Bio

Volker Hichert – managing partner of DPE – was a partner at Granville Baird, one of the leading small-cap investors in the German market for many years, before co-founding DPE. For six years at Granville, he was responsible for investments in mechanical engineering, the metal-working industry, the consumer goods industry, production and industrial services. Prior to this position, Volker Hichert held leading management positions in German SMEs for almost 9 years – as a managing partner of Yxlon International, on the Executive Board of the Hako Group and as a member of the Executive Board at the railway carriage manufacturer Talbot. Volker launched his career at The Boston Consulting Group in Düsseldorf and Deutsche Bank AG in Hamburg. Volker Hichert received his degree in business studies from the University of Münster. As Volker Hichert comments: “From entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. That was our principle right from the start at DPE. As an entrepreneur, it was always clear to me that real added value is created by growth – organic or through acquisitions – and not through debt. The secret is to turn managers into entrepreneurs, and to give them scope and time to allow their entrepreneurial energy to evolve. So that their visions can become reality. And it’s a wonderful feeling today to observe that the companies in our family that work to these principles are extremely successful. We, our entire corporate family, their employees and our investors are passionate about medium-sized businesses.