eCAPITAL ENTREPRENEURIAL PARTNERS

Dirk Seewald is an operator-turned-investor who previously built high-tech ventures as Founder, CEO and COO at companies including VPIsystems, Innominate Security Technologies and PHOENIX CONTACT. Trained as an engineer, he holds an MSc in Electrical Engineering and is an alumnus of Imperial College London. His experience spans cyber security, quantum technologies, photonics, IT and telecommunications infrastructure markets.

Hannes Schill first joined eCAPITAL in 2014 and became a Managing Partner in 2024, after serving as Venture Partner from 2021 to 2024 alongside a role as Financial Director at an industrial technology company and various advisory mandates. Earlier in his career he worked at Innogy Venture Capital, on project and M&A valuations at RWE Innogy, in M&A investment banking at Morgan Stanley, and as a financial analyst at Robert Bosch. He holds a bachelor's degree in international business administration from DHBW Stuttgart and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

Katharina Frie is a Partner at eCAPITAL. Before joining the firm, she was a Senior Consultant at UnternehmerTUM, the entrepreneurship center of the Technical University of Munich, working on innovation strategy, corporate incubation, and company building, and served as Interim COO at the TechFounders high-tech startup accelerator. She holds an M.Sc. in Technology & Management from TUM and studied abroad at Católica-Lisbon School of Business and Economics and the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.

Lucas Merle began his career as a Management Trainee at renewable energy company juwi, later working as Operations Manager at Helpling and as a Management Consultant at UDG Consulting (which became SMP Strategy Consultants). He holds a B.Sc. in Management from Kozminski University and an M.Sc. in Entrepreneurship & Digital Innovation from ESCP. At eCAPITAL he focuses primarily on software and AI startups.

Michael Mayer is a Senior Partner at eCAPITAL with over 25 years of experience in venture capital. Before joining the firm, he founded TechnoStart, a venture capital firm focused on seed and early-stage technology companies. Earlier in his career he led the "Technology Transfer" working group at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation and worked as an editor for monthly magazines at Transmedia Verlag. He holds a Diploma in Economics from the University of Konstanz.

Paul-Josef Patt has worked in venture capital for over twenty-five years. He was an investor in eCAPITAL's Fund I, moved into management in 2001, relaunched the firm in 2004, and served as its CEO for 25 years until the end of 2025; he now continues part-time as Founding Partner overseeing some portfolio companies. Earlier in his career he was a project manager at Roland Berger, chief representative of Kaufhof Holding AG, and executive partner of the retail chain Ernsting's family; he studied business administration in Tübingen, Paris and Muenster, where he completed his PhD.

Steffen holds a degree in electrical engineering and business administration with a focus on entrepreneurship from RWTH Aachen University, and studied abroad at Tongji University. His earlier experience includes business development for smart grid applications in China and R&D on superconductor solutions. He now works in venture capital, focusing on technology-driven business models.

Willi Mannheims is an entrepreneur focused on data security. He studied aerospace engineering at RWTH Aachen and Queens College UK, and earned an MBA from Henley Management College UK and the University of Houston. His career includes management roles at Daimler Chrysler and the VC fund DASA, head of business development at CUBIS AG, and founder & CEO of Secunet AG, as well as CEO positions at escrypt GmbH, ISITS AG, and Eracom AG. He has been involved in four IPOs and holds several supervisory board positions.

Constantin Sanders joined the eCAPITAL investment team as an Associate in January 2024. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in business from WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, with a focus on Strategy, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation, and spent a semester abroad at LUISS University in Rome. Before eCAPITAL he interned at the startups numa and Tourlane and gained investment experience at the Berlin-based VC funds Foodlabs and Earlybird Venture Capital.

Yanick Rosenbaum is an Investment Manager at eCAPITAL. Before joining the firm's investment team, he co-founded TCG Home, a portfolio management software company for the global collectibles market, and previously held various roles across early- to late-stage start-ups and venture building. He holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Münster with a specialization in Marketing & Entrepreneurship and studied abroad at Reykjavik University in Iceland.

