RAINER KURTZ, executive director of Kurtz Holding Gmbh & Co. Beteiligungs KG, provided insights in the experience of his company with exterior consultants. Other lectures concentrated on the role of consultants in Merck's corporate strategy in the early 1980s and the US steel-company Lukens, regarding business historical aspects. NILS KOERBER, owner of «KERN. Die Nachfolgespezialisten», a consulting agency supporting family businesses regarding generational shifts, as well as purchase or sale of family companies, focused on the chances and difficulties that come with company succession and what role consultants play in this process.