Klaus Hommels

Klaus is one of Europe’s leading business angels and venture capitalists. He is also a prominent voice for the European Tech Ecosystem with the aim of strengthening Europe’s position in times of digital transformation. Klaus has repeatedly been recognized as one of Europe’s top venture capital investors, having invested in many major players in the tech sector. He was an early investor in companies such as Skype, Xing, King, Facebook, Spotify, and Airbnb. He founded Lakestar in 2012 after running his own venture capital fund, Hommels Holding. As a passionate advocate of the European Tech Ecosystem, Klaus frequently interacts with politicians, regulators, and corporates to bring European technology and capital flows on the global agenda. He is a founding member of think-tank initiatives such as the Internet Economy Foundation and the European Center for Digital Competitiveness in Berlin. Klaus is part of Henkel’s digital board and a member of the board of trustees of the Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft. He sponsors an associate professorship for Venture Capital at Humboldt University Berlin, as well as Ashoka to support those entrepreneurs that seek innovations for the good of society. 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 Ph.D. in finance from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.