Resume | CV Kai Baumgartner | Baumgartner Capital | SFO, Venture Capital, Private Equity & Advisory
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Resume
Executive profile
Kai Baumgartner (M.S.E., M.A., primary residence Liechtenstein), with 20+ years at the intersection of investing and operating across Private Equity, Venture Capital, and Wealth Management.
He has raised and structured more than USD 503 million for early- and growth-stage ventures and led deployments across DeepTech, HumanTech, wealth platforms, precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, and palladium), and digital assets (CeFi, DeFi, Blockchain). Serves as an independent board director and advisor, bringing governance discipline, risk management, and value-creation playbooks to founder-led and sponsor-backed companies.
Known for hands-on execution—from strategy and M&A to go-to-market, digitalization, and performance turnaround—including launching the flexgold D2C/B2B platform and delivering record-year results after restructuring at Degussa Goldhandel. Combines investor judgement with operator speed to accelerate growth, de-risk scale-up phases, and compound long-term enterprise value.
He combines his passion for self-optimization—both mental and physical—with a strong focus on disruptive innovation in the day-to-day work. In his spare time, he enjoys nature, sports, and outdoor activities all year and values continuous learning and development. His life motto can be summed up as: “simple and active lifestyle”
Value Contribution
Kai Baumgartner supports companies and start-ups in achieving sustainable growth, (digital) transformation, and measurable value creation through strategic investments, operational excellence, and board mandates. He combines capital with entrepreneurial execution capabilities.
Areas of Expertise
- Capital: Venture Capital, Private Equity, Business Angel: origination, fundraising, co-investment, syndication, FoF
- Transactions: thesis design, diligence, buy-and-build, exits
- Growth: pricing, GTM, enterprise partnerships, internationalization
- Digital: product/platform strategy, CRM, data, automation
- Governance: independent board roles, audit/compliance, CEO sparring
- Brand & Sales: brand strategy & architecture, category design, GTM & channel strategy (D2C/B2B/marketplaces), key account & partner ecosystems, pricing & packaging, revenue operations (pipeline/CRM), demand generation & performance marketing, sales enablement
- Sectors: AI, DeepTech, HumanTech, MonetaryTech, WealthTech, Digital Assets, Precious Metals, Sports, Lifestyle, Consumer Goods
Typical roles: Independent Supervisory Board/Administrative Board/Advisory Board Member, PE/VC Operating Partner, Interim C-Level (CEO/CBDO/CIO/CCO/CMO)
Expertise in Tech & Publishing
- IT book author to Addison-Wesley, Markt & Technik, Galileo Press, Sybex while still in school/university (1, 2, 3)
- Contributor to c’t (Heise), Internet Intern, MX Magazin, PC Intern (Data Becker), Internet Professionell (VNU)
- Speaker at CEBIT (Hanover) and at DAX/Fortune-500 companies, incl. Adobe (Macromedia)
- Community: Co-founder and since 1999 chair of the (former) Adobe User Group Dreamworker.de
Expertise in Triathlon & Sports Business
- Co-founder of 3athlon.de, for years Europe’s most widely read triathlon online magazine
- Consultant to the World Triathlon Corporation (Ironman.com), Race Director of the IRONMAN European Championship in Frankfurt am Main from its inaugural year
- Media partner and sponsor of German IRONMAN World Champions (including Thomas Hellriegel, Normann Stadler, Faris Al-Sultan) and other elite athletes: Sandra Wallenhorst, Stefan Holzner; early support for Patrick Lange
- Responsible for marketing and sales topics at PowerBar Europe (Nestlé)
- Founder of the grassroots movement Draftathlon.com
- Voluntary Chairman of the Hessian Triathlon Association and other sports clubs or associations
- Media reference: “When it comes to triathlon and Ironman, it’s best to ask Kai Baumgartner” – DIE ZEIT, October 11, 2016
- Regularly cited in BILD and DER SPIEGEL/Spiegel Online*
Detailed Overview
Selected professional positions (ad interim, permanent)
StraightWalk GmbH — Partner (Advisory, Investment & VC)
Munich-based global advisory, investment, and venture capital firm serving corporates, start-ups, and financial sponsors with strategic, commercial, and financial guidance.
- Focus: DeepTech, HumanTech, and ventures at the intersection of robotics (wearables), drones, and AI.
- Workstreams: investment theses, diligence, GTM, partnerships, smart capital deployment.
- Commercial: brand positioning & narrative, category design, partner/channel models.
Adcuram Group — Director, Digital Transformation, Marketing & Sales
European private-equity industrial holding (Private Equity, Real Estate, Family Office) operating hands-on within portfolio companies.
- Portfolio context: subsidiaries with approx. EUR 600 million revenues (2017); targets: SMEs EUR 30–500 million revenues, succession cases, corporate carve-outs.
- Workstreams: strategy, digitization, commercial excellence, and scale-up programs across operations.
- Commercial: pricing & packaging, sales funnel/CRM, key account playbooks, channel strategy.
SOLIT Group AG / SOLIT Management Suisse GmbH — Chief Business Development Officer (CBDO)
International precious-metals holding headquartered in the DACH region; focus on value protection, preservation, custody.
- Mandate: M&A, internationalization, and product/platform strategy including flexgold.
- Workstreams: owned CRM and end-to-end digitization initiatives to drive customer growth and retention.
- Commercial: brand & value proposition for wealth-/precious-metals products, pricing & packaging, partner distribution.
Degussa Sonne/Mond Goldhandel GmbH — Division Manager/Head of Marketing, Communications, CRM & E-Commerce
Privately owned, crisis-resilient precious-metals trading company with annual revenues in the billions.
- Post-restructuring: delivered record results in 2019 and 2020; reported to CEO/Executive Board spokesman.
- Workstreams: co-led digitization and the award-winning cultural-history museum Goldkammer Frankfurt.
- Commercial: eCommerce growth (conversion/retention), brand campaigns, performance marketing, CLV/CAC steering.
Footnotes
* Source (2017): DIE ZEIT weekly 498,439 / reach 2.34m; BILD weekly 1,687,717 / reach 12.31m; DER SPIEGEL monthly 765,178 / reach 1.6m.