WTS, a global full-service provider of tax, financial & deal advisory, is strengthening the group with the election of 22 new partners at the start of the financial year 2022/23. As well as some highly qualified new recruits, numerous top performers from within the company have also been elected to the partnership.
"We are opening the new financial year with a record-breaking number of 22 new partners being elected to the WTS Group partnership as of July 1, 2022. This is a record high and a strong demonstration of growth," comments Fritz Esterer, CEO of WTS.
Esterer adds: "Our new umbrella brand strategy coupled with our unique selling points, such as the deliberate decision not to provide auditing services, have made us even more attractive on the market. At the turn of the financial year, we are in the favourable position of being able to recruit numerous high calibre experts to our company. We have simultaneoulsy pushed ahead our organic growth and promoted junior staff from our three business divisions of Tax, Digital and Advisory to the partnership. We have invested a great deal of energy in our career programs in recent years. This is now paying off."
New recruits in tax structuring advisory
WTS welcomes Dr. Ernst-August Baldamus as a new partner in the Corporate Tax & International Tax division. The lawyer and tax advisor worked for 17 years at KPMG, where he managed the Tax division for the southern region between 2015 and 2018. He specialises in group tax law, international tax law and tax consultancy for family businesses. Baldamus began his career in 2002 at the Flick Gocke Schaumburg law firm.
He is also joined by Christian Schiessl from KPMG. The tax advisor joined the company's M&A Tax division in 2005. Schiessl has been specialised in international tax law since 2009. Most recently, he was Global Head of Tax for the Consumer & Retail segment at KPMG. One particular area of his expertise is advising family businesses and listed outbound companies. At WTS, he will handle international structuring advisory and issues such as Pillar Two. Schiessl is also experienced in providing tax advice on company transactions for corporates.
Expansion of the Transfer Pricing practice with Dr. Achim Roeder
Dr. Achim Roeder is joining the WTS Transfer Pricing division. He is one of the most well-known transfer pricing specialists in Germany. His advisory focus is on the valuation of intangible assets, intra-group restructurings and transfer pricing issues that arise during financial transactions. Roeder has an extensive track record in advising clients from the automotive and financial industries. He also provides intensive consultation during tax disputes.
Roeder previously spent nine years at KPMG and 14 years at Deloitte as a Transfer Pricing Partner in national and international management roles. At WTS he will be based at the Stuttgart office.
A new VAT partner for the Hanover office
The VAT practice led by WTS board member Jürgen Scholz is gaining a new partner, Markus Salzmann. The division has significantly expanded its presence on the market in recent years and won the JUVE Award of "Company of the Year for VAT" in 2022.
Salzmann will be based at the WTS office in Hanover. He advises national and international companies on classic VAT issues - from support during tax audits to the implementation of VAT Health Checks and VAT-related support during transactions. He also specialises in advising on the implementation of tax compliance management systems for VAT.
Salzmann has 18 years of professional experience in international consulting firms, of which 16 were spent at EY and 2 at KPMG. In his most recent role as Associate Partner at EY, he was responsible for building and leading a VAT team at the Hanover office starting in 2014.
Expansion of the WTS Advisory partnership
WTS Advisory is pleased to welcome a new partner, Nina Blume. Before joining us, the auditor and tax advisor worked for EY for 18 years and was responsible for managing the Financial Accounting Advisory Services in the Hanover/Lower Saxony/Bremen regions as Associate Partner. As Branch Manager for WTS Advisory, Blume will drive forward the expansion of the financial advisory business in Hanover and the surrounding region. She will be supported by a team of six.
Overall, WTS Advisory, as well as all other business divisions of the WTS Group, is on a strong growth path. Alongside Blume, the Risk & Compliance Management expert Malaika Tetsch and the M&A specialist Sven-Roger v. Schilling have also been elected to the partnership. Both come from within the company.
The newly elected partners are:
WTS Tax
