Program 2022

Since March 1, 2019, Clemens Baumgärtner is Head of the Department of Labor and Economic Development and, as such, first port of call at the City of Munich for actors on the labor market and in the business community. The Department of Labor and Economic Development pools the city's capabilities in the fields of economic development, municipal labor market policy/qualifications, tourism marketing and the management of municipal companies and affiliates. It also handles interdepartmental activities in the context of local government's European activities and municipal development cooperation, as well as organizing markets and festivals – including the Oktoberfest, the biggest public festival in the world.
Clemens studied law at Ludwig Maximilians University Munich as well as European and international business law (LL.M.
EUR.). Previous he was a Lawyer at a corporate law firm in Munich and is a member of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU).

As managing partner of UVC Partners, Johannes von Borries has invested in several start-ups including FlixBus, Konux, Isar Aerospace, Twaice, 3YOURMIND, STABL, and Kooky. His investment focus is Industrial Technologies, Mobility and ClimateTech. UVC can offer start-ups a unique network of 150+ corporate partners and access to technical talent through its close partnership with UnternehmerTUM, the leading European innovation center. He is an experienced venture capitalist and successful entrepreneur. As entrepreneur Johannes founded NandaTech, build up the company and sold it successfully to a US player. Johannes started his career in venture capital at Wellington Partners in 2001 after receiving his MBA at U.C. Berkeley, California. He also holds a master in industrial engineering from TU Berlin and worked several years at Siemens Management Consulting.

Yvonne Ehrlich is the 26-year-old co-founder and CEO of taico GmbH - a MarTech solution to optimize the media spend of advertisers. She has been leading the team towards a prototype and collected angel funding besides her master’s degree in Management and Technology at the Technical University of Munich. As a scholar of the Manage and More Program by UnternehmterTUM and a fellow of the Entrepreneurial Masterclass, Yvonne has been growing together with the UnternehmterTUM ecosystem throughout the last years. Before that she gained extensive practical experiences with various early-stage start-ups as a consultant accompanying their commercialization and founded the non-profit Initiatives for Humanity that unites Munich’s students to support humanitarian projects.

Jack Fuchs is Director of Principled Entrepreneurship (PEAK) at Stanford University, Investor, Global Entrepreneur, and Lecturer. His current roles include VC Partner, Board Representative, CFO, and Advisor positions with IT, med-tech, and clean tech businesses. Jack is an Adjunct Professor in Entrepreneurship at Stanford University, an Affiliate Professor with ESCP Europe, and a contributor to UnternehmerTUM at the Technical University of Munich. Also, Jack mentors entrepreneurs and conducts workshops in entrepreneurship around the world.

Jack holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Sciences with honors from Dartmouth College “magna cum laude” and “phi beta kappa”, and he received his master’s degree in Business Administration from Stanford University as an “Arjay Miller Scholar”.

Felix Haas is Co-Founder & Chairman of IDnow and a very active start-up investor as Founding Partner of equity investing group 10x Group, Founding Partner of software private equity fund FLEX Capital and Founding Partner of early-stage venture capital fund 10x Founders. He is also Co-Host of Bits & Pretzels and engaged in numerous board activities of startups and scaleups. In his free time, he enjoys sports and activities in the field of aviation.

Dr. Inga vom Holtz is investment manager at the Initiative for Industrial Innovators by UnternehmerTUM, investing in B2B deep tech start-ups from the UnternehmerTUM ecosystem. In this role, she is responsible for approx. 20 portfolio teams across many different deep tech industries.

Before joining UnternehmerTUM in 2020, Inga was with BCG and MAN Truck & Bus (corporate and sales strategy) and did her PhD at the Entrepreneurship Research Institute of TU Munich. What she likes most about her role is working with so many highly motivated and skilled young people, all trying to improve the world in so many different areas.

Dr. Johannes F. Kirchhoff is Managing Partner of the KIRCHHOFF Group and KIRCHHOFF Ecotec GmbH in Iserlohn, Germany.

The KIRCHHOFF Ecotec Group includes the FAUN and ZOELLER Groups - two global players in the manufacture of waste collection vehicles and sweepers. In these fields, Johannes has been committed to the further development of alternative drive technologies, especially hydrogen drive, for many years.

