Afterwards, Britta slowly headed north again with an almost 10-year stop in Frankfurt, where she worked as Front Office Manager at the Villa Kennedy, among other positions. With her assignment at Konen & Lorenzen, Britta has arrived in Hamburg with her family and is happy to breathe the Nordic air again.

Fun Fact: Family, Sports, travelling and reading

Motto: Don‘t dream your life, but live your dreams.

Lena Howe joined Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants in August 2023 and supports our commercial team as a Junior Consultant. With Lena, the Hamburg team has gained another northern light. She has quickly integrated into the team with her positive attitude and always good mood. Through her enthusiasm for traveling, Lena discovered her passion for the hospitality industry. It quickly became clear that she wanted to get an insight into the hospitality industry in a small lodge in Cape Town/South Africa before she decided to do a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management in Leeuwarden/The Netherlands. After that, she moved back to her hometown of Hamburg/Germany, where she worked in the human resources department at The Westin Hamburg for a couple of years before joining Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants.

Fun Fact: Friends, SUP, travelling

Motto: Take one step at a time and you will find your way.

Jens Körner joined Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants in spring 2015 after years of working in China, and has since then been supporting our Team F&B.

If you ask Jens which countries he likes the most, it is not without reason that he mainly names Asian countries. For almost 8 years, Jens lived in Shanghai, where he gained a lot of experience in the fields of Food & Beverage, Event Management and Catering at an Asian gastronomy company to which, among others, the Paulaner Bräuhaus Shanghai and KÄFER by The Binjiang One belong. You would think that even though he spent so many years in a world metropolis, moving to Düsseldorf would be enough of a contrast. But not for Jens. He could not wait to leave this busy city life behind and he found a house for himself and his family in the rural Lower Rhine region.

Fun fact: Spending quality time with his family and travelling to unspoilt places

Motto: Aphorisms cause reactions – sometimes it is just the shaking of heads.

Katharina is working for the Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants as Consultant part of our Team F&B. In 2007 she successfully completed her training in hotel management at the Lindner Congress Hotel in Düsseldorf and hereafter held positions such as barkeeper in Switzerland, F&B Trainee in Marburg, Restaurant Manager and F&B Assistant in Neuss. For three years she gained valuable experience as Human Resources officer for a warehouse logistics company in Mönchengladbach before returning back to her roots in November 2021 by joining Konen & Lorenzen.

Fun Fact:  There is a punshing ball in the Yoga room.

Motto: Breathe in. Breathe out.

Lena Scieszka joined Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants in August 2021 and supports the F&B team as a Consultant. She started her hospitality career in 2012 by joining the TRYP Dortmund Hotel as work and study program student.
After successfully completing her Bachelor in Business Administration in hotel and tourism management, she relocated from the Ruhr area to Rhineland. Prior to joining Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants Lena was working as reservation and guest service agent at the Sheraton Düsseldorf Airport Hotel.

Fun fact: good food, soccer, traveling

Motto: If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. (Henry Ford)

Saskia Alker has been supporting the F&B team as a Junior Consultant at Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants since October 2023.

Saskia started her career in the hotel industry in 2010 with an internship at the Gran Hotel Atlantis Bahía Real on the island of Fuerteventura. Back home, she successfully completed her training in hotel management at the Maritim Hotel Düsseldorf in 2014. Until 2019, she worked her way up to restaurant management in various restaurants in the beautiful Rhineland, had a stopover as an F&B assistant and rounded off her catering career in Düsseldorf in the staff area in event cateringgastronomy. For almost two years, Saskia gained experience in the office management of an industrial company in Neuss, until she returned to her catering roots in May 2022.

Fun Fact: Climb to the top and enjoy the view with good food and wine – or Düsseldorfer Altbier

Motto: We are not alone in the dark, our path will unfold as we move. – Paulo Coelho

As the child of gastronomic family, Victoria was born with a passion for gastronomy. It quickly became clear to her that after graduating from high school, her path should also lead to where many careers in gastronomy begin: She successfully completed her three-year apprenticeship as hotel specialist with an additional qualification in hotel management at the Hotel Traube Tonbach and then joined the service brigade of the excellent restaurant Schwarzwaldstube. From there, she moved abroad, where she first gained valuable experience at the reception of an internationally renowned castle hotel in Ireland and was able to deepen her practical knowledge of the English language. Then she brought her expertise to a renowned Michelin-starred restaurant in Antwerp and enjoyed the multilingual culture of Belgium.

With her broad wealth of experience in top gastronomy, Victoria offers valuable added value to the consultancy at Konen & Lorenzen, where she has been supporting the F&B Europe team since June 2022.

Fun Fact: Restaurants, wine & time with my dog.
Motto: Every day is a new chance to do what you love

Christoph Boll has been responsible for our Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants office in Switzerland since March 2016.

Having grown up in a family with a hospitality and catering background, it was only natural that Christoph choose to pursue his own career within the industry. After completing his apprenticeship as a chef, Christoph then gained extensive operational experience within some of the finest hotels and Michelin Star rated restaurants in Switzerland, Germany, UK and Monaco. These included prestigious addresses such as Mosimann’s and Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park in London, Restaurant Tantris in Munich and the Grandhotel Victoria-Jungfrau in Interlaken. Following this he completed his studies as “Eidg. diplomierter Hotelier (CH)” at hotel management school in Zurich. During this time he continued to gain further practical experience, working at the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich, and subsequently completed further training as “HR Fachmann mit eidg. Fachausweis (CH)” successfully. Christoph’s clients and applicants profit every day from his years of experience and his global network of contacts, which has been growing continuously since the beginning of his career.

