BVK General Meeting appoints Rolf Christof Dienst Chairman of the Board

BVK management expands

Rolf Christof Dienst, Wellington Partners, was appointed new Chairman of the BVK Board by the General Meeting of the Bundesverband Deutscher Kapitalbeteiligungsgesellschaften - German Private Equity and Venture Capital Association e.V. (BVK) on its 19^th session held in Frankfurt/Main on 18 April 2007. Rolf Dienst takes over from Thomas U.W. Pütter, Chief Executive, Allianz Capital Partners GmbH, who had been Chairman since 2005 and member of the BVK Board since 2001. 

Four of the eight members of the Board were newly appointed in rotation: Kurt Müller, Partner, Target Partners GmbH; Dr. Günther Niethammer, Partner, Odewald & Compagnie Gesellschaft für Beteiligungen; Jens Reidel, Managing Partner and Global Head of BC Partner Beteiligungsberatung GmbH; and Dr Peter Terhart, CEO, S-REFIT AG Regionaler Finanzierungsfonds für Innovationen und Technologie­unternehmen.

Dr Günther Niethammer and Jens Reidel were appointed Vice Chairmen of the Board.

Thomas U.W. Pütter left the Board after 7 years and the Vice Chairmen Prof Michael Gross, BC Brandenburg Capital GmbH, and Michael Phillips, Apax Partners Beteiligungsberatung GmbH as well as the Board Member Friedrich Bornikoel, TVM Capital GmbH after 4 years, each.

The BVK members thanked the retired Board members for their extraordinary commitment for the Association and the German private equity industry.

With Rolf Christof Dienst an experienced private equity expert took the chair of the German private equity association. He holds a law degree from Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich and has been active in the venture capital sector since 1978. In 1991, he was founding general partner of Wellington Partners in Munich. Prior to forming Wellington Partners he was founding partner of the Munich-based Matuschka Group and co-founder of TVM Munich in 1984. He is particularly committed to Odeon, the Munich Ludwig Maximilian university’s center for entrepreneurship and is member of the advisory board of the Hightech-Gründerfonds in Bonn.
Rolf Dienst is married and has five children.

BVK intensifies lobby activities
„We cannot imagine German entrepreneurship without private equity. And although it is a rather young industry compared to other countries like Great Britain or the USA it gives the German economy great impetus, creates jobs and generates growth.”, says Dienst. “We must intensify our endeavours to better explain our industry to the general public. That is why the new BVK Board will focus on putting private equity investors into true light and on continuing the dialogue with policy makers and economists. Private equity has a great impact on the German economy particularly in the present situation.”

Per April 2007 the BVK has 185 full and 90 associate members making it the strongest association representing the German industry’s interests.

BVK management expands
As from 1 May, 2007 Dörte Höppner will join the association’s management. Prior to joining the BVK she headed the information and organisation department of the DIW Berlin. As a managing director she will be responsible for managing communication with representatives of politics and economy, journalists and the general public.

About the BVK
Bundesverband Deutscher Kapitalbeteiligungsgesellschaften – German Private Equity and Venture Capital Association e.V. (BVK) was founded in 1989 in Berlin. It represents German private equity and venture capital firms as well as international firms operating in Germany. The mission is to represent its members’ interests and to foster public understanding of the work and role of private equity investors as reliable partners for companies, initiators of economic growth and a factor of stability for the German economy.

Press Contact
Bundesverband Deutscher
Kapitalbeteiligungsgesellschaften e.V. (BVK)
Dörte Höppner, Managing Director
Reinhardtstrasse 27c, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Phone: +49.30.30 69 82-22
Fax:: +49.30.30 69 82-20
hoeppner@bvk-ev.de
www.bvk-ev.de