Executive Interview
Executive Interviews
An Interview with
Andreas Enderlin
Hugo Capital Partners
Managing Partner
Hugo Capital is a private equity investment firm based in Singapore which was founded in 2020. We are focusing on sustainable growth capital investments for small- and midsized businesses (SMEs) in South-East Asia with a strong edge on technology and the ambition to grow beyond ASEAN.
Working hand in hand with the management and the board we are partnering up with people that change the status quo and have the courage to defy conventional wisdom in their industry. We believe in alignment of interests, honesty, trust and the long-term perspective on value creation for shareholders, employees and the society at large.
Please refer to www.hugocapitalpartners.com for further insights on our philosophy and portfolio companies.
Publish Date:
26 August 2021
Singapore
Location:
Tell us about your background, and how you came to found your company?
I am the Co- Founder & Managing Partner of Hugo Capital Partners. Previously, I was the Regional President ASEAN of Schaeffler and a member of the Executive Management Board (EMM).
I am actively engaged as a mentor at several accelerators, advising Private Equity funds & Startups in SEA/AP as well as being an active investor myself. In addition, I am a member of the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) and Chairman of the SwissCham Digital Transformation Iniatives.
Before my move to Asia I held various corporate leadership roles at Siemens, the 3M Company and Straumann in General Management, M&A and Management Consulting and worked as a COO for a AI/Data Analytics startup which we successfully excited to a strategic investor.
I then spent a number of years working for a Private Equity fund pursuing a distinctive Buy and Build strategy with a focus on operational value creation.
I graduated with an MBA from the University of St. Gallen (HSG) and attended various executive courses at IMD (Lausanne), INSEAD (Paris), LBS (London) and Kellogg (US).
The reason why we founded Hugo Capital Partners is because of a perceived lack of investors in ASEAN that have s strong operating background from blue chip MNCs. Also, we felt that our blend of investment experience and C-level operating track record de-risks the investment for investors as we know by experience what can go wrong. As a consuquence, we started Hugo Capital Partners and have since then received strong feedback for our hands on approach to investing.
What is most important to you and your organization – mission, vision, or core values? Why?
What we believe in:
Diversity
We bring a diverse and international mindset to the table which gives us an edge in dealing with complexity and cultural ambiguities.
Courage
We work together with people that are changing the status quo and have the courage to defy conventional wisdom in their industry.
Authenticity
We mean what we say and know what we don't know.
Long term view
We believe in alignment of interests, honesty, trust and the long-term perspective on value creation for shareholders, employees and the society at large.
At Hugo Capital Partners we are strongly committed to company management that incorporates ecological, social, and governance concerns. Therefore, we adhere consistently to the 10 ESG principles of the United Nations Global Compact guide and
https://www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/mission/principles
and follow the six principles for Responsible Investment by PRI
https://www.unpri.org/pri/what-are-the-principles-for-responsible-investment
Can you explain briefly how your service(s)/product(s) works?
Hugo Capital Partners offers growth capital & value creation advisory for ambitious Enterprise and B2B Tech companies, from scaling startups to SMEs.
We work hand in hand with the management and the board because we know by our own operating experience where and how we can add value
We help Enterprise and B2B companies to thrive on their Digital Transformation journey with pragmatic and proven expertise.
How has the industry been changing in recent years?
There is ample liquidity in the market and there are a lot of investors sittting on huge amounts of dry powder. What we have seen is that a lot of private equity investors are very similar in their approach and hence differentiation becomes key, espacially here in Asia where the market is not as institionalized as in Europe or the US.
At Hugo Capital Partners we have been able to articulate why we are special and not only by providing capital but reagrding how we work with companies and the longterm view we take.
What makes you different from what’s currently available in the market?
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See above but some more additional aspects:
Hands on Involvement
We work hand in hand with the management and the board because we know by our own operating experience where and how we can add value.
Operating heritage
We are convinced that our blend of investment experience and C-level operating track record de-risks the investment as we know by experience what can go wrong
What does the future hold for your company?
We are excited to be part of the growth jounrney in this dynamic ASEAN region