First technology. Then companies. Then capital.

Markus grew up around entrepreneurship — in his parents' family business. He started out as a software developer, and one question has driven him ever since: how do you create the best possible product with the most viable business model? He's the advocate of the user — the kind who climbs deep down the rabbit hole until he truly understands the people behind the application. That standard shapes mantro's Digital Product & Technology Development: he builds the best possible products and pushes the teams to achieve the unthinkable. Above all, Markus is mantro's big-picture visionary: he thinks in ecosystems and across borders, connects academia and the startup world, and builds the international landscape mantro grows in — from Bavaria and far beyond. He passes on what he knows, to our own teams and as a lecturer for young founders at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology.

Although Matthias wasn't there at the founding, he's just as load-bearing a part of mantro's leadership as the other three. He's the strategic mind behind our venture execution: he builds and runs scalable organizations and makes sure strong early-stage ideas become successfully scaled companies. He bridges corporate strategy and venture mindset and makes deep tech ventures executable in the first place. He knows how innovation really works inside large organizations — and how it turns into new business units that actually scale. Across all mantro venture activities, he's the go-to for setting up the perfectly fitting target operating model. That shapes mantro's Venture Building & Scaling, Process Innovation & Business Scaling, and Corporate Business Creation. His PhD in business economics and innovation management is the foundation for it.