Munich Private Equity Partners (MPEP), a specialist in fund investments in the European and North American lower mid-market buyout segment, has established a Strategic Advisory Board. The committee will support the management team on strategic matters, provide fresh perspectives and deepen the firm’s understanding of investor needs – thereby enriching the dialogue with additional viewpoints.
The Advisory Board brings together seasoned professionals from different parts of the private equity industry as well as the broader economy. The initial members include:
- Till Gutzen is co-founder of Cubera, a leading private equity manager with a focus on secondary transactions in the Nordic region. During his tenure, Cubera has evolved into Scandinavia’s largest fund-of-funds player. With more than 30 years’ working in the private equity industry, he brings extensive expertise in fund, co-investment and direct investment strategies. Before founding Cubera, he worked with private equity investments at the Swedish pension fund AP6 and served as managing director of portfolio companies, as well as entrepreneur and investor.
- Dr. Robert Carroll is Managing Partner at POLARIS Investments, a placement agent specialized in alternative investments. Previously, he was Partner and Head of Investor Relations & Responsible Investment Strategy at the European private equity firm Sofinnova Partners. Before joining Sofinnova, Carroll served as Senior Director leading PwC’s global fundraising advisory platform. He also worked at Mercury Capital Advisors, where he oversaw the fundraising activities for institutional investors.
- Elisabeth Köstinger spent more than a decade in Austrian and European politics, including as Federal Minister for Agriculture, Regions and Tourism and as a Member of the European Parliament. Since transitioning to the private sector, she has worked as a strategic advisor with a focus on sustainable business growth and ESG. She also serves on various supervisory boards – including the Irish airline Ryanair.
- Markus Drews has more than 35 years of experience in the international finance and insurance industry. Until the end of 2023, he served as Managing Director of Canada Life Assurance Europe plc, where he led the German business as CEO and was a member of the European Leadership Team of the Canadian insurance group Great West Lifeco. Previously, he was a member of the Executive Board of Talanx Deutschland AG and Chairman of the Board of HDI Vertriebs AG. Today, he works as private investor and entrepreneur and serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director on the Supervisory Board of Volkswohl Bund Versicherungen.
“We are delighted to have Till Gutzen, Dr. Robert Carroll, Elisabeth Köstinger and Markus Drews as distinguished experts at our side. Their experience in senior roles across private equity, our client base and the wider economy adds substantial depth to our strategic dialogue beyond day-to-day operations. They will make a valuable contribution to setting the right impulses for the future in the best interest of our investors,” says David Schäfer, Managing Director at MPEP.
“In a market environment that remains complex and highly dynamic, incorporating diverse perspectives into decision-making is more important than ever. With the establishment of the Advisory Board, we are creating an additional forum to discuss challenges and opportunities across disciplines and to further develop our offering for investors in a sustainable way,” says Christopher Bär, Managing Director at MPEP.
MPEP provides institutional investors with access to high-quality private equity funds in the European and North American lower mid-market buyout segment. Since its foundation in 2011, the investment boutique has made more than 100 fund investments, 95% of which were heavily oversubscribed. Its investor base includes pension funds, insurance companies, banks, family offices and foundations from Germany and abroad.
