Peter Funke
- Structuring business units (energy services)
- Energy sales to residential and commercial customers
- Key account management for individual clients
- Customer loyalty and churn strategies
- Digital strategies for utilities
Market Developer - energetic and smart
Peter Funke has more than 20 years of experience in strategic consulting and marketing. His focus is on business strategies, customer management, marketing and sales. He advises multinational suppliers as well as public utilities. Energy commercialization is his special topic which he frequently speaks about on conferences and as a guest lecturer at the RWTH University of Aachen.
Before joining SMP, Peter Funke gained extensive experience in marketing and sales at various DAX companies. He has operational management experience in the core markets of Europe, USA and China. He has won several awards for his achievements, including from Henkel (Fritz Henkel Prize for Corporate Management) and the Wirtschaftswoche business magazine.
Peter Funke studied business administration in Cologne and Austin / Texas (USA). In addition, he completed the executive programme at Ashridge Business School in London.
He is an enthusiastic soul and funk guitarist. He's involved in Rotary, is married and has one daughter.
Strategy consulting is certainly a serious business. It's structured, evidence-based and analytical. That's why I did some serious studying at the University of Cologne and in Austin / Texas. And that's why I started my career in the group – Marketing, Sales, International – Paris, Barcelona, Shanghai. I joined SMP as a partner.
My message as a passionate strategy consultant and funk guitarist is: Stay funky! Stay innovative! Funk has structure, rhythm, and drives people forward using a good basic idea. Excellent consultancy follows the same logic: first-class ideas within a clear structure. That's what SMP is like. And me too. Highly analytical and a bit funky – always.
What qualities do friends admire in you?
Professional judgement in combination with high enthusiasm.
What challenges do you enjoy taking on?
Turning chaos into order. Structure your problem and you can solve it. I like structures. I'm not just musical ones
What's your favourite thing to do after finishing a successful project?
Reading a bedtime story to my daughter, Helen. Helen finds books wonderful. And I find Helen wonderful.
What dream do you still have to realise?
The mountains behind me, the water in front of me and the knowledge that I'm never leaving the place...
How do you recharge your batteries?
Between the fifth and fourteenth frets of my Paul Reed Smith electric guitar.
What adventures lie ahead?
Performing at the Ascona Jazz Festival.
What mistakes can you put up with?
Playing in the wrong key. Sounds awful, but doesn't harm anyone.
What was your biggest achievement at SMP?
Having acquired SAP as a client. "SMP advises SAP" - I'm still overwhelmed by that.
Which personal item would you least like to be separated from?
My guitar amp - Mesa Boogie Mark V. Life is too short for bad sounds.
What's the motto you live your life by?
Stay funky!
