An Extraordinary Combination of Experience and Focus

Miro Parizek established Hampleton in 2013 with fellow deal makers and technology industry entrepreneurs, uniting hands-on industry expertise and seasoned transaction experience for the optimal M&A advisory. Miro has been providing M&A advisory services to the technology industry since the pre-dot.com era and has managed scores of transactions.

Prior to his M&A career, which began in 1998, Miro founded and ran three software and IT related firms in the ’80s and ’90s.

Miro’s experience spans virtually the entire information technology industry. He has managed and closed transactions in sectors as diverse as 3D-imaging, BI, BPM, compiler software, CRM, customer services, DAM, design collaboration, digital commerce, DMS, data center automation, e-Learning, enterprise systems management, ERP, GIS, HCM, IT services, logistics, SaaS, simulation, SCM, , unified messaging, video editing, WFM and multiple verticals.

Miro is an avid skier, hiker and enjoys time with his wife and twins.

Miro has an International Finance Degree from the Wharton School of Business and a Computer Science Degree from the Moore School of Engineering. In addition to his mother tongue, English, Miro speaks fluent German.

Frank Berger is a Partner at Hampleton and is based in southern Germany.

Sometime after selling his company to Systematics AG, which was later acquired by NYSE, listed EDS, Frank began working as an advisor with a US-based boutique M&A firm. This was born out of Frank's desire to leverage the experience he gained over four decades in the IT industry. Frank's merger and acquisition experience cuts across many IT industry sectors including BPM, CRM, IT services, ECM & DMS, transaction processing, mobile applications, RFID, security and simulation.

Prior to his advisory career, Frank worked as software development manager, as MD at Digital Equipment, as CEO at Electronic 2000 AG and as MD at Sequent Computer Systems. Later on, he provided strategy consulting to several young, emerging software firms.

In 1989 he founded IQproducts GmbH, which developed into one of Germany's leading full service providers in the area of backup-restore solution. The company was sold in 2000, when it reached a size of about DM40 million in revenues.

Frank holds a Masters Degree in Mathematics from Technical University Berlin and completed the Senior Executive Program at Stanford Graduate Business School.

Jo Goodson is Managing Partner of Hampleton's London office.

She is an accomplished tech entrepreneur with over 25 years' experience in the industry. Jo began her career in the industry during the mid-90s when she joined Broderbund as their second European employee and grew revenues from $0 to $24m in three years. She went on to co-found MediaGold, which, with further offices and bases in France, Italy, Spain and Germany, created an entity providing US software publishers access to the European market place.

After four years of solid growth and profitability, she sold the business in 2003 to Avanquest—a Paris-based Euronext-listed company—where she served as their managing director responsible for the UK and the Nordic region. After leaving she was heavily involved in their acquisition efforts in northern Europe.

Since then, Jo has advised and invested in a range of software and internet companies such as Ariadne Capital, an investment and advisory firm where Jo also acted as interim COO; Indigo Pearl, a games industry PR company; Mediatonic; and Playmob. She is also a non-executive director of Six to Start, who recently released the highly successful iPhone app, "Zombies, Run!".

Jan is based in Frankfurt, Germany, from where he serves clients across Europe with a focus on German-speaking countries. His career over the past 20 years includes extensive experience in international M&A projects on the buy and sell sides in industries including enterprise software, services, digital commerce, healthcare, and industrials. In addition, he also worked as a management consultant advising entrepreneurs in strategy and organizational development projects as well as succession management in family-owned businesses.

Jan holds a PhD in Corporate Finance and an MSc in Business Administration and Economics from WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management with exchange semesters in the USA and Canada. He is fluent in German (native), English and French.

Recent transactions of his include the fundraise of Shopware by The Carlyle Group and PayPal, the strategic investment to Queue-it by GRO Capital, and the majority sale of Fast LTA to Afinum.

