_BACKGROUND
Back in the 90s, we saw the fascinating evolvement of digitalization and technology and how it would change the economy and society. At that time, our founder was the responsible politician for privatising the telecoms and post markets and gave a boost to digital mobile communication and cable infrastructure. Job well done.25 years later, Digital is in our DNA. SSP adopts a long-term, trusted client relationship model. Rather than being corporate supermarket salesmen with pressure to produce fees, SSP is a true, equity-owning partnership, built on trust and a shared transaction history, focused on providing the highest-quality advice to our long-term relationships.
_DEAL EXECUTION TEAM
The leadership and advisory team at SSP have worked at high levels within the sector and have invested their own money in digital companies. This is what sets us apart, we’ve been there, done it and really know how to realise value effectively. We are supported by an exceptional team of analysts and business support personnel.
ARNO NONNEN
Managing Director
Arno joined the firm in 1998 and built up the firm’s corporate finance business. He successfully closed over 100 M&A, growth capital and private equity transactions in the world of digital companies. He acts as private investor in early stage internet companies as well as venture capital funds and holds positions as board member in the tech industry. Arno gained experience in the corporate finance business by working with the Merrill Lynch M&A team (New York); Wilkinson, Barker & Knauer (Washington D.C.) and KPMG Consulting (Berlin). He holds a Master in Economics (Universität Bonn).
DR. INGO HATTENDORF
Partner
Ingo is a Partner at SSP since 2017. He gained a deep industry expertise by holding several management positions in startups, mid-sized and publicly listed tech companies.
In M&A, he is for over 15 years with transaction experience in acquisitions, carve-outs, joint ventures, mergers as well as selling of businesses. Recent projects included cloud, software, IoT, outsourcing, ecommerce and cybersecurity. Ingo has a profound network of relationships on a national and international level. He holds a PhD in Physics.
VOLKER KÖLLMANN
Partner
Volker´s career shows clear down-sizing but considerable increase of digital expertise: he started at EXXON Mobil in Hamburg before he joined the publicly listed local search specialist telegate in Munich where Volker managed the firm´s first online verticals and led international business development. He then met Christian and Arno and was asked to join SSP. Why? To make an impact for the clients. As Partner, Volker drives both sell-side and VC projects to success with a focus on the online marketing, local search, marketplaces businesses. He also acts as Supervisory Chairman of the internet search firm Opendi AG. Volker holds a Master in Economics (Universität Bonn).
_INDUSTRY EXPERTS AND INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS
Creating value for our clients requires looking beyond the obvious and leveraging the diversity of our resources to come up with fresh ideas. Our industry experts and international partners contribute invaluable input to a large number of projects by providing technological insights, specific market know-how and a distinct network of contacts.
Prof. Dr. Christian Schwarz-Schilling
Bundesminister a.D., Founder SSP
Christian is the Former German Minister for Post and Telecommunications and founded SSP in 1993. […]
He was responsible for the liberalization of the telecom market in Germany, the privatization of the Federal Post offices, the nationwide cable television network and the worldwide mobile communication standard GSM. He served as a Member of the German Parliament for more than 25 years. Besides his political carrer, he is an entrepreneur by heart and managed a large family owned battery business back in the 70s and 80s. As he was also among the founding shareholders of telegate AG in 1996 as well as several tech and digital companies and still acts as private investor, supervisory and advisory board member. He holds an Ph.D. in Chinese History.
Jan Oelers
Industry Expert
Online Marketing
Jan is an experienced B2B online marketing specialist and former Google manager with a proven track record in the internet industry, e.g. eye/o, astound commerce, JobRad, […]
Google & Pixum. He is highly skilled in B2B lead nurturing, B2C performance marketing, digital strategy, ecommerce, and analytics.
Björn Skutlarek
Industry Expert
Data Analytics
Björn is a highly skilled data scientist and sought-after advisor with 20 years of experience in data management and analytics. […]
He worked as a professional for several blue chip companies like Deutsche Telekom, Deutsche Bank, Vodafone, Altran CIS or Deutsche Post DHL Group.
Siegfried Heimgärtner
Industry Expert
Payment/FinTech
Siegfried was CEO of DAVASO (Leipzig), a Montagu Private Equity portfolio company and Germany’s largest provider of tech-enabled claims processing, […]
invoice auditing and billing services for health insurers. Prior, he acted as CEO of EQUATEX (Zurich), an international employee compensation plan services firm (sold to Computershare, Australia) and SKRILL, London, a global online payments business backed by Investcorp/CVC, finally sold to Optimal Payments (USA) in 2015. Before Skrill, Siegfried was EVP at INGENICO, a EURONEXT listed company and leading provider of payment solutions (125 countries, $2 bn transactions p.a., 12m terminals). For Warburg Pincus he was CEO at easycash before the payment company was acquired by INGENICO. He also held Senior Management positions at Epson and Bull. Siegfried was also appointed as Board Member in several tech companies and acts as private investor.
Ertu Taner
Partner
Ertu enjoys the analysis of companies’ challenges in their corporate and financial development in Germany and beyond and evolves strategies when working with company owners and their management. […]
Internationalizing the SSP business since his start in 1999, he creates and utilizes networks to guide clients into emerging markets and into China. Considering local business circumstances, regulations and players, Ertu has led numerous tech companies successfully into their target markets. He resides in Bavaria with his family and loves to learn from his children how to stretch the boundaries. He studied Economics in Constance and in Bonn with a concentration on Game Theory.
Dr. Jörg Rupp
Associate Partner
Jörg is a former client who joined SSP after his successful exit from DORUCON. In his long career, Jörg has assisted hundreds of companies in innovation funding and tax credits. […]
He brings in valuable insights into cutting-edge technologies and attractive market trends. His huge network covers key employees and businesses of all industries and sizes, from start-ups to global enterprises.
Claus J. Karthe
International Partner
Singapore and South East Asia
Claus has over 25 years in-depth business experience in Asia, both in large MNCs and in the startup environment. As an entrepreneur, he has been architecting new businesses across tech, finance, big data and deep learning technologies over the last 13 years. […]
He serves on multiple corporate boards and sees himself as a global citizen, having lived in Finland, Germany, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Singapore. As the CEO of German Accelerator Southeast Asia, Claus is excited to be paving the way to help tech and digital companies to capitalize on the fast growing region of Southeast Asia.
Stephan Guerin
International Partner
Shanghai
Stephan was the former Vice President of Alcatel Alsthom and the principal architect of its growth in telecommunications, energy and transportation through mergers and acquisitions. […]
Throughout his career in Paris, New York, Brussels, London, Geneva, Stephan focused on international transactions until he moved to Asia. For the last twenty years he has been providing services with his team and network of contacts to European companies which wanted to access the Chinese market, either directly or through joint ventures or acquisition. In the current rebalancing of the technological and economic poles his aim is to facilitate bridging the communication gap between East and West. He is also acting as an investor, co-investor and advisor in tech start-ups. Stephan has a law degree and a master’s degree in Political science in France and in the US (UCLA).
Stephan Neuner
Industry Expert
Software/RPA/Digital Commerce
Stephan’s expertise is in strategic as well as global alliances and international business development. […]
He has a proven track record in the IT and software industry having worked for internationally leading companies like Amdocs, BEA Sytems or IBM. Strong technical background in robotic process automation, digital commerce, composable commerce and marketplaces.
