Andreas Kröll, Director and Partner

Andreas Kröll is a Director of Nanostart Asia Pacific since its establishment in February 2012. He has also been the Managing Director of Nanostart Asia since May 2009. In these roles, he is responsible for the management of Nanostart Singapore Early-Stage Venture Fund I Pte Ltd. Andreas currently is a Director of Biomers Pte Ltd, Microlight Sensors Pte Ltd and MINT Membranes Pte Ltd, all of which are investments of Nanostart Singapore Early-Stage Venture Fund I.

At Nanostart since 2006, Andreas has been responsible for the international operations of the company, in particular the investments in the US. He lead numerous investments and deinvestments and has been representing Nanostart on the boards of several portfolio companies including Curiox in Singapore, prior to the sale of the stake to a corporate investor. He brings in a broad know-how and network in nanotechnology and its key industries such as cleantech and medicine/life sciences. His professional experience is based on a career in corporate finance, including his role as a team and project leader for major international investment banks and corporate finance firms such as Deutsche Bank and Deloitte & Touche, where he was involved in a large number of M&A- and equity transactions.

Andreas holds a German CPA-equivalent and graduated as Master of Business at Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany. His studies also included one year at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, USA.

Bernd Dautel, Director and Partner

Bernd Dautel joined Nanostart Asia Pacific mid 2012 as a Director. Bernd brings in many years of management experience, deep technological know-how, and a broad network of industry and investor contacts. Together with Andreas, he manages the investments of Nanostart Singapore Early-Stage Venture Fund I Pte Ltd.

Before joining Nanostart Asia Pacific, Bernd was employed for 22 years by Wieland Metals Werke AG, Ulm, one of the world's leading independent producers of semi-finished copper and copper alloy products. As managing director of Wieland Metals Singapore, Bernd succeeded in growing Wieland business in Asia from startup size to today’s level of several hundred million SGD in annual revenues. For more than five years he served the International Copper Association South East Asia as it’s President and member of the board. Previously, Bernd spent over five years working as an application engineer at Wieland Werke AG in Ulm, Germany.

Bernd began his career as a chemical laboratory assistant at Immhausen Chemie in Lahr, Germany – a small-scale producer of synthetic organic chemicals that supplies a variety of industries, including pharmaceutical companies. Bernd holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the Technical University Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany.

Board of Directors

Marco Beckmann

Marco Beckmann is one of the leading experts in the area of nanotechnology investments. Beckmann was the first to seriously explore the implications of nanotechnology for the global capital markets. He is the author of three books (in German) on the subject of nanotechnology investing. In 2001 he published the world’s first book on the subject of equity investments in nanotechnology, followed by a second book which in 2002 was the most successful German-language book on this subject.

While still in university, Beckmann began his professional career as a sub-advisor at the Hauck & Aufhäuser DAC Nanotech Fund, an internationally invested equity fund specializing in nanotechnology. In late 2003 he founded Nanostart AG, and has served as its chief executive officer ever since. In just a few years, he has built Nanostart into a successful venture capital provider specializing in nanotechnology. With five successful IPOs of its portfolio companies to date, including both NASDAQ and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, as well as two trade sales of investment holdings to major corporations, Marco Beckmann and his team at Nanostart can point to an unparalleled track record of success in the emerging nanotechnology sector.

He is likewise Director of VentureTech Equity-Partners GmbH, an investment company which was acquired in its entirety by Nanostart AG in October 2005. In addition, Mr. Beckmann serves as chairman of the supervisory board of ItN Nanovation AG, an exchange-listed portfolio company based in the south western German city of Saarbrücken, and as member of the board of directors of Lumiphore, Inc., a nanotechnology company located in Redwood City, California. He is also member of the board of directors of Singapore based Nanostart Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.

H.T. Ho

H.T. Ho started his career in 1971 as a Research Chemist in the Industrial Research Laboratory of Ampex Ferrotec Ltd, the biggest American computer core memory manufacturer. There he gained vast knowledge in the most advanced electronics industry. In 1974, he was delegated by Jardine Matheson Ltd as General Manager to start a new factory in the Philippines to supply raw material for the assembly of semiconductors.

In 1979 he started his own business as electroplater of semiconductor materials; the business was acquired by ASM Automation Ltd in 1981 and H.t. Ho stayed as CEO of the Company for 3 years. In 1984, Mr. Ho made a joint venture with L. Possehl & Co. mbH, Germany, to start a factory in Hong Kong to supply raw materials for the manufacturing of semiconductors. In the ensuing 20 years, Mr. Ho built up the Company from a local Company of 10 people to an international enterprise of over 5,000 people, with twelve factories in ten countries, in USA, Europe, Africa and Asia. The Company is one of the World’s leading material suppliers to the Semiconductor Industry. In 2006, Mr. Ho sold his shares to his partner, L. Possehl & Co. mbH. Since then, Mr. Ho devotes his time to manage his family assets, active in financial markets, as well as some private enterprises.
H.T. Ho holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Diploma in Management Studies from Hong Kong University.

Through his working life, Mr. Ho has good understanding of electronic technologies and good experience of developing and commercializing technologies, as entrepreneur. He is expected to contribute his technological expertise and international business experience to the management of the Portfolio, in particularly, the conversion of newly developed technology to commercial production and the development of the business therefrom.