Henrico Dolfing
Independent Advisor & Analyst | Economics & Institutional Design of Professional Services
I am an independent advisor and analyst focused on the economics and institutional design of professional-services firms.
I help boards and executive teams understand the structural transformation of the industry and make the strategic decisions that follow from it. Professional-services firms excel at transforming others, yet often struggle to transform themselves. I call this the Professional Services Transformation Paradox.
My work focuses on situations where technology, economics, ownership structures and institutional design no longer fit together. In many firms, different parts of the business increasingly operate according to different economic models, while governance, incentives, performance management and investment decisions still assume a much more uniform institution.
From Transformation to Institutional Design
For more than twenty years, I have worked at the intersection of technology, operating models, governance and execution. I have led major transformations with budgets exceeding CHF 30 million and teams of more than 100 people, served as a CIO and worked with Big Four firms, international professional-services organisations and global financial institutions. Along the way, I have advised executive teams and boards and supported organisations through periods of significant operational and strategic change.
That experience has shaped how I think about transformation. What initially appears to be an execution problem is often the consequence of earlier decisions about how the firm works economically: what it measures, how it allocates capital, which clients and services it prioritises, where decisions are made and how partners and leaders are incentivised. When economics, governance and incentives work against the strategy, even excellent execution has its limits.
Over time, my focus therefore shifted from transformation itself towards the economic and institutional structures within which transformation takes place.
Why Professional Services?
These tensions are particularly visible in professional-services firms. Partnership economics, distributed ownership, local profit pools and entrepreneurial autonomy have created remarkably successful firms over many decades. At the same time, those same structures can make long-term investment, international integration and institutional change more difficult.
Today, these models are confronting an industry whose underlying economics are changing. Artificial intelligence, private capital, global delivery models, technology platforms and changing client economics are pushing different parts of the same firm towards increasingly different economic models.
My Professional Services Transformation Theory brings these developments together and provides the intellectual foundation for my research and advisory work. One of its central theses is that professional-services firms increasingly combine multiple distinct economic systems under a single brand. This raises not only the question of how a firm should transform, but whether its economics, governance and institutional design still fit the firm it is becoming.
An Independent Perspective
My advisory work is complemented by an independent research programme focused on the economics and institutional design of professional services.
Through Case Studies, Industry Insights and Frameworks, I examine the structural changes reshaping the industry and the different models firms are using to respond. This work is informed by ongoing conversations with CEOs, board members, partners, investors and other senior leaders across the profession. It allows me to connect publicly visible developments with the economic and organisational questions leadership teams are dealing with inside their firms.
I do not believe there is one institutional model that works for every professional-services firm. A global Big Four firm, an independent national firm, an international network and a private-equity-backed platform face very different economic and institutional choices. The starting point must therefore be the actual economics of the firm and the institution it wants to build over the long term.
How I Work
I work with boards and executive teams on questions about the economics and institutional design of their firm.
Most engagements start in one of two places: an economic question, which normally leads to an Economic Reality Review , or a structural industry question, which normally starts with a Future of Professional Services Board Session .
Where the evidence points to a broader design problem, an Economic Reality Review can develop into Economic Portfolio Architecture . Board Sessions can lead to focused Strategic Workshops, and selected engagements continue as Strategic Advisory. Where a major transformation is already underway, I use the Transformation Reality Review, to assess whether it still works in operational, organisational and economic reality.
My role is not to bring a predetermined answer. I bring independent research, practical experience and an outside perspective to help leadership make better choices about how the firm should operate, invest and organise itself.
The objective is not more analysis. It is better decisions.
Beyond the Work
I founded Rough Trail Ventures as the home for my advisory and investment activities. Alongside my work in professional services, I selectively invest in and support Swiss startups.
I live with my family in Switzerland close to the mountains and spend much of my free time outdoors, trail running, hiking, mountaineering and skiing.
The name Rough Trail Ventures reflects an attitude that matters to me both professionally and personally: difficult terrain does not become easier simply because it is described optimistically. Progress starts with seeing the terrain as it really is, choosing a credible route and adjusting course when reality demands it.
Start a Conversation
If your board or executive team is questioning whether the economics, governance or operating model of your firm still fit where the business is heading, I would be pleased to exchange perspectives.
