Shaping what matters through purposeful leadership

Why BDO felt like the right place and still does

What first drew me to BDO was the company’s clear focus on people — in a business where relationships and talent truly matter, working in People & Culture felt especially meaningful. I appreciated the chance to make a real difference rather than just blend into a large organization. And I liked BDO’s integrated service offering and strong local-to-global network, which allows us to design people solutions that are both globally informed and locally relevant.

What has kept me here is that my aspirations proved to be right. The environment at BDO Germany is dynamic and supportive, and I’ve found fantastic colleagues across the People & Culture team, the Executive Management Team and our global network. Above all, it’s the everyday opportunity to take ownership, to grow the business and to help shape a workplace where people thrive that makes me proud to be at BDO.


"Dr. Markus Richert, BDO Germany

Shaping what truly matters together

To me, “We shape what matters” is fundamentally about people, purpose and collaboration.

  • “We”: It’s the team. At BDO we don’t celebrate lone fighters — we achieve more, and enjoy it more, when colleagues bring different perspectives and support one another. True impact comes from working together.
  • “Shape”: It’s ownership and agency. I love what I do, and I want to make a meaningful mark. BDO invites me to take responsibility, to turn ideas into action and to see tangible results.
  • “What matters”: It’s relevance beyond the immediate task. With audit & assurance at our core, we build trust in the economy. That’s very valuable for our clients, for BDO and ultimately also for our society as well.


Growing through challenges, community, and opportunity

I learn most from other people, e.g. through direct interactions and projects with many capable colleagues. The combination of meaningful work, current (internal) client situations and ready access to internal experts, locally and internationally, means I’m constantly challenged, given feedback and supported to become a better version of myself. I can share ideas, test them with my team and contribute to tangible results. Not everything always goes easy and smoothly, but through the challenges I learn the most.

My personal learning highlight was the global BDO Global Executive Leadership Program at the Harvard Business School. Looking back, it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience with amazing facilitators and inspiring BDO colleagues from around the world that deeply shaped my leadership perspective.

Dr. Markus Richert, Chief People Officer, BDO Germany
Looking Ahead: Thinking Beyond the Now

Thinking beyond for me means planning with a clear future state in mind and then creating a bold path to make it happen. A concrete example is our BDO People & Culture Roadmap in Germany: we set a shared target state for the next five years and designed projects to deliver that vision. To do this we had to anticipate the most impactful value drivers for our internal clients — from rapid technological shifts to the evolution of BDO’s services and changing talent imperatives. That required bold choices and a willingness to look past immediate tasks to long term outcomes.

Practically, this means testing ideas against different future scenarios, and iterating fast — we’re already in the second iteration of our People & Culture Roadmap after getting a lot of positive feedback for our coordinated efforts. Crucially, our diverse team — different working styles, mindsets and expertise — helps us challenge assumptions and view problems from many angles. It isn’t always easy, but for me it’s exactly this collaborative curiosity that makes forward thinking tangible and effective.


Looking to join Markus in our German firm? Check out BDO Germany's latest opportunities.