Accelerating its ambitions in the German, Austrian and Swiss (DACH) region, Andera Partners is pleased to announce the appointment of Stefan Keitel as Senior Advisor. Mr. Keitel joins Andera Partners, a leading European private equity firm, with more than €3.8 billion of assets under management and six investment strategies, to support the firm strategically and in investor relationship throughout the DACH region.
Andera Life Sciences, the firm’s division for investments in companies developing breakthrough therapeutic products and medical technologies, has been actively present in the DACH region for more than 20 years. The firm has been growing steadily with the €456 million closing of its latest BioDiscovery 6 life science fund to which it also attracted German institutional and private investors to join as limited partners. The firm opened an office in Munich in 2021 and plans to strategically expand its outreach in the region with its multiple investment activities, including inviting investors into its diverse funds. Wholly owned by its partners and management team, Andera Partners is headquartered in Paris, with offices in Milan, Munich and Antwerp.
Mr. Keitel brings more than 25 years of financial industry experience to the Andera team having served in multiple leadership roles in the DACH region. Most recently, Mr. Keitel was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Harald Quandt Holding (HQ Holding) in 2020 after serving as Advisor to the Harald Quandt Family Office since 2017. In January 2023, he moved to the supervisory board of HQ Holding to focus on building a diversified portfolio of mandates while stepping out of daily operations. Prior to HQ Holding, Mr. Keitel was CEO Asset Management & Chief Investment Officer of Deka Bank and CEO of Deka Investment for five years. He spent three years at Berenberg as Managing Director & Chief Investment Officer and served 13 years at Credit Suisse, five of which—from 2008 to 2013—as Global Chief Investment Officer & Global Co-Head Portfolio Management.
Mr. Keitel holds a Diploma of the University of Mainz in Finance, he is an honorary Curator of the Economic Ifo Institute in Munich and Ambassador of the Franz Beckenbauer Foundation. He is a member of several Supervisory and Advisory Boards in Germany and Switzerland.
Stefan Keitel commented: “I am delighted to join Andera Partners as Senior Advisor DACH region and to have the opportunity to help the firm with its development in this region. I have become familiar with Andera Partners over the past years and am impressed by its dynamic and entrepreneurial team. Its position as a leading European investment house with several activities in the PE and VC space is unique. From my perspective, Andera Partners’ financing solutions are a good fit for the needs of the German, Austrian and Swiss markets, and its support for entrepreneurial business leaders as well as for institutional and private investors make it an attractive partner.”
Laurent Tourtois and Raphaël Wisniewski, co-Managing Partners at Andera Partners, added: “We are thrilled to welcome Stefan to our team. With his experience and outstanding reputation, he is a great addition to Andera Partners. The appointment of Stefan underlines our ambition to further strengthen our presence in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, within the context of our broader growth in Europe. We look forward to gaining further traction in the region with Stefan’s support.”
Olivier Litzka, Partner in Andera Partners’ Munich office and responsible for the expansion of Andera Partners in the DACH region, said: “Germany, Austria and Switzerland are of high strategic importance to our firm, particularly for our life sciences activity, with over 20 years of experience already, but increasingly also for our other private equity and private debt teams. Beginning with our physical presence in Munich since 2021 and now strengthening our position with the help of Stefan and his superb background, knowledge and experience in our industry, we are accelerating our outreach to both entrepreneurs and investors.”