About

Markus
Schunk

Markus Schunk

Chief Executive Officer

Markus heads Digital at Holtzbrinck Publishing Group and has been with Holtzbrinck Digital since 2007. He has been involved in more than 50 M&A deals – investments/divestments – and has played a major role in developing and shaping the portfolio in the last decade. During that time Markus has worked closely with many portfolio companies and was responsible for past investments including Parship, Allesklar.com, studiVZ, myphotobook or money.pl.

Prior to joining Holtzbrinck Digital, he held senior project management positions at Holtzbrinck Publishing Group and KPMG Corporate Finance. Markus studied Business Administration at Eberhard-Karls University in Tübingen.

Markus is an avid sportsfan. He stays active by regularly running, playing tennis or skiing depending on the season and by spending time with his 3 kids.

Dr.
Fedor Zeyer

Dr. Fedor Zeyer

Chief Financial Officer

Fedor became Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Holtzbrinck Digital shortly after joining Digital Science in the same role in September 2016. He holds several board memberships in Digital Science and is responsible for all finance-related matters across Holtzbrinck Digital.

Before joining Holtzbrinck Digital he worked at Springer Nature as Director Group Accounting leading teams in Germany and the UK. Prior to that he worked in different finance roles at Macmillan and Holtzbrinck. Fedor studied Economics at the University of Stuttgart-Hohenheim, holds an PhD in Economics and is a certified public accountant (Wirtschaftsprüfer).

Fedor is a passionate runner, spends his free time with his family and loves fishing especially in Sweden.

Dr.
Ralf Kaumanns

Dr. Ralf Kaumanns

Venture Partner

Ralf supports Holtzbrinck Digital as a Venture Partner. He helps to develop the overall investment portfolio, evaluates dedicated investment opportunities and supports portfolio companies with their strategy development.

Ralf looks back on more than 15 years in strategy consulting with a strong background in digital, media and healthcare. Before his independent role as an investment advisor and digital strategy consultant he was a Senior Manager at Accenture’s Media and Digital Practice. He started his professional career as a Manager New Media at Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical division. Ralf has a strong focus on market and competitive strategies, business models, product development as well as marketing and sales in digital markets.

In his spare time, he likes mountain hiking, has a passion for Slow Food and sports cars.

Sebastian
Lieb

Sebastian Lieb

Director Investments

Sebastian is Director Investments at Holtzbrinck Digital and focuses on investments in Digital Science. He sources new opportunities globally and is also active in portfolio management.

Prior to Holtzbrinck Digital, Sebastian worked for HarbourVest Partners, focusing on direct growth equity and buyout investments across Europe. Before HarbourVest, Sebastian was with Arma Partners in London, working in M&A advisory for technology companies. He started his career at Aurelius in Munich. Sebastian completed his bachelor studies in Business Administration with a focus on finance and accounting at Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München.

In his spare time, Sebastian enjoys travelling, staying active (running, swimming, cycling) and good food.

Julius
Jürging

Julius Jürging

Senior Investment Manager

Julius is Senior Investment Manager at Holtzbrinck Digital and focuses on investments in educational technology and science. He globally sources opportunities and is also active in portfolio management.

Prior to Holtzbrinck Digital, Julius gained experience at Zalora, a Rocket Internet Company in Southeast Asia and at the VC fund BDMI. Julius completed his bachelor studies in Business Administration at Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München and graduated with a Master degree in Digital Business from IE Business School Madrid.

Apart from technology, Julius loves to travel the world and spends his leisure time at the lakes & mountains around Munich.

Korbinian
Weisser

Korbinian Weisser

Senior Investment Analyst

Korbinian is a Senior Investment Analyst at Holtzbrinck Digital and focuses on investments in Digital Science. He globally sources opportunities and is also active in portfolio management.

Prior to Holtzbrinck, Korbinian founded Skive, an education-technology company that caters to over 150.000 users and received several venture capital funding rounds. He holds a Master's degree in Business Administration with a minor in Computer Science from Technical University of Munich as well as a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a minor in Psychology from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. During his studies, he was awarded a scholarship from the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation.

Besides his interest in investing and innovation, Korbinian is engaged as a Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum and an avid cook.

Marc-Orell
Dedorath

Marc-Orell Dedorath

Business Analyst

Marc-Orell is Business Analyst at Holtzbrinck Digital and is responsible for the portfolio-wide management reporting and performance analysis. He also works closely with the Investment Management Team and provides support on due diligence projects.

He first joined Holtzbrinck in 2014 and worked in the Group finance team of Macmillan Science and Education during the due diligence phase for the merger with Springer (today Springer Nature). Prior to joining Holtzbrinck Digital, Marc-Orell worked for Capgemini Consulting in the Corporate Excellence & Transformation team in Paris. Marc-Orell studied International Management at ESB Business School in Reutlingen and IÉSEG School of Management in Paris.

Marc-Orell loves travelling across Europe and enjoys good food, either cooked by himself or in restaurants. In his spare time, he likes to play tennis.

Claudia
Jaser

Claudia Jaser

Executive Assistant to the CEO

Natalie
Pretsch

Natalie Pretsch

Team Assistant