Christoph Ostermann studied at the University of Bayreuth and later served as Managing Partner at KMC Management Consultants GmbH. He founded and ran several companies, including Accelerance Business Consulting & Corporate Finance GmbH and Sunmachine GmbH, and until 2021 was founder and Managing Director of sonnen GmbH (formerly Sonnenbatterie GmbH), which was acquired by Shell New Energies in 2019. Since leaving sonnen in 2021 he has been active as a private investor and serves as a Venture Partner at eCAPITAL.

Cornelius Patt holds a PhD in Business Administration and Management and a business degree from the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. He previously worked as a consultant at Trust Consult and as a consultant/project manager at Roland Berger, and is CEO and Co-Founder of zooplus, which was acquired by Hellman & Friedman and EQT. He is an active private investor and serves as a Venture Partner at eCAPITAL AG.

Hans-Christoph Quelle is a Venture Partner at eCAPITAL entrepreneurial Partners AG and CEO of a security startup. His career includes roles at Deutsche Telekom as an International Bid Manager and Account Manager for Fixed Networks, followed by positions at Nokia spanning sales, market creation, product strategy, and corporate strategy between 1999 and 2007.

Richard Seibt is a business graduate from the University of Hamburg and serves as a Venture Partner at eCAPITAL. He previously held the roles of General Manager Germany at IBM and COO at United Internet. He chairs the supervisory boards of Open-Xchange AG, Evidanza AG, Simple Fact AG, and PE International AG, and sits on the advisory board of Pactas GmbH.

Thomas Dullien holds an M.Sc. in Mathematics from Ruhr-University Bochum and specializes in reverse engineering and IT security. He founded and led Zynamics, which was acquired by Google, later worked as a software engineer on Google's Project Zero, and co-founded and served as CEO of optimyze.cloud AG. He received the German IT Security Award in 2006 and the Pwnie Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015, and works as a Venture Partner at eCAPITAL.

Aileen Tebbe joined eCAPITAL as an executive assistant in 2025. She previously completed an apprenticeship as an event manager at the Messe und Congress Centrum Halle Münsterland and worked at FH Münster as an executive assistant and later as a marketing manager. She holds a bachelor's degree in Communication and Marketing Management from the IST-Hochschule für Management in Düsseldorf.

Ann-Christin Kortenbrede is a Managing Partner at Gründerfonds Ruhr. She has background in economics and handles startup funding inquiries for the fund.

Antonia Knuth joined eCAPITAL's finance and investment controlling team in late 2021. She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration with a focus on accounting from the University of Bayreuth and a master's degree in accounting from the University of Münster, and completed a PhD focused on whistleblowing systems. During her doctoral studies she led the CUR Executive MBA programs at the University of Münster, where she also lectured.

Barbara Kaup works in financial and investment controlling at eCAPITAL Entrepreneurial Partners. She holds a business degree, having studied business administration at the University of Siegen and the University of Newcastle in Australia, with a focus on controlling and corporate environmental economics. She has professional experience in finance and controlling.

Elke Kramer works on financial and investment controlling within the operations team at eCAPITAL Entrepreneurial Partners. She earned a business degree from the University of Münster, concentrating on auditing and corporate taxation, and has professional experience in finance and controlling.

Sarah Janzen joined eCAPITAL in 2025 as a Financial & Investment Controller. She holds an M.Sc. in Business Administration with a specialization in accounting and controlling from the Hamburger Fern-Hochschule, which she completed while working full-time.

Svenja Nentwig joined eCAPITAL's investment team as an Associate in 2021. She studied Business Administration & Economics with a focus on accounting and finance at LMU and earned an M.Sc. in Management from the University of Muenster, specializing in entrepreneurship and innovation management. Prior to and during her studies she worked in M&A, consulting, and venture capital.