Retirement: fecher's Recruitment Solutions business unit gets new head

After 35 years, Gerhard Schickel goes into part-time retirement | Mathias Zecher becomes new Head of Recruitment Solutions

"In November I will officially take the last step in my career: I’ll become a retiree with a part-time job," Gerhard Schickel laughingly announced during his speech at the fecher anniversary celebration, which took place in Vienna on October 20, 2022. "It's time to pass on what we've built to a younger generation, and I'm sure our colleague Mathias will continue the business successfully."

With these words, the former Head of Recruitment Solutions Gerhard Schickel hands over the management of the Recruitment Solutions division to Mathias Zecher, who has been working as an Account Manager at fecher since August 2021. During this time, Mathias has already been able to gain valuable experience and optimally contribute his own experience to the business unit. Gerhard Schickel will stay at fecher in a part-time position as a Senior Management Consultant and will still be a contact person for customers and colleagues. As a true doyen of the fecher company, this is also very important to him personally.

Gerhard Schickel (pictured left) with fecher's CEO Günter Hofmann at the fecher anniversary celebration in October 2022

Schickel started at fecher over 35 years ago as the first external employee and is now also the first in the company to retire after such a long period of service. He signed his first permanent contract with fecher in 1999. After his consulting activities, Schickel worked for fecher first as Regional Manager and then as Manager Recruitment Solutions for a long time, until he finally took over as Head of Recruitment Solutions. Since the acquisition of hunterNT by fecher in 2000, he has been responsible for the development and sales of fecher’s recruiting solution, which is now known and successful as hunter.

Due to his activities over the last 22 years, it is hunter that Gerhard Schickel is most associated with, but he has been instrumental in shaping the entire fecher company and has witnessed all the unique moments in the company's history. He still remembers with pleasure how he and his colleagues successfully got the first major fecher project up and running – bundled up in winter clothes, in an attic that was not isolated, but it was fun and successful.

"It was a wonderful time and, looking back, I have absolutely no regrets," Schickel emphasizes. "We have experienced many ups and downs – because for a company, as in life, things aren't only looking up. But I'm proud of what we've made of fecher and that we've all always seen ourselves as a team that has held the ship together and kept it on the right course, even in the face of heavy storms."