Markus Wagner
Born in Vienna, Markus has worked in mobile & internet communication from the outset of his career. In 2000 he cofounded wap.at (later: Xidris) and acted as the company’s managing director until 2004. Xidris soon became one of Europe’s leading providers of mobile communication services. It was subsequently merged into the 3united AG which was sold to the US company VeriSign Inc. in early 2006. As Vice-President for Product Innovations & Business Development of VeriSign Markus divided his time between Vienna and New York and worked with US media companies such as NBC, CBS, FOX and ClearChannel to launch new interactive and content services. i5invest relies on Markus’s strategic thinking capabilities to identify promising new ventures and ideas.
Stefan Kalteis
Stefan brings significant industry and venture capital experience to the team. Previously he worked with Target Partners, a leading European Venture Capital firm, where he both assessed new investment opportunities, managed the due diligence process and supported portfolio companies as a board observer. He also worked several years in the IT industry as Software Engineer, IT Architect and Consultant and holds an MBA from ESADE Business school an MSc in Telecommunications Engineering with a concentration in IT Stefan likes to talk about value proposition and is a big advocate of people being most important for any venture.
His blog: www.idee.vc
Oliver Holle
Oliver is a serial entrepreneur with deep experience in the mobile and internet industry. In 1992, Oliver founded SYSIS, taking smart, interactive games to the exploding online market. Supported by two rounds of VC financing, SYSIS acquired global customers such as Time Inc. and Ericsson. Facing the internet crisis, Oliver focused SYSIS’ on mobile content, which resulted in a 3-way merger that created a top European player. Lead by Oliver, 3united AG boasted a positive EBIT margin of more than 40% before its 2006 acquisition by VeriSign Inc. at a valuation of USD 67m. Oliver relocated to California to take on the global responsibility for VeriSign’s mobile media business as Vice President. In 2008, Oliver started his new company, The Merger. Oliver holds a BA in business administration from WU as well as an MPhil in Economics from Columbia University.
Martin Sirlinger
Martin is an experienced entrepreneur and business consultant. After years with ONE, Austria’s third-largest MNO as Product- and Projectmanager he took the responsibility for ONE’s Innovationcenter “ ONE SmartSpace” as member of the Strategy Department. In 2006 he started BÜRO FÜR TRANSFER, a team of self-employed consultants focusing on the creative industries and also co-founded as CEO Avaloop IT Solutions, Austria’s first Virtual World Developer. He is member of the pool of departure experts, Mingo coach, trainer and moderator in all topics of the creative industries . Martin studied WiPäd at the University of Vienna and General Management in Budapest.
Christian Lutz
Christian Lutz has over 15 years experience as an operating manager and entrepreneur in the internet, media and communication industries. After studying on Technical University Vienna (Industrial Engineer) he founded his first software-company (content publishing platform) and successfully sold it to an international publishing company and then for 3 years managed the launch of regional online-platforms in Austria (Vienna Online, Austria Online). In 1999 he left and started UCP, a venture in the mobile communication and internet space – 2 consumer portals (sms.at, uboot.com) and software business ucp morgen. Lutz and his team scaled these companies and ultimately sold sucessfully. The mobile software company ucp morgen, where Lutz was CEO, first merged with US Venture backed firm Qpass in 2005 and was ultimately bought by Amdocs Inc. for $275m in 2006. Since 1999 Christian successfully raised 50+mio in venture funding for different projects. Christian is now CEO of uebermut.com, his small investment holding, which has 6 investments in technology startups in AT, CH, NL and UK. In this role Christian is on the board of his companies and helps the management with business development, strategy, funding and coaching.
Erik Bovee
Erik has held senior operational and strategic roles in telecoms and internet companies, both startups & publicly listed, where he has been instrumental in driving successful merger and exit strategies.
Erik held senior positions with Digital Mobility, and Dynamical Systems Research – an Ericsson design center, before becoming European Managing Director of eMeta Corp. Erik drove eMeta’s business with top-tier publishers, including News Corp., Oxford University Press, Reed-Elsevier and Wolters-Kluwer. eMeta was sold for USD 30m in 2006.
Prior to joining The Merger, Erik was responsible for VeriSign Mobile Enterprise Services and Enterprise Paging, a multi-protocol service for wireless carriers, including AT&T and Sprint. Erik held P&L responsibility for a USD 20m book of business.
Bernhard Lehner
Bernhard Lehner is a communication professional through and through. His work with and for the media has always been the centre of his professional life. During his communication studies in Vienna he gathered work experiences as a journalist for print and online media. By the End of the 90ies he had changed the site and worked successfully as a PR advisor for agencies but also for in house relations. His references from the last few years include Apple, Samsung, Motorola, Ikea and Cisco. i5invest appreciates Bernhard’s expertise for strategic communication development measurements and their realisation for old and new media with a focus on Europe.
Markus Nenning
Markus has a long history in Business and Corporate Development. With the experience as Product-, Pricing- and Marketing Manager at ONE, Austria’s third-largest MNO, he took responsibility for the eBusiness Development Department focusing on m-Commerce. In 2004 he started with UPC Telekabel, Austrias largest alternative FNO, heading the department “Marketing Services and Business Development. In 2006 started as self-employed consultant and co-founded (CFO & BusDev) of Avaloop IT Solutions. He is Mingo coach and trainer of the creative industries. Markus studied BusAdmin at the University of Vienna and at the USC in L.A.
Alexander Igelsböck
Alexander has spent most of his career in the internet and mobile communications world. After working in traditional marketing and PR channels, he joined Xidris. Early 2004, Xidris merged with two companies to become 3united which was then acquired by VeriSign in 2006. After relocating to Boston, Alexander worked in a variety of project and product management roles as Vice President of Mobile Messaging, including international project management for the top companies in the media, enterprise and mobile content space, managing a team within VeriSign across the United States and Europe.
In 2008 Alex led the divestiture process for VeriSign’s European mobile assets. After its successful completion, he joined The Merger. Alexander holds an MA in Business and Information Management from the University of Applied Sciences inSalzburg, Austria.
Mirko Kinigadner
Before co-founding Xidris, Mirko worked at J.P.Morgan in the TMT financial advisory practice, where he gained vital understanding of M&A.
Within 3united, Mirko managed the Premium Messaging Service Division to become one of Europe’s largest mobile content and messaging aggregators, with more than 70 mobile operator connections across Central and Eastern Europe.
Later, Mirko was the General Manager of VeriSign Austria (120 employees) as well as Director of the DACH region and Lead Business Development Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Since early 2008, Mirko has been working as a business angel and consultant, managing organizational structure, business development and acquisition of venture capital funding.
