Say Hello to Joachim Drees - b2venture angel investor
Say Hello to Joachim Drees - b2venture angel investor
Joachim Drees has had a storied, if unconventional career across industry, private equity, and venture investing.
The b2venture investor grew up in a household where entrepreneurship was front and center - Joachim’s father started his own company, Drees & Sommer, when Joachim was a child.
“My father was a professor in civil engineering, who was never satisfied with simply explaining his expertise but was intent on seeing it put into practice, that’s why he started his own business. So it impressed upon me at an early age that whatever you learned you should try to turn into something useful,” says Joachim.
Curiosity and the power of doing have been the driving force throughout his career. “If I had to reduce my strengths to one sentence, I would probably say “making things happen” has always been at the center of what I do.”
Joachim began his career in consulting, intent on seeing as much as possible and learning from experienced managers and experts, but quickly noticed that the execution was often left to others. During and after his time as a consultant he worked for the German government (Treuhandanstalt) on the reprivatization of East German enterprises after reunification, where he cut his teeth on transforming ailing steelworks into new business opportunities.
“Working for the Treuhandanstalt broadened my purview enormously. I got to work directly with enterprises and senior management on the existential questions of how these companies would survive (or not) in a new world of market capitalism - I was a consultant, manager, and executive assistant to the ultimate decision makers very early in my career.”
Joachim then moved to Daimler for ten years, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, strategy, and then serving as CFO of a truck product unit, before becoming an operating partner at the private equity firm, HgCapital, in London, where he focused on looking after their portfolio companies across many industries.
When the MAN AG came calling in 2015, Joachim was well placed to use his experience at Daimler and HgCapital to lead the truck maker into a new era as CEO - not only focusing on improving the fundamentals, but rethinking the company’s offerings in a holistic way and reorienting the company’s focus toward the client’s needs.
“Probably the most exciting part of my job at MAN was looking at new business models, while making sure that the performance of the core truck and bus business was improving. How was the world of trucks changing in relation to digitalization and electrification? And what were the opportunities for MAN? How could we take advantage of technological advances such as autonomous driving and what strategic bets could we take beyond producing trucks that could add value, for example, across the field of logistics?”
It was Joachim’s first touchpoint with venture investments and new approaches in tech-based business models.
Why b2venture?
Joachim got involved with the b2venture community as an investor after leaving MAN, wanting to focus more intently on his own venture investments.
“The people at b2venture are really great - it’s very important to work with people you like and trust - and I’ve been working with them for a while. I also like that b2venture has a clear and focused strategy for the angel community, and they are good at explaining why certain opportunities, especially complex, deeptech topics, make sense before many others have them on their radar.”
He also values the community that b2venture has built - a collection of like-minded, experienced entrepreneurs and executives, who bring their own perspective to b2venture’s portfolio companies, help b2venture discover contrarian approaches or offer a powerful corrective to overhyped topics that other venture firms chase.
“They’ve really built a real ecosystem with their approach - both with formats such as the START Summit in St. Gallen or the Angel Academies for new angel investors - it’s a truly unique offering that spans generations.”
In total Joachim has made several direct investments with b2venture, including 1KOMMA5°, LatticeFlow, and Procuros, in addition to being an LP across b2venture’s funds.
Building for tomorrow
Joachim sees his role as a sparring partner for strategic questions facing startups - is the business model sound or is it time to think about a pivot - and as a door opener for his industry contacts and more generally on how to approach potential clients in the B2B realm.
“I am not the first to say it, but startups in Europe need to be a lot bolder. One of the reasons I’m passionate about venture investing is it gives me hope in the future. We don’t want to end up as a museum in Europe, always focused on the past.”
He wants to see a more carefree attitude toward venture investing in Europe, like in the United States, and a culture that values thinking outside the box and is less risk-averse.
“It’s the only way to create something truly new.”
Joachim himself is doing something new as well - as of October 2024 he will become the CEO of the investment holding company, Haniel, and will lead the family-owned company into a new era.
