Thomas Neumann

I am looking back on more than 30 years of practical experience as a lender (Corporates, LBO, Structured and Project Finance), an equity investor on a senior (Partner) level with one of Europe’s leading Private Equity funds (Doughty Hanson) as a M&A and restructuring advisor.
During those years I worked across a very broad range of sectors and geographies.
I served as a board member for large companies such as KP1 (French manufacturer of pre-cast concrete construction components), LM Wind (Danish/Dutch world largest manufacturer of rotor-blades for the wind turbine industry (at that time)), ATU (German automotive service and repair business), TMF (Dutch business process out-sourcing)
In addition, I am currently shareholder of two quite small businesses, one start-up (founded in 2009) and one turn-around case in Switzerland. On both occasions I not only did advisory work but got involved directly in day-to-day operations. At present, having done the groundwork, I reduced my involvement to advisor/board member with both businesses.
I believe that business that are in a strategic growth or turn-around phase or that are seeking to expand by external growth and would need assistance in organising and overseeing an M&A search and acquisition project would benefit from my experience.
Also, being a person of trust for a management team or owners to bounce back ideas as to develop a business or to provide a fresh look at a company to identify areas of potential improvement would be one of my key strengths. Identifying value enhancement opportunities and overseeing and guiding the implementation of value creating initiatives has been the centre of my work for most of my career.
In terms of sector expertise, I gained most of my experience in the manufacturing and service industry but have insights into other sectors as well. Overall, my extensive experience allows me to adapt quickly and analyse situations in many areas. This has often proved helpful as I was able to provide a fresh view on situations.