Preyer Founding Story

That meant saying goodbye to his safe job at Deutsche Bank and striking out on his own, but that was a price he was prepared to pay. He didn’t have a concrete product when he set up the company, but he believed passionately in his idea. And he was convinced that the challenge he had identified, combined with his skills, would serve as a business model.

At the end of the 1990s, trading desk and end-user department managers had very little experience and knowledge of IT. This led to repeated and serious misunderstandings that not only cost a lot of time, but sometimes even millions to fix. This problem – which still exists today – was exactly where Hans-Peter could build on his experience as a consultant, translating the needs of the financial sector into “tech speak,” and vice versa. And it’s reflected in our company’s claim – “connecting business with IT” – although nowadays the slogan can be interpreted more broadly and differently.

“We have always worked together as equals and trusted each other from the start, and still do so today.” – Hans-Peter Preyer

This trust is also behind our honest, transparent and open approach to each other, both internally and with customers and partners. These are the values that are needed for teamwork and cooperation. The company takes its role as an employer extremely seriously. This means taking on responsibility for all members of staff, something that Hans-Peter Preyer still does today. Our core values and the fact that we base our dealings with each other on them have made the company what it is today and are the reason for its success. This respect and our equality-based approach mean there are a lot of discussions, which naturally take a while. But it’s time well spent, since this is what leads to success in the end by ensuring everyone inputs to our solutions.

A focus on asset management

Early on, the company worked on a wide range of projects, but with time it developed a strategic focus, initially specializing in risk management for asset management. Demand in this area was massive and Preyer acquired a large number of interesting projects at financial intermediaries and banks of all sizes. As its workforce grew, the company was soon also able to provide consulting services for other areas of asset management. Today, there isn’t a link in the value chain for which we don’t have at least one specialist or expert on our team.  

Our strategic focus is also an area in which Julian Köster – who joined the company in 2009 and became its second managing director in 2017 – plays a major role. Together with Hans-Peter Preyer, Julian had the vision of strengthening and expanding Preyer’s role as a leading international management consultancy for the financial sector.

"In the future, I see Preyer as a leading and international management consultancy in the financial sector." – Julian Köster

For Julian, the company is and will remain the link between end-user departments and IT, building bridges that allow financial sector organizations to put their strategies into practice in the best way possible.