Axel Brill is based in northern Germany and has over 30 years' experience in the software industry. Axel co-founded Hoffmann Datentechnik in the late '80s and as its CEO built it out to become Germany's leading workforce management (WFM) solution provider for the retail sector. He sold the company in 2006 to Torex PLC. After helping with the integration, Axel headed off for a three-year sailing tour of half the planet where he photographed undersea wildlife. Following this, he invested in a Danish WFM SaaS vendor and worked as a regional director for the world's leading WFM vendor, Kronos. 

Axel also owns a German franchise of Executives Online, offering a broad range of interim management services and project managers. Axel joined Hampleton as Sector Principal with a focus on information management, enterprise applications, including time and attendance (T&A), WFM, and logistics and vertical applications. Axel began his career by applying his management education to a family-operated automobile distributorship, moving on to a sales position at a data-processing company, and shortly thereafter co-founded his first software company devoted to the sales of software for professional craftsmen.

Konstantin has over 20 years’ experience in the mid-cap segment primarily advising financial sponsors as well as SMEs and corporates on domestic and cross-border transactions. Most recently, he advised entrepreneurs and mid-cap companies on growth equity financings and M&A related activity. 

Konstantin spent the early part of his M&A career at German bank Sal. Oppenheim and Hauck & Aufhäuser Corporate Finance. He then co-founded the German office of Alantra, an international investment bank and alternative asset management firm, where he was responsible for the Technology & Services sector in Germany with particular focus on digital media/digital agencies and marketing services, IT and Cloud Services, as well as online gaming.

Konstantin also has advanced expertise in buy and build scenarios, such as the successful creation of diva-e group, a leading German digital service provider, backed by EMERAM Capital Partners.

Konstantin holds a Bachelor of International Business Administration from International Management School (INTERMAS) in Malente, Germany.

Jonathan has been involved in the enterprise technology business for over three decades, managing and turning around existing business and helping management and their investors in fast-growth technology segments to grow, manage change, enter markets, transfer technologies, acquire, merge and sell. He’s worked with large and public infrastructure and system integration companies including: AT&T, Avaya, BroadSoft, BT, C&W, Cisco, HP, Global Switch, GMC, Huawei, Informix, Infosys, Intel, Myriad Group, Novell, IBM, IGT,  Nortel, OpenReach, Pace, TCS, and Sybase.

In addition, he has also worked with fast growth and venture-backed companies taking many to trade sale/public offering including: Calyx, Cambridge Cognition, CloudApps, Concateno, e2v technologies, Ecotricity, Engensa, free2give, Getjar, Holition, Intuwave, Interoute, Logicalis, Medelinked,  Multiven, Natural Machines, NMQA, Qinec, Socialbakers, Thorn Medical and Zomm.

He holds a Master’s degree in Science and Technology Policy from The University of Manchester, attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business and blogs on technology innovation, marketing and management  at "The World According to WestFour".

Michel is Regional Director Nordics. His 25+ years’ experience spans three continents and multiple industries. He is based in Stockholm and advises clients in e-mobility, automotive, IT and other sectors with a very high degree of change and innovation.Prior to joining the Hampleton team, Michel was at NEVS (a.k.a. Saab cars) where he was responsible for the company’s transformation to a global provider of mobility solutions. Before NEVS, he spent several years at Salesforce where he held the role of Vice President Nordics, Benelux and Emerging Markets and worked directly with enterprise clients and partners on business and technology transformations.

Earlier, Michel held multiple sales and marketing leadership positions during his twelve-year tenure at Microsoft Corporation including Worldwide Managing Director Retail, based from the company’s HQ in Seattle, USA, and Senior Director for Microsoft’s consumer division in the Nordic region.

Michel loves photography and cooking and is passionately curious about how technology can benefit people, businesses and society at large. Michel moved with his wife and three children from The Netherlands to Sweden in 2001 and speaks Swedish, Dutch, English and some German and French.

Henrik, based in Silicon Valley, is a veteran of the IT industry for over 20 years. He began his career as a CIO and project manager for massive ERP implementations. In 1995, Henrik moved to the vendor side when he joined Navision (now Microsoft Business Solutions), where he helped develop Navision's international business as Channel Manager in Denmark, Business Development Director in France, Managing Director in Australia and finally Regional Managing Director responsible for the entire Asian region, based out of Singapore.