Fun Fact: Sports, reading journals, listen to music.

Motto: Keep it simple.

Nora Bischof joined our Konen & Lorenzen Office in Switzerland in October 2017 as Recruiter/Team Assistant and is now supporting as Senior Consultant.

The moment Nora passed her commercial education, she noticed that she missed something in her daily business: The contact to other people.
Thus Nora started as receptionist at the Seehotel Pilatus where she got a promotion to Assistant Front Office Manager later on. Additionally, Nora completed her professional bachelor in tourism management in 2016 and to expand her knowledge in the field of Human Resources she absolved the education to become a HR specialist with federal certificate in autumn 2022.

Fun Fact: She likes sports, travelling, skiing and spending time with her loved ones.

Motto: If you want it, you will find a way. If not, you will find a reason.

Janina Zimmermann has joined Konen & Lorenzen’s Swiss office as our new Junior Consultant effective June 2022.

Following her successful conclusion of her hotel apprenticeship in Stuttgart, Janina was able to acquire valuable experience in different food and beverage departments within the Hospitality industry and gained valuable skills in various F&B positions. From the beginning, she was inspired by the variety of responsibilities and contact with colleagues and guests alike. In 2016, Janina started her Bachelor of Arts in Hotel-and Restaurant Management at Heilbronn University and successfully completed her studies in March 2020. Her time spent as an undergraduate also included a semester abroad in Kuala Lumpur where she gained numerous new experiences. After graduation, Janina joined the Food & Beverage Management team of the Park Hotel Vitznau at Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. Janina was motivated to join the Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants team by the opportunity to combine her practical and theoretical knowledge.

Fun Fact: Photography, enjoying culinary delights, long walks with her dog

Motto: You can’t change the wind, but you can set the sails differently.

Samira Bearth has joined Konen & Lorenzen’s office in Switzerland as our new Team Assistant since January 2024.

She successfully completed her training as a hotel communications specialist in summer 2021. Thanks to the 360-degree training programme, she was given the opportunity to learn and acquire the basic knowledge and work processes in the different departments of the hotel business. After completing her apprenticeship, she worked as a receptionist during the summer and winter seasons before moving to Austria for almost 2 years. In Graz, Samira was able to prove and improve her skills as a receptionist at the boutique hotel Aiola Living. Despite her fascination for the Austrian charm, Samira moved back home to be close to her family in December 2023. During her search for an entry position in the HR, she came across her current dear colleague Janina Zimmermann and is now actively involved in the Swiss team of Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants as a Team Assistant. Samira will also be attending further education to become an HR assistant from February 2024.

Motto: “Only those who know their destination can find their way there.”

Fun Fact: Enjoying my free time with friends and family, being outdoors discovering new things.

Sue Gan joined Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultant in 2022 based in Singapore.

Prior to joining the recruitment world, Sue had a colourful and energizing sales & marketing career in the hospitality industry across Asia. Never shying away from adventure, she explored outside of Singapore and took a big step leaving her comfort zone to accelerate her career in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok, Jakarta and Bali.

As a global citizen, Sue brings a wealth of local knowledge, professional experience, and valuable contacts across geographies and markets. She sees great potential in her colleagues and has had guided many colleagues in developing their career in the right direction. Sue will focus on senior level searches for Greater China, Indian Ocean and Middle East.

In her new role, Sue provides the best support to clients and candidates to help ensure a right match.

Fun Fact: She enjoys exploring new places, new restaurants and bars

Motto: Never a dull moment!

Jacqueline Pensyl joined Konen & Lorenzen Recruitment Consultants in June 2022 overseeing the Southeast Asia region.

As the Director- Southeast Asia, she specialises in senior-level searches for clients in the area of Sales & Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, Food & Beverage and Rooms Division. Jacqueline is passionate in finding diamonds in the rough and strives for precision to provide best fit candidates to her clients.

Jacqueline started her hospitality career with Sutera Harbour Resort in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. She also worked for Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and at the National Sales Office of Shangri-La’s Hotels and Resorts, Malaysia. Her portfolio also includes senior attachments with Holiday Inn Resort Penang, Melia Kuala Lumpur, most recently with Ibis Styles Kuala Lumpur Cheras, Silka Cheras Kuala Lumpur, YTL Hotels the Vistana (now known as AC Hotels) for Kuala Lumpur Titiwangsa and Penang Bukit Jambul and Hotel Istana Kuala Lumpur.

Her major work career spanned over 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry with significant focus on Sales and Marketing and a two year stint in Hotel operations. She also ventured into setting up her own Event Management company which ran for 8 years before returning to the Hotel Industry. Her overall strengths and passion for building relationships have proven essential in the success of her various career undertakings. She brings with her a wealth of experience and sound understanding of the hospitality industry with a passion to help others succeed in their careers.

Fun Fact : A quick de-stressing moment would be hanging out with my over 100 houseplants. When stressed, I need beach holidays and wine!

Motto : Time is Money

Sharala Nadarajah started at our Kuala Lumpur office as Administrative Assistant in October 2013 and works today as Business Administration Manager – Asia.

Prior to joining us and with a lifelong passion to serve people, she was a flight attendant at a well renowned airline in Malaysia. In 2006, Sharala graduated from the University of Malaysia with a BA of Arts in Media Studies (PR). Sharala is the heart of the office and she ensures administrative efficiency, consultant’s support as well as external communication with clients and candidates. Sharala is a dedicated, reliable and detailed oriented person. She has a wonderful disposition and treats everybody with utmost respect.

Fun Fact: She loves Indian classical dance and reading story books.

Motto: Live life to its fullest.