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A Note on Our Own Behalf

Through our mandates and our close collaboration with a wide range of senior decision‑makers, we gain deep insights into trends and underlying dynamics — particularly in leadership, corporate governance and the shifting relationship between corporate management and society. Beyond conducting dedicated studies, often in partnership with renowned institutions, we share our perspectives at key conferences and publish guest contributions in relevant media. These contributions are made available to you here.

Nomination Committees: Governance Instrument With Strategic Potential

In our piece for Der Aufsichtsrat, drawing on insights from our DAX 40 study, we show that although nomination committees are now firmly established, the depth of their mandate, the clarity of their remit and their actual steering power vary considerably, leaving much of their governance potential unused.

Below is an excerpt:

Staggered boards turn supervisory board appointments into a constant task and place nomination committees at the very center of corporate governance. An analysis of DAX 40 companies reveals that although nomination committees are now firmly established, the depth of their mandate, the clarity of their remit and their actual steering power vary considerably. Nowhere is this more evident than in chair succession planning and skills profiling, where vague mandates and a lack of professional rigor often leave much of their governance potential unused.

Nomination committees play a pivotal role in modern corporate governance. As Berger, Mattheus and Siepmann recently highlighted in this journal, a functional nomination committee is essential for ensuring that supervisory boards remain capable of acting. Staggered boards — often seen as a sign of innovative supervisory boards and increasingly common in practice — reinforce this point. This type of structure is more than an organizational detail since it turns the appointment and review of supervisory board members into an ongoing task. A strong nomination committee guides the development of skills profiles, ensures a suitable candidate pipeline and forms the foundation for stable succession planning.

TOMKOS HAS QUESTIONS CAPITAL Column 5

Will Your Board Survive AI?

Our current column in Capital explores this very question.
AI isn't just transforming business models, it is also challenging leadership itself, turning it into a real test for executives.

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Do you know the relativity theory of management? You can see it at work in today’s discussions on artificial intelligence, now viewed in boardrooms as a critical driver of competitiveness, investment appeal and future‑proofing entire organizations. Transform now or lose out. Hesitate and fall behind. It is therefore no surprise that the debate feels both diffuse and increasingly urgent.

Important as that perspective is, the AI debate is not fundamentally about technology or competitiveness. At its core, it is a test of leadership — specifically, leadership under asymmetric rates of change. And that makes it a challenge for executive teams in one of their most demanding disciplines.

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Is It Time to Rehabilitate Power?

Our current column in Capital explores this very question.
For years, power carried a toxic reputation. But in times of crisis, companies depend on clear decisions — and power can no longer remain a taboo.

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For decades, the corporate world has moved steadily toward decentralization, self‑organization and servant leadership. Experience has shown that complexity cannot simply be controlled from the top — power must be distributed intelligently. In politics, however, the opposite trend is emerging in many places: people are increasingly drawn to figures who promise to take charge, and these leaders, in turn, exploit the gradual erosion of trust in established institutions, displaying their power with growing boldness.

Management thinker Dirk Baecker once noted that this political trend reflects “a longing for simplicity that never existed.” Yet the question feels more relevant than ever: Is power now making its way back into companies as well? For a long time, power was precisely what organizations did not want to talk about openly. They wanted responsibility. They wanted room to shape and create. In particularly progressive cases, they wanted a purpose journey. But power? No, thank you — too toxic, too hierarchical, too much of yesterday.

“What’s Needed Now Is Strategic Judgment.”

In his conversation with Prof Dr Roderich C. Thümmel, Dr Thomas Tomkos notes that the pool of qualified supervisory board candidates is, in fact, sufficiently large — provided one looks beyond traditional search patterns. Conventional selection criteria, he argues, often create an artificial sense of scarcity. Forward‑looking boards therefore cast a wider net, seeking international profiles, transformation experience and career paths that may not yet be in the spotlight.
At the same time, the strategic significance of nomination committees is rising as they are evolving from mere electoral bodies to pivotal strategic hubs that actively shape succession planning, competency frameworks and key governance matters.

Below is an excerpt:

RT: Based on your experience, are there enough suitable candidates for supervisory board positions in turbulent times?
TT: Generally yes, though not always within the traditional candidate pool. Successful boards are increasingly opening up to international profiles, to candidates with transformation experience and to career paths that have so far been less visible. The perceived scarcity often stems less from the market itself and more from search criteria that are too narrow or too traditional.

RT: In your view, are nomination committees playing a greater role today?
TT: Absolutely. In volatile times, nomination committees increasingly become the supervisory board’s strategic pivot point. Experience shows that their impact grows significantly when they evolve from mere electoral bodies and take an active role in succession planning, defining competency profiles and addressing key governance issues.

Appointing Supervisory Boards in Volatile Times

14th Supervisory Board Summit
Duesseldorf, November 13, 2025

More information

Volatility refers to the increasing dynamism in terms of the scale and frequency of fluctuations in markets and operating conditions, a development that presents companies with significant challenges. It is driven by factors such as geopolitical uncertainty, technological disruption, regulatory change and economic instability.
For companies, this translates into shorter planning cycles, rising risks and a markedly greater pressure to decide quickly. To stay competitive, organizations need to operate with greater agility, manage risks proactively and speed up their decision‑making processes.

What is the impact of volatility, particularly on supervisory bodies and their composition?

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Does the Business World Need New Heroes? Yes, But Who Might They Be?

Our current column in Capital magazine explores this very question.
Enough with redundant rules, sustainability mandates and all the performative diversity — even top executives are entertaining chainsaw fantasies. It’s a reaction that deserves reflection rather than instant condemnation.