After seven years of operational experience on the vendor side, Henrik had a stint at Gartner in Paris as their director of market and business strategy, before returning to Copenhagen to become the CIO at the Danish Ministry of Finance, leading the entire horizontal government IT complex. In 2007, he became a non-executive director at Omada. Finally, as Divisional Director he headed up SAS Institute's Information Management Division out of Copenhagen, working with early Big Data and Advanced Analytics Technologies.

Since moving to California in 2012, Henrik has co-founded a mobile e-shopping platform and a company focusing on strategy and international business development.

Ralph is a leading expert in digital commerce and has more than 20 years of experience in consulting, specialising in digital strategy. Ralph has extensive experience with all relevant tools and techniques to improve online success: brand positioning, utilisation of social media and e-commerce performance solutions.

Ralph holds an MBA and worked for market leading brands as a consultant and manager. He is also an active investor in start-ups focusing on advanced digital innovations such as big/smart data management or Retail-as-a-Service.

Dr. Peter Baumgartner is a Sector Principal at Hampleton Partners where he heads our Industry 4.0 and High-tech Industrials practice. Peter brings operational expertise in industries with strong engineering content and has extensive experience of M&A in the sector. He was a partner and managing director at era AG, building the business from a €25 million vendor of electromechanical components into a global enterprise with over €100 million revenues serving the automobile, railway, white goods and smart home industries before selling it to Pulse Inc.

Peter continued his career in industry as the president of the supervisory board of a large German engineering group, and is now on the board of a diversified group holding multiple manufacturing companies. Peter began his career in consumer products supply as a process engineer at Procter & Gamble. Peter holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Munich and a PhD from the Technical University of Karlsruhe. He is fluent in French, as well as English and his mother tongue, German.  Peter is an avid hiker and bicyclist, and enjoys travelling the world.

As a technology enthusiast Heiko has had the opportunity to witness and participate in technology surveys and has held several tech roles in various companies (his most recent being a technology consultant at Siemens AG). After leaving Siemens AG, Heiko founded and advised various start-ups and now works with his own company in the VR/AR environment to implement projects.

Kim joined Hampleton Partners as a Sector Principal in 2021. With over 25 years' professional experience in high-tech wireless companies, his area of expertise ranges from GNSS technology to audio technology. A serial entrepreneur, Kim enjoys exploring new technologies and opportunities.

His career began in 1992 at Vaisala Oyj, where he was responsible for developing revolutionary GPS technology for weather balloons. In 1999, Kim co-founded Fastrax Oy which specialised in developing and manufacturing GNSS modules and receivers. At Fastrax he was responsible for Business Development, including product definition, sales channel development and managing chip supplier relationships. After Fastrax Oy was acquired in 2012 by u-blox AG, Kim spent six years at u-Blox in Espoo, Finland, where he was both the Country Manager for Finland and Director of GNSS Product Management, overseeing product roadmap and product definition. As Country Manager he was the key driver for expanding the Finland offices (Espoo and Tampere) from 25 people to ca. 100 people. After u-blox, Kim worked in audio technology for a year before partnering with Skyfora, a new start-up, as CTO.

Kim's special interests include woodworking, badminton and audio technology. He is always eager to learn new things. Kim has been married since 1991 and has three grown up children. He lives in Espoo, Finland and speaks Finnish, Swedish, English and some German.

Nav Sunner has worked in the video games industry since the late '90s. He has acted as in-house counsel and external legal advisor to a variety of companies in the industry including Codemasters, GREE and Microsoft. Over the years, his career has taken him into additional roles focused on strategy, management and business development. Ultimately, this combined experience has led him to set up "Navatron", providing business and legal services for companies and individuals connected with video games.

Geoff joined Hampleton as an automotive technical specialist and has over 25 years’ experience in research and development gained at Ford Motor Company. During this time, he worked on vehicle safety systems, body structures, seating and interior trim, and was based predominantly in the UK with extended assignments to Detroit, Cologne, Saarlouis and Kocaeli.

