Investment Management

Thorsten studied law at the University of Heidelberg and has extensive experience in equity finance. He joined KfW Capital from the German-French private bank ODDO BHF where he was primarily responsible for ECM trans­actions focusing on the tech and biotech sector. Thorsten previously held positions at KfW, KfW IPEX-Bank, Commerzbank and LBBW (formerly BW-Bank).­

Since April 2025 Jean Pierre is an Investment Analyst at KfW Capital. He gained various experience in fund selection, including as an investment manager at Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK) and as a research analyst at DWS. There he focused on alternative investments, in particular private equity, private debt and infrastructure. Jean Pierre is a CFA Charterholder, holds a Master in Finance from the Justus-Liebig-University in Giessen and gained international experience at the UIBE in Beijing.

Birgit Brück has more than 20 years of VC expertise through her work in KfW's investment division. Before joining KfW Capital, she advised, among others, the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection on the establishment and structuring of the Future Fund. She completed her academic education part-time at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management and also acquired an additional quali­fication as a private equity and hedge fund advisor from EBS/BAI.

Justus Dries has been an Investment Analyst at KfW Capital since June 2025, having completed an internship with the investor relations team. He studied Business and Economics in Tübingen and Cologne, spending time abroad at universities in Aix-en-Provence and Istanbul. He has also gained diverse experiences in strategy and public policy consulting as well as at KfW Development Bank.

Sebastián brings over 10 years of experience in advising, financing and co-investing in small- and medium-sized companies. He has extensive knowledge in mergers & acquisitions as well as complex financing structures (incl. venture debt for start-ups) through numerous transactions and different positions at NIBC and DHB. Sebastián holds a Master’s degree in Management, Corporate Finance and Business Strategy from ESCP Europe (Paris, London, Berlin).

Sarah completed an apprenticeship in a bank and holds a Master's degree in Finance from Trinity College Dublin. During her studies, Sarah gained various experiences as a working student and through internships at KfW Group, Union Investment and PwC. After joining KfW Capital as an Investment Analyst in July 2021, she has advanced to the role of Investment Manager.

Tilman Kruse joined KfW Capital in April 2025 and has more than 20 years professional experience in Venture Capital and Private Equity. Previously, he led the global VC practice (funds and direct equity) at KfW-DEG, where he held various management positions on the investment side since 2008. After his studies in law, Tilman Kruse was an M&A attorney at international law firm Freshfields, advising prominent financial investors.

Lorenz Mittermeier holds a PhD in biochemistry and performed various research projects at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and National University of Singapore. He received an MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology and gained experience in the investment industry at Deka Investments and the start-up LabBench2Business. Lorenz joined KfW Capital as an Investment Analyst in September 2022 and has since been promoted to Investment Associate.

Martin has extensive industry experience in private equity thanks to many years working in venture capital and in private equity for SMEs (MBO/LBO, growth and mezzanine finance). Among other things, he worked as CFO and partner for a technology and life science VC fund. Before joining KfW Capital at the time of its foundation, Martin had worked at KfW for three years as a senior investment manager in ERP-VC fund investment, which he helped to build up from the start of the programme.

While still studying, Lukas Reckers gained start-up and VC experience at Groupon and Deutsche Börse Group. Before joining KfW Capital, he worked in Corporate & Investment Banking for BNP Paribas and for KfW in the Venture Tech Growth Finance program. Lukas Reckers studied economics at the universities of Marburg and Kent and holds a master's degree in management with a focus on finance from the Goethe University Frankfurt.

Christian has worked for KfW Capital since its foundation. Previously, he was an Advisor to the CEO of KfW. In 2012, he completed his M.Sc. Finance studies at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, after which he was responsible for project financing in the area of renewable energy at KfW. During his studies, Christian Röhle interned with KfW Carbon Fund, Merrill Lynch and Roland Berger.

Pawel Schapiro has extensive industry experience in the Venture Capital ecosystem. He has invested in early-stage start-ups for various VC funds for 10 years, including as a partner at a pan-European VC fund. After studying in Duisburg, Mainz and Jönköping, he gained operational startup experience at Rocket Internet. He has been working as an Investment Manager at KfW Capital since June 2024. Pawel Schapiro holds a Master's degree from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

Sabrina Senzel has already collected relevant industry experience by working at KfW Capital since 2020 and supporting the German edtech startup edyoucated during an internship. In August 2023, she graduated with a Master of Finance degree from Frankfurt School of Finance & Management while spending part of her studies at University of Victoria (Canada) and in Stanford (USA). Since then, she joined KfW Capital as a full-time investment analyst.

During her economic studies (focus on finance) at Goethe University in Frankfurt and Université Paul Valéry in Montpellier, Lea gained first professional experience in the Mutual Funds Investment Team at Deutsche Bank and in Venture Capital at the Frankfurt-based Fintech Investor Finlab AG. Lea joined KfW Capital in April 2021 as an Investment Manager and has since been promoted to Senior Investment Manager. Before joining, Lea worked at the Cologne-based VC fund BitStone Capital, where she was significantly involved in building the fund from the beginning.

Karen Taubenberger holds a dual master’s degree from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore (MBA) and ESSEC Business School (Grande École). During her studies, she gained practical experience in venture capital, climate tech, and through an AI think tank. Prior, she worked in the international growth consulting practice at PwC Singapore. Since April 2025, she has been working as an Investment Analyst at KfW Capital.

Since June 2025 Frédéric Tronnier is an Investment Analyst at KfW Capital. Previously, he gained experience in venture capital at HTGF in Bonn. He holds a Master's degree in business informatics from Goethe University Frankfurt and gained international experience at the University of Adelaide in Australia. As a research assistant he officially submitted his doctoral thesis at the end of 2024. His main research interests are privacy, IT security, CBDC and Generative AI.

Paul Viehauser completed his master's degree at Stockholm University in Sweden. During his studies, he gained various experiences as a working student and intern in consulting, venture capital, foreign direct investments, and entre­preneurship education at the Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship. Paul joined KfW Capital as an investment analyst in August 2023.

As a senior investment manager, the graduate in business management was previously responsible for the Supervisory Board mandates of Deutsche Post AG and Deutsche Telekom AG for the Chief Executive Officer of KfW. Before joining KfW in 2009, Sebastian worked as a fund manager and analyst at Cominvest Asset Management.

Sebastian Wandtke on Xing