Marondo Capital

Carsten Tusch is CEO of ACG Automation Consulting Group GmbH in Frankfurt. The Group focusses on cyber security services for financial institutions in DACH. Carsten joined ACG 20 years ago as an apprentice and has been the company’s leader and a shareholder for a long time. Being a KRITIS (critical infrastructure) player, the Group added two acquisitions over the past 2 years, thereby almost tripling in value. Cyber services, especially for high value assets in the financial services industry, are mission critical. Thus, ACG has been growing very dynamically organically as well as by acquisition. With the two add-ons the Group has diversified geographically and by adding technological capabilities, most recently on the hardware side with A+G Connect. Marondo Capital GmbH has been supporting ACG’s buy-and-build strategy since we closed the first investment. Currently, we are investigating several further add-ons. Over time, Marondo has acquired a thorough understanding of the cyber security company universe, the technology landscape and the related market. Together with Carsten and his team we continue expanding ACG’s footprint.

Ben joined as an Expert for Dual Use and KRITIS in 2024. He is the “go-to” expert on the geopolitical situation and omnipresent in the media. In his last function Ben was the supreme commander of the US Army in Europe. He is an advisor to many institutions and to NATO regarding logistics. His distinguished career in the military provides him with an outstanding background on Dual Use and KRITIS; a focus of the new Marondo Fund. As Ben points out in the interview, defense is only one side of the coin in preserving our nation’s sovereignty. The West is now facing hybrid warfare from State and non-State actors. These players intend to harm our mission critical infrastructure to weaken our nation, our society and our way of life. We believe that the private sector, especially technology SMEs that provide products and services in the civilian domain, could play a vital role in protecting our critical infrastructure. The State and its public services have limited capacity to fulfill this role comprehensively in the future. This is why Marondo has chosen this strategy for Fund II. We also believe that strategic extensions into Dual Use and critical infrastructure markets provide additional growth for our portfolios since they were underinvested in the past.

Dr. Anja Konhäuser describes in her interview the engagement of Marondo with its portfolios. We have long embraced a partnership approach and, as Anja emphasizes, work with the senior managers of our portfolios as coaches, helping them strategically with a growth agenda to create value.  We very much focus on the human aspect of interaction which we see as USP. Moreover, as technologists, we “speak” the language of our portfolio CEOs and C-level leaders.  Together with our partner OMMAX we developed a comprehensive value creation plan (VCP) consisting of 8 modules. For each portfolio we run several of these – according to the company’s needs. To obtain “buy-in” and acceptance we include Ommax and all share- & stakeholders of the company. The outcome is a plan that all participants can adhere to and which the C-level team can execute over Marondo’s investment horizon.

Great audience at our annual Investor Day in fall in Munich. We brought together our investors, our experts and thought leaders from Marondo’s relevant ecosystem. General Ben Hodges, expert to Marondo on Dual Use & KRITIS, reflects on security in the 21st century and the geopolitical situation. Dr. Jamshid Javdani and Alexander Schmitt from GFS “decode” the German Healthcare system for us, explaining the digital transformation of the German healthcare sector. Carsten Tusch and Lars Baumann talk about protection in a world of uncertainty and describe their buy-and-build strategy for ACG Group. Our software & IT experts Prof. Markus Schwarz, Ralf Brunner, Ph.D. and Rolf Heiler illuminate the audience about the benefits of independent directors on company boards. The grand finale includes Dr. Anja Konhäuser (OMMAX), Rupert Bell (PER), Dominik Schwarz (Verdane) and Henrike Luszick (Bridgemaker) giving thought to the changing world of value creation in PE. Special thanks to CMS for hosting the event and to Rolf Heiler and his Cinecore Motion Pictures team for capturing the scenes and producing impressive movies. Thanks for attending and participating, we hope to see you all next year! Marko Maschek, Stefan Elsser, Hansjoerg Ruof, Dominik Muehl, Maximilian- Sven Minners

Our portfolio company ACG-Group successfully acquired cybersecurity specialist A+G connect Stefan Elsser, Hansjoerg Ruof, Marko Maschek, Dominik Muehl, Maximilian- Sven Minners

🚀 Marondo Capital freut sich, Prof. Dr. Markus Schwarz und Ralf Brunner, Ph.D. im Expertenkreis willkommen zu heißen! Mit ihrer Erfahrung bei SAP und in der IT-Industrie stärken sie unser Team. Der Expertenkreis berät bei Transaktionen und unterstützt das Investment- & Portfolio-Team.   🌐 Prof. Dr. Schwarz, ehemals bei SAP, bringt Führungserfahrung und Expertise in Globalisierungsstrategien und digitaler Transformation mit.   💡 Dr. Brunner, mit über 35 Jahren IT-Erfahrung, ist ein Kenner des deutschen IT-Markts und Experte in IT-Management und Digitaler Transformation.   🤝 Marko Maschek von Marondo betont: "Unser Expertenkreis ist ein Alleinstellungsmerkmal. Mit Prof. Dr. Schwarz und Dr. Brunner haben wir zwei herausragende Software- und IT-Experten gewonnen."   📈 Marondo Capital GmbH investiert in technologieorientierte Wachstumsunternehmen in Deutschland und DACH, spezialisiert auf Software & IT, Industrie 4.0, Umwelttechnologien, neue Materialien und Gesundheits- & Medizintechnologien.   #MarondoCapital #Expertenkreis #Software #IT #Investment #Technologie #Wachstum  

We are proud to announce our 9th investment since inception. Syracom Schweiz AG – now ACG Advisors – will enter into a strategic partnership with ACG Automation Consulting Group GmbH to form the ACG Group. Both companies are experts in process and IT consulting in the field of digital transformation and security. The strategic partnership will increase the combined geographic reach and expertise and accelerate the growth of both companies under the umbrella of the new ACG Group.