Geoff has been involved in all phases of vehicle development, including research, pre-programme, component design, testing, manufacturing launch and in-service cost reduction. He was chair of Ford’s European side impact working group and was awarded the prestigious Henry Ford Technology Award for his work on side impact protection systems, for which he holds two patents.

Geoff holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering, a BA in Psychology and an MSc in Sport and Exercise Science. In 2008, leveraging his years of competition, coaching and administration in endurance sports, he founded his own activity promotion company, focused on tackling inequalities in health, fitness and social mobility. He is now based in London.

Alex heads the business development efforts in the German-speaking countries. He supports Hampleton's partners directly by researching and initiating outreach to qualified prospect companies.

Alex holds an M.Sc. from the Vienna University of Economics and Business and speaks German, Russian, Spanish and English.

Tim joined Hampleton Partners as an analyst in early 2017 and supports the team at all points during the transaction process. Prior to joining Hampleton, Tim obtained an MSc from HEC Paris and completed 13 months' worth of internship experience at ABN Amro in Amsterdam, and Credit Agricole CIB in Tokyo. Tim speaks Dutch, English, French and German.

Seyed joined Hampleton Partners as a Senior Associate in 2022 and supports the team throughout the transaction process. Prior to joining Hampleton, Seyed worked at Kroll’s investment banking practice as an M&A advisor in Los Angeles and London.

He has also advised PE funds and VC firms on complex valuations exercises, including advising of global funds focused on technology and early-stage investments.

Seyed is a FINRA Registered Representative in Investment Banking, holding FINRA Series 7, 63, and 79 licenses.

Lolita is an Analyst at Hampleton, working on several UK and European sell-side opportunities. She also works to enhance sector-specific research, client pitch preparation and lead generation. She graduated from the University of Cambridge with an MPhil in Political Thought and a first-class BA in Modern Languages. Lolita is fluent in English, French, German and Italian.  

Philippa joined Hampleton Partners as a Senior Analyst in 2022 where she supports the team throughout the entire deal cycle.

After completing her master’s in International Business at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, Philippa began her career at Deloitte in Germany, where she advised clients on the operational and commercial side of M&A transactions for two years. Prior to Hampleton, she worked on the buy-side for an acquirer focussed on the Digital Commerce space, where she was involved in the entire process of acquiring e-Commerce businesses.

Philippa speaks English, German, and Spanish.

Lisa joined Hampleton as an Analyst in January 2022. Before moving to London, she lived in Vienna, Austria, for 6 years where she worked in M&A for 2 years while completing her Master's degree. She has a Bachelor's in Entrepreneurship & Journalism and a Master's degree in Internationalization Management.

Joe is an analyst at Hampleton Partners and supports the team on various research projects and sell-side tech M&A transactions. Prior to joining Hampleton, Joe graduated from the London School of Economics with a BSc in Politics and Philosophy, whilst gaining a combined seven months of M&A experience working at DC Advisory and a Manchester-based boutique corporate finance house.

Sonia has been working in accounting and finance for over a decade and has gained experience within the educational, architectural, PR and recruitment industries. She currently reviews Hampleton’s financial data, prepares and analyses financial reports as well as monitors the day-to-day financial operations within the company.

With more than 20 years of Marketing and Communications experience, Marisa oversees all aspects of marketing and public relations at Hampleton. Prior to joining Hampleton, Marisa worked across both private and public sector organisations, covering diverse industries such as Food and Beverage, E-commerce, Heathtech and Agritech across the AusPac, EMEA, North America, Japan and China regions.

A University of Auckland alumna, Marisa holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business. 

Nadine is the Events and Marketing Administrator at Hampleton Partners. She develops, plans and runs Hampleton's tech M&A executive briefings and webinars across multiple geographies and sectors, coordinating speaker features, content and technical setups. Hailing from Germany, Nadine holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Business.

Aurora has been working as an office administrator / secretary for over 20 years, predominantly within the finance sector, where she has covered HR duties, compliance support, as well as in-depth experience in all aspects office administration and PA support.

At Hampleton, Aurora supports all aspects of office administration across each of Hampleton’s offices.