As a board member of the BDI Circular Economy initiative, he is also committed to the topic of the circular economy.

Having studied at TUM, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (Haifa) and École Polytechnique (Paris), Niclas Mauss is a trained engineer and parallelly to his role as program manager at UnternehmerTUM works as a doctoral researcher at TUM. There, he focuses on the transformation of incumbent manufacturing firms from a linear operating model to circularity and initiated the CirculaTUM research alliance, which bundles the diverse CE-related expertise within TUM across all disciplines and locations in order to provide a scientific contribution to industrial and societal transformation. Before taking up his current roles, Niclas gained experiences in management consulting, the automotive industry and TUM’s presidential staff. For years, he’s been working as executive assistant to the CEO of an award-winning CE pioneer in the manufacturing industry, among others honored with the renowned German Innovation Prize for Climate and Environment.

A passionate European committed to fostering societal change through technology and innovation, Dr. Frank Niederländer is currently Executive Board Member of the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt. He is convinced that the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations can only be achieved through responsible leadership and sustainable entrepreneurship. Frank is an active voice in the discussion around the sustainable transformation of our societies, holding positions on the board of several national and international public bodies and non-profit organizations working in sustainable finance and sustainable investment funds. In his view, diversity is the driver of the necessary transition to a more sustainable and equitable model of social and economic development – a model where humans and our natural resources are an integral part of a new, regenerative economic system.

Christoph Schuh is Partner at Lakestar. He combines experiences from his corporate career with an entrepreneurial background as co-founder and management board of a listed company. He has a very operational skill set on how to scale companies with a deep go-to-market understanding. Christoph is active in deal-sourcing of mainly growth-stage related companies and focuses on investments in the logistics, travel and mobility sector as well as sales technology companies. He also advises Lakestar portfolio firms on go-to-market, marketing and monetisation-related matters. Prior to Lakestar, Christoph was a Co-Founder and more than 10 years on the management board of Tomorrow Focus, a digital spin-off from the media conglomerate Burda. Christoph floated the company on the German Stock Exchange and developed it through acquisitions into a profitable internet portfolio group with more than 1,000 employees.

Dr. Markus Seidel is a General Manager and the Head of Research on Circular Economy at the BMW Group in Munich, Germany. He received his university education as an industrial engineer from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, and his Ph.D. in Innovation Management from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. He is an expert for disruptive innovations in areas such as sustainability and has been involved in more than 100 innovation projects in Europe, the United States and China. Besides his role at the BMW Group Markus is the Leader of the Expert Group on Circular Economy at the European Council for Automotive R&D in Brussels, Belgium. One of his current key research areas at BMW is the creation of carbon negative materials for the automotive industry in close collaboration with the Technical University of Munich (TUM).

Dr. Sarah Theinert 's background is in M&A and Venture Capital and she joined UVC Partners in 2022. UVC Partners offers start-ups a unique network of 150+ corporate partners and access to technical talent through its close partnership with UnternehmerTUM. As a Director Partnerships and Value Creation, on the one hand Sarah is responsible for managing the relationships with corporate partners exploring opportunities for UVC Partners’ portfolio companies. On the other hand, she is supporting the portfolio as an expert especially with go-to-market strategies, marketing, and sales.

Before, Sarah was Senior Manager at Allianz X, the digital investment unit of Allianz Group, investing in SaaS ventures as well as actively working with portfolio companies. She started her career at Naspers after receiving her Ph.D. from TU Munich that she wrote on Venture Capital and Capital Markets.

Miki Yokoyama is Advisor at UnternehmerTUM, Board Member of BDI Initiative Circular Economy and Venture Partner at Pirate Impact. After several years in corporate strategy at the BMW Group in the area of sustainability and as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group, Miki led the Start-up Accelerator formats at UnternehmerTUM, Europe's largest entrepreneurship centre, from 2018-2021. In addition to the in-house accelerator "TechFounders", it also runs the impact accelerator "RESPOND" of the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt and the accelerator of the SAP.iO Foundry Munich. Since June 2021, she has been a venture partner in the family office of Fabian and Ferry Heilemann for impact investments and represents UnternehmerTUM on the board of the Circular Economy Initiative of the Federation of German Industries (BDI). Miki holds a degree in Communication Studies from LMU Munich and a Master's in Communication and International Relations from Boston University.

