Dr. Stephan Schönwälder is a member of the firm's Financial Services Sector and Managing Director of the Dubai office, where he is based. He is fluent in German and English.​ Prior to joining the firm, Stephan spent five years in the search industry leading a financial services practice in the Middle East. In addition, he served regional and multinational clients in the information, communication and technology industries, the consumer goods sector as well as family-owned conglomerates. Before that, he was a partner with McKinsey & Company, where worked for over 13 years. He advised leading European and Middle East banking and insurance clients, addressing strategic, operational and information technology challenges. While with McKinsey & Company, he moved in 2006 from Munich to Dubai to lead a team of more than 20 consultants as the head of the company’s Middle East business technology office and was part of the region’s financial services leadership group. He also served high-profile family conglomerates and government institutions across the Middle East. Earlier, Stephan spent time in the United States and Germany with Microsoft, where he held product development and marketing roles. Stephan received a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Hohenheim (Stuttgart) and an M.S. in computer science from the Technical University of Munich.​​