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Corporate leadership is experiencing a clear rollback. SAP has abandoned its diversity targets, which until recently influenced executive compensation. Mark Zuckerberg, once an advocate for freedom of expression and diversity, has removed protections against hate speech and is calling for more "masculine energy".

In my conversations with senior leaders, I increasingly hear that it is time to clear things out: in companies, in mindsets, and certainly in regulatory frameworks and public authorities. Enough with redundant rules, sustainability mandates and all the performative diversity! Even within certain executive and supervisory boards, chainsaw fantasies in the style of Musk and Milei are beginning to surface.

Applied Governance Circle

No More Excuses: German Supervisory Boards Must Be Held Responsible

How can we, as supervisory board members, better live up to our entrepreneurial duties?
We examined this question in depth within the Applied Governance Circle and subsequently issued an appeal to German supervisory boards.

Several members of our circle have also spoken with the Handelsblatt about these issues.

Below is the AGC’s open letter of February 28, 2025:
Download: 20250228 AGC Aufruf.pdf

We are an open group of 25 experienced supervisory board members committed to strengthening the role and impact of supervisory boards and thereby contributing to the long‑term competitiveness of Germany as a business location.

We firmly believe that supervisory boards are more than mere overseers.
In times like these, it is essential that we approach the necessary transformation with foresight — not merely accompanying change, but actively driving it.

In our appeal, we outline how this conviction can evolve into a new standard.

1. Supervisory boards must embrace a genuinely entrepreneurial mindset.
We need to recognise strategic opportunities at an early stage, offer forward‑looking guidance and both challenge and support the executive board in order to secure sustainable long‑term success.

Entrepreneurial responsibility goes beyond oversight, it is expressed through vision, courage, decisiveness and personal financial commitment.

2. Supervisory boards bear responsibility for fostering a performance‑oriented corporate culture.
This includes clear and ambitious corporate objectives, their consistent execution, performance‑based variable executive compensation and long‑term succession planning.

3. We must continuously and purposefully advance our own competence and renewal.
For it is our duty to engage with the executive board on equal footing and to provide an independent, constructive and critical contribution to overcoming the company’s present and future challenges.

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Do We Really Need a Purpose Or Can We Do Without It?

You don’t have to save the world just because you’re looking for purpose. It would be enough if everyone defined how they can contribute to their company’s success.

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A supervisory board member I know was recently puzzled by the fact that the CFO of a large company was looking for a new professional challenge. When the supervisory board member asked what he was looking for in his next role, the CFO offered up nearly every buzzword in today’s management vocabulary: sustainability, tech-savviness, diversity. But most importantly, the company needed to have "a true purpose", a higher mission worth dedicating oneself to.
I’ve heard these buzzwords more times than I can count — often with some surprise. Traditionally, CFOs care about their future employer’s capital‑market positioning, investor relations or strategies for driving enterprise value. Lately, though, those topics have fallen strangely silent. But is it really acceptable for the core business purpose to fade into the background, for executives to ask about purpose but not about what they can contribute to a company’s success? Because if that contribution no longer seems important, then what exactly is the purpose of a leader?

A slight but noticeable air of insincerity
Naturally, it is vital for people to feel that what they do has meaning. No one thrives or stays happy for long in a job they consider pointless. But how credible is it when a tech giant claims its mission is to make the world more transparent and to "democratize" information? Or when a manufacturer of industrial plastics insists that its purpose is to make the world a better place?
In an effort to impress the coveted Generation Z, companies have spent the past few years forcing a sometimes dubious layer of meaning onto every corporate philosophy and every utilitarian product — regardless whether it made any sense. But this kind of purpose is pointless; worse, it carries a subtle but lingering hint of insincerity. Purpose has to be genuine, coherent and understandable and it has to be lived. Without that, it’s worthless.

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Is It Acceptable for Managers to Speak Ill of Germany?

Many decision‑makers seem resigned, some even cynical. That is counterproductive for the development of our country.

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In our current column in CAPITAL magazine, I examine the question of the responsibilities society’s elites should bear.

Hidden Champions, Hidden Challenges: Appointing Supervisory and Advisory Boards to Germany’s Mittelstand

13th Supervisory Board Summit
Berlin, November 7, 2024

Small- and medium‑sized companies are remarkably successful and often hidden market leaders. Beyond strong niche positioning or unmatched technological expertise, they increasingly depend on the right support from their supervisory and advisory boards. This workshop explores how mittelstand companies can effectively compete with large corporations in attracting the most compelling candidates for supervisory board positions.

Handelsblatt article of September 19, 2024 about our launch

Handelsblatt covers our launch in its weekend edition of September 19, 2024.

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manager magazin of September 24, 2024

manager magazin reports on our launch in its issue of September 24, 2024.

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“I expect nothing, I fear nothing, I am free.”

This is perhaps the best known quote by Nikos Kazantzakis, the author of "Zorba the Greek".

To overcome fear and act with courage in order to gain new freedom — these ideas were central to the founding of tomkos.partners. Expectations, however, are not only allowed but welcome. What matters to us is living up to our clients’ aspirations and translating this freedom into the mandates entrusted to us. This is what our clients should be able to expect from us and this is also what we should expect from ourselves if we truly want to make a meaningful difference.

With twenty years of experience in board appointments and advisory work at the highest executive and supervisory levels, our commitment remains the same: to meet complex client needs with precision, discretion and unwavering dedication — everything for the board. Since September 1, 2024, we have been aiming to leverage the advantages of an agile boutique consultancy while also expanding our service portfolio through targeted partnerships.

We look forward to working with you.