Maximilian Zott is a serial entrepreneur and COO & founder of kooky. His responsibilities include developing new business models, building up the operational business and driving international expansion. Previously, he was responsible for the development of the Munich location of the delivery service Gorillas before joining kooky.

During his studies he founded his first company: BE Support GmbH and developed concepts for sustainable energy supply. He is also involved in three other companies: Plug-in Festivals GmbH, Mobile Power Solutions and A & BE Commerce GmbH.

Jennifer Sarah Boone has spent the past two decades on stage, in front of the camera and at the microphone, working internationally in Trinidad &Tobage, the UAE and Europe as a performing and voice over artist, presenter and emcee. Additionally she studied media management and media journalism and is currently doing her master's in business psychology. Receiving new perspectives and gaining knowledge at events and conferences is her great passion. In her free time she loves to travel to new places, spend time with friends and family or try out any kind of sport.

Ann-Kristin Achleitner is TUM Distinguished Affiliated Professor. Apart of being an active investor, Ann-Kristin currently serves as a non-executive director on the boards of MunichRE, Linde and Lazard. She is a member of the International Advisory Board of Investcorp, the Advisory Board of Lakestar Advisors and Techem, the Board of Trustees of the Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) and Vice Chairman of the National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech).

Since 2020, Ann-Kristin is a member of the Supervisory Board of UnternehmerTUM. Between 2001 and 2020 she held the Chair of Entrepreneurial Finance at Technical University Munich (TUM)

Steffi Czerny co-founded DLD Conference in 2005 and was appointed Managing Director of DLD Media in 2010.

Steffi’s background is in political sciences and journalism. Since the early days of the WWW in the 1990ies, she has followed developments in the digital world. As Managing Director of DLD, Steffi has established “one of Europe’s most important innovation conferences” according to The Economist. Under her leadership, the DLD brand has furthermore expanded with conferences and networking events in other cities. In addition to Munich, also New York, Tel Aviv, Brussels, Singapore, San Francisco, and London have now become regular DLD destinations.

Steffi is also an active member of various advisory boards and committees, i.e. University of Bayreuth, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Zentrum für Kunst und Medien (ZKM Karlsruhe), Biotopia Life Science Museum, and Deutsches Museum.

Catharina van Delden is a digital entrepreneur and experienced businesswoman. She is co-founder of the innovation management software company innosabi, which she led from a student start-up at the Technical University of Munich to a market leader as CEO. Catharina is an MBA graduate from the Technical University of Munich and has temporarily studied at UC Berkeley. Before founding innosabi GmbH, she worked at OSRAM, including at OSRAM India in Delhi. In addition, she has published two books on innovation strategies, “Crowdsourced Innovation” and “Connect the dots”. Besides managing her company, Catharina is and was active in various advisory and political functions, for example, on the advisory board of Deutsche Bank, on the advisory board of Laya.AI, or on the bitkom executive committee for over eight years.

Judith Gerlach is Bavaria’s State Minister of Digital Affairs. She has headed the ministry since its foundation in November 2018. As the first digital minister in Germany, Judith controls and oversees the expansion of digital services for citizens and businesses. The minister also represents Bavaria vis-à-vis the federal government, for example, through the IT planning council. Under her leadership, Bavaria's State Ministry of Digital Affairs has invested more than 70 million euros in the digitization of public services. She champions a technologically-open digital policy, which secures the interests of every citizen at its core. As the youngest member of the cabinet at only 36, the Minister of State fights for the interests of the younger generation. In 2021, she was included in the "Top 40 under 40" by Germany’s leading business magazine Capital.

Christian Haub is the sole managing partner of the Tengelmann Group and Chairman of the Management Board of Tengelmann Twenty-One KG. He is the founder and chairman of Emil Capital Partners, the US venture capital company of the Tengelmann Group.

Previously, he was CEO of The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. (A&P). He began his career in 1989 in investment banking with Dillon Read in New York. He is a member of the board of Metro Inc. in Montreal, one of Canada's largest food and drugstore retailers. Christian graduated with a degree in social and economic sciences from the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration.

