Klaus Hommels

Klaus Hommels is Founder of Lakestar. Lakestar invests in European as well as U.S. companies that show fast international growth. Klaus has been involved in the early days of investments such as Skype, Xing, King, Facebook, Spotify and Airbnb. More recent investments include online men's grooming business Harry's, GoEuro, Opendoor and FiveAI. Klaus started his career at Bertelsmann, before joining AOL Germany in 1995 as a Board Member. He was also a venture partner of Benchmark Capital Europe. He earned his MBA and PhD in finance from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. He was ranked as one of the top Europe-based venture capital investors in the global Midas List 2013, 2014 and 2015 and just became third best European investor in the first European list of the same ranking. Lakestar is the leading European VC with a true global presence with offices in Zurich, Berlin and London as well as satellites in New York and Hong Kong. Klaus has a strong voice in the European Tech Ecosystems which he supports passionately with various initiatives, eg. the 'Internet Foundation'. Klaus started his career at Bertelsmann, before joining AOL Germany in 1995 as a Board Member. He was also a venture partner of Benchmark Capital Europe. He earned his MBA and PhD in finance from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. He was ranked as one of the top Europe-based venture capital investors in the global Midas List 2013, 2014 and 2015 and just became third best European investor in the first European list of the same ranking. Lakestar is the leading European VC with a true global presence with offices in Zurich, Berlin and London as well as satellites in New York and Hong Kong. Klaus has a strong voice in the European Tech Ecosystems which he supports passionately with various initiatives, eg. the 'Internet Foundation'.