The economy is currently facing major challenges. Achieving greenhouse gas neutrality alone is an extremely complex task. It is time to break new ground not only in the energy sector, but also in the infrastructure sector and ultimately in every aspect of the value chain. In some cases, it will be necessary to reinvent oneself in order to become carbon neutral in about two decades. With over 700 employees, the BBH group has been assisting its more than 7,000 clients on this journey. As of 1 January 2025, the group is expanding its management team to continue to be well positioned to help its clients meet these challenges.
In addition to a total of six new partners specialising in a wide range of practice areas, eleven colleagues have been promoted to partner counsel:
- Carina Bönisch, CVA (EACVA e.V.), M.Sc. Finance,
- Lawyer Kathleen Philipp,
- Lawyer Johanna Riggert,
- Lawyer Rosalie Wilde,
- Lawyer Nikolas Barfknecht,
- Dipl.-Ing. Felix Hoppe,
- Lawyer Moussah Köster,
- Felix Sander, MBA, M.Sc.,
- Hannes Sauter, M.Sc.,
- Lawyer Niklas Schwalge and
- Tax advisor Johannes Trabert.
In addition, a further four colleagues were promoted to expert counsel:
- Dr. Karina Appelmann, Dipl.-Kffr.,
- Consultant Daniel Gutsche,
- Dr. Lars Krüger, Dipl.-Wirt.-Inform. and
- Victor Stocker, LL.M.
The 15 colleagues that were appointed to partner counsel or expert counsel will be strengthening the group’s following practice areas:
Valuation
Carina Bönisch, CVA (EACVA e.V.), who holds an M.Sc. in finance, has been a member of the corporate finance team at BBH in Munich since 2019. She focuses on valuations (of companies, energy supply grids etc.) and advises on M&A and due diligence procedures.
Energy
Dr. Karina Appelmann, who holds a degree in business studies (Diplom-Kauffrau) has been a consultant with BBH Consulting AG in Munich since 2017, advising energy supply companies on strategy, organisation and process issues, in particular on the rollout of smart meters.
Lawyer Kathleen Philipp, who has been with BBH in Berlin since 2019, focuses her practice on matters relating to the regulation of grid charges and incentive regulation with a particular emphasis on complaint procedures relating to the determination of revenue caps and general rulings of the Federal Network Agency. She also specialises in energy and administrative law.
Lawyer Johanna Riggert advises on energy law with a focus on the heating sector. She has been with BBH in Berlin since 2016 and advises primarily on the funding and financing of transformation projects as well as all legal issues relating to heating networks, decentralised energy supply and energy efficiency.
Lawyer Rosalie Wilde has been working at BBH Berlin since 2021. She focuses on energy law matters relating to grid connection and special grid usage scenarios. In addition, she advises on the construction and operation of decentralised power line infrastructures. She also represents her clients in court in matters relating to these areas and contractual issues.
Felix Hoppe, who holds a degree in energy and process engineering (Dipl.-Ing.) and has been a consultant with BBHC in Berlin since 2014, provides technical and business consulting to energy supply companies, power plant operators, municipalities and industrial companies.
Lawyer Moussah Köster, who has been with BBH in Berlin since 2018, advises primarily industrial and commercial enterprises on energy-related matters. He specialises in relief schemes for energy-intensive companies. His main areas of practice include energy law, litigation, contract drafting and State aid law.
Felix Sander, who holds an MBA and an M.Sc., assists grid operators in the operational implementation of the market area conversion from low-calorific to high-calorific gas in terms of project management. Furthermore, he works together with municipal utilities to develop sales processes specifically designed for the market area conversion from low-calorific to high-calorific gas.
Hannes Sauter, who holds an M.Sc. and has been with BBH in Munich since 2016, specialises in strategy, organisational and process consulting for energy supply companies with a focus on matters in the context of sec. 14a Energy Industry Act (EnWG) and Redispatch 2.0.
Lawyer Niklas Schwalge has been with BBH in Cologne since 2015 and focuses on matters of decentralised generation and energy cost savings (in particular: self-supply within the meaning of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) and the special equalisation scheme) as well as the regulatory classification of energy infrastructures.
IT, Software
Daniel Gutsche, who has been with BBH in Berlin since 2018, has extensive experience advising clients in regard to planning, managing and carrying out software implementation, software integration and software migration projects.
Dr. Lars Krüger, who holds a degree in business information technology and has also been with BBH in Berlin since 2018, provides advice to companies of the energy industry on technological, process-related and organisational matters. He currently focuses on the development and implementation of market communication processes as well as smart metering processes in (cloud) solutions for the energy industry.
Organisational and process consulting
Since 2012, Victor Stocker (LL.M.), who is an expert for corporate structures in line with compliance requirements, has been assisting critical infrastructure companies and operators of critical infrastructures with the implementation of the relevant legislation concerning security requirements and the development of information security management systems (ISMS) at BBH in Munich.
Auditing
Tax advisor Johannes Trabert has been with BBH in Erfurt since 2017. His key areas of practice include audits of annual and consolidated financial statements of companies in the energy industry and other sectors as well as special audits and business consultancy services. In addition, he focuses on IT process audits and the assessment of risk management systems.
Procurement law
Lawyer Nikolas Barfknecht, an expert in contract and procurement law, has been advising public contracting authorities and sector contracting entities on the implementation of energy infrastructure projects at BBH in Berlin since 2019.
With more than 700 employees, 7,000 clients and 7 offices, the BBH group is a leading provider of advisory services to energy and infrastructure companies and their customers. Energy and supply companies, particularly public utilities, municipalities and local authorities, industrial companies and international groups are among its core clients. The BBH group assists these and many other companies and organisations with legal, business and strategic advice.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Ines Zenke
Rechtsanwältin/Lawyer, Partner
Phone +49 (0)30 611 28 40 - 179
ines.zenke@bbh-online.de
Visit the BBH group online at http://www.die-bbh-gruppe.de/en, www.bbh-blog.de, twitter.com/BBH_online or instagram.com/die_bbh_gruppe.