Thorsten Eger (PhD)

Thorsten Eger

Leadership certainty through growth and transformation

Interim and fractional Chief HR Officer / Chief People Officer (CPO) leadership, plus People & Culture advisory for growth, transformation and culture.

What I take on

Four types of mandates -
One standard of ownership

From full-time interim or ongoing fractional CHRO / CPO accountability to focused advisory work, every engagement is scoped to the decision your organisation needs next.

Interim & Fractional CHRO / CPO Leadership

Stepping in at CHRO / CPO or divisional head level, either full-time on an interim basis or fractional on an ongoing part-time mandate, to lead the People & Culture function through a vacancy, crisis, growth phase or strategic inflection point, with full line accountability from day one.

Transformation & Culture

Leadership of transformation, talent management, organisational development and culture programmes, through to adoption.

Start-up & Scale-up

Building the People & Culture foundation early, from first hires to organisational design, without a full-time executive seat.

Executive & Team Coaching

Coaching leaders and teams through forming periods and helping build high-performing teams and organisations.

How a mandate runs

Built for handover -
From week one

An interim mandate that never plans its own exit is not transformation; it is dependency.
Every engagement runs through four phases.

The shape of a mandate: not a straight line, and always designed to end.
01

Diagnose

A fast, honest read of the organisation: structure, talent, culture and the politics that determine whether change sticks.

02

Stabilise

Taking the seat, restoring trust and momentum in the function, and aligning the leadership team behind a shared plan.

03

Build

Leading the transformation and culture programme itself, with coaching for the team that will own it going forward.

04

Hand over

A deliberate transition to a permanent leader or internal team, with the function stronger than at the start.

About Thorsten Eger (PhD)

Two decades inside the function -
Before advising on it

Portrait of Thorsten Eger (PhD)
EducationPhD, Goethe University Frankfurt
LanguagesGerman (native), English (fluent)
Based inZug, Switzerland
TeachingAdjunct Lecturer, FHNW
AdvisoryBoards, founders & institutions
LinkedInthorsteneger

Thorsten Eger works as an independent interim and advisory People & Culture leader.

He has spent more than two decades in senior HR or People & Culture roles.

He has run People & Culture as a Centre-of-Expertise leader and as a generalist with P&L-level accountability, at local, regional, global & corporate levels, across start-ups, scale-ups, SMEs & blue-chip multinationals in IT, telecommunications, media, life sciences and trade fairs.

Companies include: Deutsche Telekom, Roche, Novartis and Johnson & Johnson across six countries: Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Russia, Canada and the UAE.

Career

2022+Founder - Thorsten Eger Consulting GmbH, Zug
2022+Associated Partner, Advisory - multiple boutique consulting firms
2021+Adjunct Lecturer - FHNW, International HRM and HR Leadership
2019-21Head of HR / Country CHRO Switzerland - Johnson & Johnson
2016-19Global Head (SVP) HR Biosimilars Business Unit - Sandoz - a Novartis company
2013-16VP HR Pharma & Country HR Head, Canada - Novartis
2010-13Head of Talent Mgmt, Organisational Development & Staffing Europe - Novartis
2009-10Global HR Business Partner - Roche
2007-09Senior Manager, Change Management - Deutsche Telekom
2006-07Head of Innovation - T-Mobile Deutschland
2000-06People Development Partner - T-Systems
About · Credentials & beyond

Tools, recognition and
a few personal notes

Certifications that support the work, alongside the commitments and habits that sit outside the mandate.

The long route: method and endurance, on & off the mandate.

Certifications

  • Certified Executive Coach and systemic Organisational Development practitioner
  • Certified for Hogan, MBTI, Korn Ferry LA/SP, Korn Ferry and Hays 360 Feedback and Human Synergistics OCI/LWS
  • Certified IDI Coach (Intercultural Development Inventory) and ICS (Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory)

Beyond the mandate

  • Strong DE&I advocate with external recognition (EDA nomination, D&I list in The Guardian)
  • Volunteer: Tandem 50+, the ETH female leadership programme and Lufthansa Cargo Human Care
  • Yoga and long-distance hiker
About · Advisory, interim mandates & board work

Alongside founders, boards and institutions

Alongside interim mandates, Thorsten takes a small number of advisory seats where People & Culture judgement sits with strategy.

One seat at the table, taken deliberately.
Oculis
Strategic P&C Advisor (CPO)

People & Culture judgement at the table where strategy is set.

Arcera
Interim Chief People & Communications Officer

Embedded interim leadership across people & communications.

Aiglon College
Member of the Aiglon College Association and Member of the Nomination Committee

Recommending nominations of future ordinary and honorary members of the Aiglon College Association.

About · Selected affiliations

Context that supports the work

Teaching, publishing and a small professional network sit beside the firm.

FHNW
Adjunct Lecturer

University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland. Teaching International HRM and HR Leadership.

allygatr
HR Tech advisor and ambassador

As HR Advisor and ambassador to allygatr, Europe's Future-of-Work venture builder, and its consortium members.

HR Today
Contributing Author

Regular commentary on the evolution of People & Culture, most recently on interim HR leadership, including why interim CHROs have become a strategic instrument, not an emergency fix.

Boutique consulting
Associated Partner & advisor

A selective advisory affiliation across multiple boutique consulting firms. Used where specialised search or network support strengthens a mandate.

Insights

Recent writing

HR Today · 2026 · German
Interim Leadership

From emergency fix to strategy -
Changing role of the interim CHRO

How interim management moved from crisis turnarounds to a deliberate strategic tool, and when interim leadership creates the most impact. (Built on a real case)

Read on HR Today (DE)

Presence

Terrain map of Switzerland with Zug (CH) as seat, Basel (CH) & Frankfurt am Main (D) marked
Zug (CH) · Seat Basel (CH) · Frankfurt am Main (D)
Get in touch

Tell me about the mandate ahead

Whether you need interim CHRO / CPO leadership at pace, ongoing fractional leadership, or senior advisory on a People & Culture decision, start with a short conversation.

Sent directly, or opens your email app as a fallback.
See Impressum & Datenschutz.

Company
Thorsten Eger Consulting GmbH
Address
Industriestrasse 24, CH-6300 Zug