General Atlantic is getting a new head for Germany. The technology investor is hiring the new "Head of DACH" from rival Oakley Capital. Sascha Günther, who has been involved with Oakley's tech company investments in the Munich office, will take on the role of Managing Director and head of the German-speaking region at General Atlantic, effective January 1, 2024. The New York-based financial investor announced this on Monday.

Günther, who has worked for Oakley for five years, will operate from the company's Munich office in his new role. His predecessor, the long-serving Germany head Jörn Nikolay, had been with General Atlantic since 2008 and had been responsible for the DACH region for eleven years. The 44-year-old recently decided to transition to the role of Advisory Director at the end of the year.

General Atlantic, managing a total of $77 billion in assets, is primarily known as a major shareholder of the long-distance bus operator FlixBus. The investor has stakes in twelve companies in the German-speaking region alone. Nikolay had been with General Atlantic since 2008 and had previously worked for investment bank Morgan Stanley, management consulting firm Bain & Co, and investor TA Associates.

His successor, Günther, was responsible for investment advisory services in the German-speaking region, particularly in the technology sector at Oakley. Before joining Oakley in 2018, Günther worked at ProSiebenSat.1, where he led M&A transactions and investments in the technology, media, and consumer sectors. There were already connections to his new employer: General Atlantic is a minority owner of the ProSiebenSat.1 Internet holding company NuCom, and Oakley acquired the healthcare products subsidiary WindStar Medical from ProSiebenSat.1 for 280 million euros three years ago.

Before his time at ProSiebenSat.1, Günther worked at the management consulting firm Oliver Wyman. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology from the Technical University of Munich and an MBA from the London Business School.

Some of General Atlantic's most well-known investments include the dating platform Parshipmeet, in which the investor holds a stake alongside ProSiebenSat.1, the used watch marketplace Chrono24, and the TeamViewer competitor AnyDesk. In June, General Atlantic acquired a 20% stake in the publicly traded Atoss Software, a specialist in workforce management software. The financial investor typically takes minority stakes. General Atlantic helped the Berlin-based media conglomerate Axel Springer expand its online classifieds business, later exchanging its stake for Springer shares and exiting with a substantial profit in 2017.

Bill Ford, Chairman and CEO of General Atlantic, underscores the strategic importance of the DACH region in the global investment portfolio: "Since our initial investment in 1995, we have been impressed by the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the DACH region," said Ford. "We warmly welcome Sascha to our team. At the same time, we thank Jörn for his outstanding leadership and will continue to leverage his expertise in his new advisory role."

Members of General Atlantic's German team include Vice Presidents Christian Osterland and Christopher Apfel. The company has invested more than $14 billion in Europe, completed its first deal in Germany in 1995, and opened the Munich office in 2012.