Cipio Partners

Professionals

Advisory Board


	Cipio Partners' professional staff currently comprises the following individuals:

	Tom S. Anthofer Managing Partner Prior to founding Cipio Partners, where he manages a number of later-stage venture capital investments and oversees the firm's realization and exit management function, Tom was a Partner and served as Managing Director of Broadview Holdings LP (nka Jefferies & Co., Inc.), New York/London, one of the largest investment banking and private equity firms dedicated to the Technology, Media and Telecommunications industries. Before joining Broadview in 1992, Tom was with Nomura Group, the investment house, and with Mitsubishi Corporation, the trading company, in Tokyo and New York where, since 1987, he had responsibility for both organizations' principal investments in Medical Equipment and Information Technology companies. Tom earned a BA degree in Economics and holds a Master of Business Administration from Duke University.

	Werner Dreesbach Managing Partner Until founding Cipio Partners in 2003, Werner was a Senior Principal of Atlas Venture, Boston/London, a large early-stage investment firm serving the Information Technology, Communications and Life Sciences industries with funds of $2.4bn. Werner was a member of Atlas Venture's Global Management and Investment Committees responsible for evaluating and approving all investments made by the partnership. In his day-to-day responsibility, he served as lead partner for numerous investments, especially in the German-speaking countries. Prior to Atlas, Werner was Vice President Strategic Development for NASDAQ-listed Viasoft Corporation, a developer of software tools. In 1996, he sold his own company, R&O Software-Technik GmbH, one of Europe's largest system software vendors, to Viasoft. Prior to co-founding R&O in 1984, Werner served as a senior consultant with Diebold & Partner, one of Germany's leading management consultancies in IT strategy and management, now part of Deutsche Telekom. Werner holds a BA degree in Computer Science with a minor in Psychology from Bonn University.

	Dr. Hans-Dieter Koch Managing Partner Prior to Cipio Partners, Hans-Dieter was Chief Executive Officer of b-business partners, a pan-European VC firm managing funds of $1bn on behalf of Sweden's Investor AB (the investment vehicle of the Wallenberg Group), its various corporate affiliates as well as Hewlett-Packard. Hans-Dieter oversaw b-business partners' worldwide operations including offices in Amsterdam, Munich, London and Stockholm with an investment portfolio spanning eight countries. Prior to b-business partners, Hans-Dieter was Chief Executive Officer of GE Capital IT Solutions, one of the largest IT and business service providers worldwide. In that role, Hans-Dieter had ultimate responsibility for businesses including 7,000 staff generating annual revenue of $4bn. Hans-Dieter assumed that role in 1996, following the sale of his previous venture, CompuNet Computer AG, then Europe's largest value-addedd reseller of IT equipment, to General Electric. Prior to co-founding CompuNet and serving as its CEO, Hans-Dieter was with McKinsey & Co, Deutsche Bank and Matuschka Group. Hans-Dieter holds MBA and Doctorate degrees from Frankfurt University.

	Dr. Maximilian Schroeck Managing Partner Prior to joining Cipio Partners, Maximilian was Managing Director of Agilent Ventures, Palo Alto, CA, overseeing Agilent Technologies' global venture investments in communication and measurement technologies as well as biotech. While at Agilent, the world's leading high-tech test & measurement company, Maximilian was also in charge of the firm's corporate strategy group and new business development function, where he launched and managed efforts in nano-scale measurement and other emerging technology areas. Before joining Agilent in early 2001, Maximilian was Vice President and Partner with A.T. Kearney, a global management consulting firm. Based in Silicon Valley, he co-led the EDS/A.T.Kearney Venture Fund after a distinguished, decade-long consulting career in Europe and the U.S. advising many of the world's leading high technology companies on corporate strategy issues around growth, innovation and operational effectiveness. Maximilian holds MBA and Doctorate degrees in Strategic Management from Munich University, Germany.

	Roland Dennert Partner Prior to Cipio Partners, Roland Dennert was a Director at Swiss venture firm, Atila Ventures, responsible for their Software, Microelectronics and Data Communications investments in Europe and the United States. Prior to Atila, he was among the team that successfully opened 3i Group's office in Munich where he was involved in several IPOs for the firm. Prior to his career in venture capital, Roland was a management consultant with Roland Berger & Partner in Munich and with The Boston Consulting Group in Paris. He started his career as an engineer with Hitachi Ltd. in Japan. Roland holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a Master of Electrical Engineering from ETH Lausanne, Switzerland.

