MANAGEMENT BOARD
Our Team consists of highly experienced and successful Online entrepreneurs, that have a proven track record in building companies over the last 2 decades. We strongly believe in only investing in businesses we deeply understand from the product to the operational level. Our hands-on philosophy and active contributions into our investment companies allow us to add value beyond financing for the successful development of an entity.
TRINE BUUS
CEO / Verwaltungsrat
Trine Buus is a digital native and serial entrepreneur with broad experience in Management, Scale-ups, Product Development, platform design, Online Marketing and Communication.
She held leading positions at ad pepper media and prettysocial media, where she developed several media and distributions platforms, content and monetization strategies and managed the respective processes.
She serves as Executive Director of Scala and is actively working wth all our portfolio companies on their marketing and communication strategies. Aside of that she is teaching from time to time at Copenhagens University Film- og Medievidenskab as well as International Advertising Association (IAA) in Digital Excellence.
Language: Danish (Native), English (Business), German (Medium)
SACHA CARTON
Management Partner and Director Research and Technology
Sacha Carton is an International media & technology entrepreneur, senior executive, board level director and investor with over 18 years experience in marketing, direct marketing, digital media & technology start-up and general management.
He co-founded and spent 14 years at ad pepper media where he led the company's product, corporate and strategic development activities in the fields of Display Advertising, Lead Generation, Email Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, SEO/SEM, Audience Measurement, Adserving, Real Time Bidding (RTB) and Demand Side Platform technology. Throughout this period he led and co-led over 20 Digital Media M&A transactions.
Sacha Carton is an active early stage investor that has participated in companies having achieved significant exits and currently holds a portfolio of maturing investments.
He serves as Non Executive Director and Advisory Board Member to a group of select digital media and technology companies in the US and Europe and also acts as a senior advisor to Corporate Finance firm LD&A Jupiter - Lorentz, Deschamps and Associates.
Sacha Carton is a fluent English, French, Spanish and German speaker having lived and worked in 10 countries and 4 continents.
ULRICH SCHMIDT
Chairman / Verwaltungsrat
Ulrich Schmidt is an Online Pioneer, Entrepreneur and investor since the early days of the Internet. With a professional background in Sales Management and Offline Media he was one of the first investors into the ad-delivery company Adforce in 1997 (IPO in 1999 for 700 Mio USD). He co-founded the European JV (Adtech AG), which he sold partly in 2000 for 21 Mio USD to CMGI and where he was still involved in the company, when AOL acquired Adtech in 2006.
In 1998 he was the Founder and CEO of ad pepper media, which he built up over 14 years from Zero to a 75 Mio USD Dollar company with 300 employees, operating in 14 markets. He managed the successful IPO of the company in 2000, where the company was listed at a 220 Mio USD valuation at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Throughout this period he was executing more than 25 strategic M&A acquisitions and trade sales.
Ulrich Schmidt has also been active in the market as a seed investor into several companies throughout the economic ups and downs of the last 15 years, whereas all companies had either already an successful exit or are being valued currently at impressive multiples.
Ulrich Schmidt has a Diploma in Economics from the Friedrich Alexander University in Nürnberg, Germany, vast experience in Technology, Marketing, Law, Accounting and Corporate Management. He speaks 4 languages and has Management experience in 10 different countries.
SIMONE BASSI
CFO / Verwaltungsrat
Simone Bassi is one of our senior professionals, with an eye for what makes a business succeed. Speaking 4 languages and always thoroughly prepared to his teeth. Driving our company's financial planning and performing risk management by analyzing the liabilities and investments. Part of the decisions on investment strategies by considering cash and liquidity risks.
ADVISORY BOARD AND PARTNERS
The Advisory board has to cover all areas of the Corporate Strategy, meaning that the board members can not only be experts in Finance or Law or Technology or Sales or Organisation. They have to understand the complete Value Chain and tasks and have to prove this with the respective M&A and operational track record.
MERILL DEAN
Advisor
Merrill Dean is a leading media and technolopgy executive with a broad international business experience spanning companies such as: The Walt Disney Company, where he served as President of the Music Division and Global Publishing; Televisa International Marketing Group Inc. as the President and CEO; Adforce where he served as COO and Founding Member; ad pepper media where he was a co-founder and Member of the Supervisory Board; dMarc Broadcasting Inc. (acquired by Google $400 Million), as President/International and most recently Centri Technology as co-founder and Director of the Board.
Merrill Dean is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles - The Anderson School of Management.