Board of Directors

Jürgen F. Habichler (President)

Jürgen Habichler has been a company founder, entrepreneur and financier for over 12 years. In 1995 he founded the “Ooe Datenhighway Entwicklungs GmbH” as one of the first alternative telecommunication and internet service providers in Austria.

Alongside expert engagement with the European Commission in Brussels, Jürgen worked in the investment department of Morgan Stanley. After receiving his MBA in 2001 from Wharton Business School in Pennsylvania, Jürgen joined Siebel Systems in their Silicon Valley office where he was ultimately selected as a recipient of the "Siebel Product Marketing Star Award" and the “Siebel CEO Award”.

From 2004 Jürgen worked for Atlas Venture's Technology team, where he spearheaded the establishment of Atlas' Cleantech division.

Dr. Leo Schrutt (Vice-President)

Dr. Leo Thomas Schrutt is an expert in banking, bringing 20 years of asset management and investment research experience into the team.

Dr. Schrutt held several positions at the Julius Baer Group between 1998 and 2007. He was a Member of the Group Executive Board and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Julius Baer Asset Management in Zurich, Frankfurt, London and New York where he was responsible for Asset Management and Research. He oversaw 23 Billion Swiss Francs and led a team of 120 employees.

Schrutt also held top management functions at the Swiss Bank Cooperation in Basel as Head of Institutional Asset Management - Switzerland as well as with UBS in Zurich where he was Head of Investment Counseling and Investment Research and Chief Analyst, Head of the Investment Committee. After his doctoral thesis he also worked for the Swiss National Bank.

Dr. Leo Thomas Schrutt held several positions on various boards and is an advisor to several international institutions. He is a lecturer at the University of Lichtenstein and the Fachhochschule in Aarau, Switzerland.

Alexander von Hutten

Alexander von Hutten has a total of more than 15 years operative industry experiences in various managerial positions in the Cleantech sector. Most recently, he was CEO and president of the RWE-Environment Group in Spain as well as a successful private investor in this area. From 2003 to 2005 Alexander was active as a partner for CatCap Corporate Finance GmbH in Hamburg, where he was successful in carrying out multiple major finance transactions.

Before his finance and venture capital activities, he managed the installation and operation of diverse recycling facilities for the RWE-Environment Group. Previously to this, he was Project Director at Lurgi Umwelt AG in Frankfurt for several years.

Prof. Dr. Dr.-Ing. (habil) Hans Müller-Steinhagen

Prof. Dr. Dr.-Ing. (habil) Hans Müller-Steinhagen has been Director of the Institute of Technical Thermodynamics of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Director of the Institute for Thermodynamics and Thermal Engineering of the University of Stuttgart since April 2000. After finishing his doctoral studies at University Karlsruhe, Prof. Müller-Steinhagen worked 16 years at universities in Canada, New Zealand and England and as visiting scientist at BASF and Linde AG.

As author and co-author he has contributed over 520 papers to books, journals and conference proceedings and has been the recipient of several awards and prizes.

In addition to his scientific functions, Prof. Müller-Steinhagen is a member of numerous national and international committees such as the two Councils of the Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg concerned with Innovation and Sustainability and the Executive Board of EUREC.

The DLR Institute, led by Prof. Müller-Steinhagen, contributed decisively with its R&D activities to the foundation of the Desertec Industry Initiative (Dii). By 2050 the Dii aims to meet 15% of Europe’s energy needs by importing green energy, mainly generated by thermal power plants, from North Africa. ABB, E.ON, Deutsche Bank, RWE, Saint Gobain, Schott AG and Siemens are among the 19 member companies of the Dii. This DLR Institute is also responsible for the German Lead Scenario for a Sustainable Energy Provision which is updated on an annual basis.

Dr. Willy Kissling

Dr. Willy Kissling has decades of experience in leading management positions and supervisory committees in the area of Cleantech and adjacent segments. Currently Dr. Kissling is a member of the Board of Directors of Schneider Electric, a global player in the area of energy management und energy efficiency, a member of the European Advisory Board of Booz & Co. Management Consultants and president of the Board of Directors of Resort Ragaz AG.

Previously Dr. Kissling was a member of the Supervisory Board of the logistics company Kühne & Nagel, of the packaging company SIG Holding Ltd, of Holcim, an international manufacturer of construction materials and of OC Oerlikon (former Unaxis), a leading manufacturer of production facilities for thin-film solar modules, vacuum systems and drive systems.

Dr. Willy Kissling holds a PhD from the University of Bern and completed a leadership program for executives at Harvard Business School.

Daniel S. Wenzel

As co-founder and partner of Mountain Partners AG Daniel initiated and executed the strategic expansion of the company by establishing the new organisational structure of the Mountain Partners Group.

Before starting his career at Mountain, Daniel was Chief of Staff at ACG AG responsible for all strategy projects and M&A transactions He also successfully carried out the split and the sale of the most important divisions of the technology group.

Prior to ACG, Daniel worked with Bain & Company, Dresdner Bank Latin America and BNP Paribas. Daniel studied Business Administration at WHU – Otto Beisheim School Management, at Helsinki School of Economics and Universidad Adolfo Ibanez in Chile.