Anna Hörmann is Managing Director of Hörmann Warnsysteme GmbH. After completing her master’s in 2016 at the Technical University of Munich in Business and Mechanical Engineering, Anna worked in management consulting before joining the family business in 2018. As head of strategic development, she was responsible for corporate strategy, including the establishment of a corporate digitalization unit. Since 2022 she is the CEO of Hörmann Warnsysteme GmbH, one of the group’s subsidiaries and market leader in national and international siren warning systems.

Hörmann Gruppe is a mid-cap industrial holding with 27 affiliates operating in the automotive sector, engineering, communication technology and industrial services. The group offers a diverse range of products and services, from sheet metal components for utility vehicles to complex logistic concepts as well as solutions for critical infrastructure and industrial services for manufacturers.

Fabian Kienbaum is Co-CEO (Chief Empowerment Officer) of Kienbaum Consultants International GmbH. Before joining Kienbaum, he worked for an American management consultancy in London. Fabian studied international management at the ESCP Europe. In 2011, he graduated as Diplom-Kaufmann, Diplômé de Grande École and Master of Science. Before that, the former Bundesliga handball player for VfL Gummersbach earned a Bachelor's degree in business administration in Cologne.

Fabian joined the family- and partner-led consultancy Kienbaum in 2014, whose portfolio focuses on all services related to "People & Organisation".

Sebastian Kuss is Managing Partner and co-founder of EMH. He is a member of the Investment Committee and responsible for capital deployment and communications. Sebastian founded EMH 2010 together with his brother Maximilian. He has made numerous investments in the European technology sector and successfully developed technology-driven growth companies. Prior to EMH, Sebastian co-founded two technology companies and sold them at a profit.

Sebastian holds a degree in International Management from the University of Applied Sciences Munich. In 2018 he was appointed to the SME Advisory Council of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

Leopold is program manager of FamilienUnternehmerTUM, which is the latest strategic initiative of UnternehmerTUM aiming to foster the exchange between family firms and the digital / tech
ecosystem around Munich.
In this role, Leopold is responsible for a variety of family business related activities at UnternehmerTUM so as to foster cooperation projects with talents, start-ups and established companies.
Besides, Leopold is involved in the digital transformation of his family’s business, representing the 5th generation. The company was founded in 1879 and is a leading international manufacturer of metal powders, pigments and foils.
Prior to that, Leopold has completed his PhD on “Business Model Innovation in Family Firms” at the Witten Institute for Family Business.

Dr. Dominik Wichmann is CO-Founder & CPO of LOOPING GROUP. For almost twenty years Dominik was editor-in-chief of several media brands: he managed the magazine of Süddeutsche Zeitung, “Stern” and the international digital conference DLD. He was honored for this work with many awards. Dominik has also been an active writer. His reports were published in all notable German speaking media and received multiple awards. His bestseller “Between two lives” about politician Guido Westerwelle is currently made into a film. His biography on Tina Turner, together with Deborah Davis, was sold in more than thirty countries and placed in the New York Times bestseller list. Besides working for LOOPING GROUP Dominik Wichmann is active as shareholder, journalistic advisor, and moderator of “Bits&Pretzels” brand, Europe’s biggest start-up conference. Dominik lives with his wife and their two daughters in Munich.

Alexander Wottrich is CEO Truma Group GmbH & Co. KG. Founded in 1949 by Philipp Kreis to make gas lights in electricity deprived Munich, Truma has gone on to become one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of leisure products for caravans and motorhomes. Alexander manages his family’s company in the third generation. He took over as Technical CEO of Truma Gerätetechnik GmbH & Co. KG in 2018 and heads the Truma Group as CEO since 2021. With his global teams he works to provide quality experience to campers and leads the Group through the challenges of digital transformation and technological transition. Alexander also serves at several Advisory and Supervisory Boards.

Innovation expert Christian Mohr is Managing Director of UnternehmerTUM with overall responsibility for our Corporates activities, and founder of the initiative FamilienUnternehmerTUM. Coming from a family business, he gained more than ten years of experience in responsible positions at one of the world's leading consulting firms. Most recently, he headed the Innovation division there, which he successfully built up both nationally and as a global network. His move to UnternehmerTUM in 2019 was primarily characterized by the need to secure the innovative capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises and thus sustainable prosperity in Germany. His focus is on supporting medium-sized, family-run companies in the areas of innovation, technology and ecosystems.