	Gerhard Miller Principal Gerhard has more than 15 years hands-on technical and commercial experience in the IT and Software industry. He spent several years as a management consultant with Booz-Allen & Hamilton and DiamondCluster and worked in an executive capacity with networking organization First Tuesday and a larger system integrator, where he ran software development. Immediately prior to joining Cipio Partners, Gerhard worked as an advisor to early stage technology companies and venture capital firms. Clients included WebWasher AG (sold to Cyberguard Corporation in April 2004) and Innominate as well as top-tier VC firms such as Carlyle and Atlas Venture. Gerhard holds an MBA with distinction from INSEAD and a Master summa cum laude in Computer Science from University of Stuttgart.

	Sven Weber Principal Sven joined Cipio in 2007 to complement our US investment team, coming from Innovature Capital Partners, a secondary investment firm based in Palo Alto, CA. Previously, he served as vice president with Siemens' US early-stage VC arm and with Apollis, a wireless communications focused investment fund sponsored by General Atlantic Partners and McKinsey & Co. Before that time, Sven headed business development at a unit of mobile carrier, Vodafone Group, and developed the ISP business of today's Telefonica/o2 Group. In addition to his investment and corporate development experience in technology and telecommunications, Sven is an accomplished entrepreneur. Among other ventures, he successfully started and grew a regional radio station business. Sven holds a Masters degree in Physics from Heidelberg.

	Christoph Wedegaertner Principal Prior to Cipio Partners, Christoph was an Investment Manager with a family investment office, BTV Group, responsible for the firm's direct and indirect private equity programs. Before BTV, he was associated with London-based investment banking boutique, Ambrian Partners, advising on M&A transactions in the German mid-market. Before joining Ambrian, Christoph was with Broadview International in London and San Francisco, where he advised on a number of major European and US M&A transactions in Technology, Media and Telecommunications. Christoph holds an MBA from INSEAD and a Master in Management from ESCP-EAP.

	David Mes Principal Before joining Cipio Partners, David was an Associate with the NESBIC CTE Fund, a pan-European early-stage venture capital firm, where he managed international venture capital investments in the Software and Internet Services industries. Among others, he served as board member of Oxxio BV, which was later acquired by UK listed energy service provider Centrica plc. David began his career as an investment banker with Banque Paribas and Lehman Brothers. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School, graduated with honors from IEP Paris' Masters in Economics and Finance and summa cum laude from IEP's Masters in Political Sciences. He also earned an undergraduate law degree from Sorbonne University.

	Kerstin Planitzer-Zipf Corporate & Legal Before joining Cipio Partners, Kerstin was a member of the Corporate Finance Team of b-business partners, a pan-European VC firm with funds of $1bn under management. Her responsibilities included setting up the firm and its various funds' international structure as well as overseeing legal affairs of its German office. In addition, she oversaw b-business partners' investment process, legal due diligence efforts and the structuring of its investment agreements. Prior to b-business partners, Kerstin spent four years as a member of the corporate finance and legal team at GE Capital IT Solutions Europe and six years in the corporate finance team of CompuNet, where she was involved in a number of large M&A transactions and corporate restructurings. Kerstin holds a BA degree in Business Administration from Technical University of Berlin.

	Diana Meyel Finance Prior to Cipio Partners, Diana was Finance Manager at leading European venture firm, Wellington Partners. She was responsible for investor relations and fund raising as well as oversaw the areas of fund controlling and reporting. In addition, she provided financial support to portfolio companies. Before joining Wellington Partners in 2001, Diana was with Dresdner Bank, where she served as Senior Credit Analyst and Relationship Manager to Latin American borrowers. During her tenure at Dresdner, she had responsibility for restructuring a major corporate client on behalf of an international lending syndicate. Diana holds a BA in Finance from Bank Academy, Hamburg.

	Brigitte Brandt Financial Accounting Brigitte has over 12 years experience in management and financial accounting. Prior to joining Cipio Partners, Brigitte spent four years with venture firm Wellington Partners, where she set up and oversaw the accounting function for the firm's fund and management entities. Previously, she worked with telematics service provider, Truck24, where she was responsible for all accounting and reporting. Early in her career, she worked as a tax advisor at regional firms Fehlner and Koschkar & Schollmeyer. Brigitte is a Certified Financial Accountant.