Joachim Drees has had a storied, if unconventional career across industry, private equity, and venture investing.
The b2venture investor grew up in a household where entrepreneurship was front and center - Joachim’s father started his own company, Drees & Sommer, when Joachim was a child.
“My father was a professor in civil engineering, who was never satisfied with simply explaining his expertise but was intent on seeing it put into practice, that’s why he started his own business. So it impressed upon me at an early age that whatever you learned you should try to turn into something useful,” says Joachim.
Curiosity and the power of doing have been the driving force throughout his career. “If I had to reduce my strengths to one sentence, I would probably say “making things happen” has always been at the center of what I do.”
Joachim began his career in consulting, intent on seeing as much as possible and learning from experienced managers and experts, but quickly noticed that the execution was often left to others. During and after his time as a consultant he worked for the German government (Treuhandanstalt) on the reprivatization of East German enterprises after reunification, where he cut his teeth on transforming ailing steelworks into new business opportunities.
“Working for the Treuhandanstalt broadened my purview enormously. I got to work directly with enterprises and senior management on the existential questions of how these companies would survive (or not) in a new world of market capitalism - I was a consultant, manager, and executive assistant to the ultimate decision makers very early in my career.”
Joachim then moved to Daimler for ten years, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, strategy, and then serving as CFO of a truck product unit, before becoming an operating partner at the private equity firm, HgCapital, in London, where he focused on looking after their portfolio companies across many industries.
When the MAN AG came calling in 2015, Joachim was well placed to use his experience at Daimler and HgCapital to lead the truck maker into a new era as CEO - not only focusing on improving the fundamentals, but rethinking the company’s offerings in a holistic way and reorienting the company’s focus toward the client’s needs.
“Probably the most exciting part of my job at MAN was looking at new business models, while making sure that the performance of the core truck and bus business was improving. How was the world of trucks changing in relation to digitalization and electrification? And what were the opportunities for MAN? How could we take advantage of technological advances such as autonomous driving and what strategic bets could we take beyond producing trucks that could add value, for example, across the field of logistics?”
It was Joachim’s first touchpoint with venture investments and new approaches in tech-based business models.
Why b2venture?
Joachim got involved with the b2venture community as an investor after leaving MAN, wanting to focus more intently on his own venture investments.
“The people at b2venture are really great - it’s very important to work with people you like and trust - and I’ve been working with them for a while. I also like that b2venture has a clear and focused strategy for the angel community, and they are good at explaining why certain opportunities, especially complex, deeptech topics, make sense before many others have them on their radar.”
He also values the community that b2venture has built - a collection of like-minded, experienced entrepreneurs and executives, who bring their own perspective to b2venture’s portfolio companies, help b2venture discover contrarian approaches or offer a powerful corrective to overhyped topics that other venture firms chase.
“They’ve really built a real ecosystem with their approach - both with formats such as the START Summit in St. Gallen or the Angel Academies for new angel investors - it’s a truly unique offering that spans generations.”
In total Joachim has made several direct investments with b2venture, including 1KOMMA5°, LatticeFlow, and Procuros, in addition to being an LP across b2venture’s funds.
Building for tomorrow
Joachim sees his role as a sparring partner for strategic questions facing startups - is the business model sound or is it time to think about a pivot - and as a door opener for his industry contacts and more generally on how to approach potential clients in the B2B realm.
“I am not the first to say it, but startups in Europe need to be a lot bolder. One of the reasons I’m passionate about venture investing is it gives me hope in the future. We don’t want to end up as a museum in Europe, always focused on the past.”
He wants to see a more carefree attitude toward venture investing in Europe, like in the United States, and a culture that values thinking outside the box and is less risk-averse.
“It’s the only way to create something truly new.”
Joachim himself is doing something new as well - as of October 2024 he will become the CEO of the investment holding company, Haniel, and will lead the family-owned company into a new era.
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