Key Takeaways
- • Weil, Gotshal & Manges appointed Dr. Olga Stürmer as partner in its Frankfurt office, marking the firm's 10th partner hire in German private equity over the past year.
- • The firm's German private equity practice has doubled in size within 12 months, signaling aggressive expansion in a core European market.
- • Stürmer brings 13 years of experience from Freshfields, where she rose to corporate/M&A partner, with a practice focused on complex, cross-border private equity transactions, leveraged buyouts, and credit-driven special situations for top-tier global and European PE firms.
- • Weil's international leadership, including Executive Partner Barry Wolf, positioned the hire as central to integrating German capabilities with the firm's broader European and U.S. private equity platforms to deliver seamlessly coordinated advice to institutional clients.
Summary
Weil, Gotshal & Manges has recruited Dr. Olga Stürmer as a partner in its Frankfurt office's private equity practice, the firm announced on September 21, 2026. Stürmer's appointment represents the 10th partner addition to Weil's German private equity group over the preceding 12 months, reflecting the firm's strategic push to build scale and capability in one of Europe's largest financial markets.
Stürmer joins from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where she spent 13 years progressing from associate to corporate and M&A partner. Her practice encompasses complex, high-profile transactions across multiple sectors, with particular expertise in strategic M&A, leveraged buyouts, private equity deal investments, and credit-driven special situations. Her client base includes leading global and European private equity sponsors, positioning her as a seasoned operator in institutional deal flow.
The expansion underscores Weil's strategic intent in Germany. Barry Wolf, the firm's executive partner, characterized the hire as critical to connecting Weil's fragmented European and U.S. private equity capabilities. "Growing our German practice is a core pillar of our international strategy," Wolf stated, emphasizing that Stürmer's "experience and international outlook align perfectly with our global Private Equity platform." The firm's stated objective is to provide clients with "seamlessly integrated advice" by leveraging both European regional expertise and global resources.
Kamyar Abrar, co-head of Weil's German private equity practice, praised Stürmer as "an outstanding talent and a highly respected deal maker." Stürmer herself noted that "the German private equity market is evolving rapidly" and highlighted Weil's ability to build "one of the best-integrated private equity teams across Europe and the U.S." in a compressed timeframe. The doubling of Weil's German private equity practice over 12 months—combined with a 10-partner recruitment run—suggests the firm is repositioning to capture an expanded share of German and broader Continental European deal activity at a time when institutional capital deployment remains robust.
Stürmer joins from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where she spent 13 years progressing from associate to corporate and M&A partner. Her practice encompasses complex, high-profile transactions across multiple sectors, with particular expertise in strategic M&A, leveraged buyouts, private equity deal investments, and credit-driven special situations. Her client base includes leading global and European private equity sponsors, positioning her as a seasoned operator in institutional deal flow.
The expansion underscores Weil's strategic intent in Germany. Barry Wolf, the firm's executive partner, characterized the hire as critical to connecting Weil's fragmented European and U.S. private equity capabilities. "Growing our German practice is a core pillar of our international strategy," Wolf stated, emphasizing that Stürmer's "experience and international outlook align perfectly with our global Private Equity platform." The firm's stated objective is to provide clients with "seamlessly integrated advice" by leveraging both European regional expertise and global resources.
Kamyar Abrar, co-head of Weil's German private equity practice, praised Stürmer as "an outstanding talent and a highly respected deal maker." Stürmer herself noted that "the German private equity market is evolving rapidly" and highlighted Weil's ability to build "one of the best-integrated private equity teams across Europe and the U.S." in a compressed timeframe. The doubling of Weil's German private equity practice over 12 months—combined with a 10-partner recruitment run—suggests the firm is repositioning to capture an expanded share of German and broader Continental European deal activity at a time when institutional capital deployment remains robust.
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