Gülsah Wilke joins as Partner and Head of German Office
20 March 2024 – DN Capital (“DN”), the global early-stage venture firm, today announces the appointment of Gülsah Wilke as Partner and Head of the firm’s German Office in Berlin. The newly created role is part of DN’s continued drive to bolster its European footprint through the addition of industry-leading talent and strengthen its German operations building on successful investments in Auto1, Hometogo and Quandoo.
Gülsah Wilke is an investor, advisor and the co-founder of 2hearts – Europe’s largest platform for people with a migrant background from the tech scene. She will maintain her involvement with 2hearts alongside her new role at DN, which is very complimentary to DN’s objective of funding top talent with diverse backgrounds.
She previously worked as Chief Operating Officer at Ada Health and as an investor at Axel Springer where she also led the Group’s Pricing & Monetization team. As one of the few female leaders at Axel Springer, Gülsah was the founder of Axel Springer_WoMen, the first global network to support women in leadership positions, promote equal pay and mentor female talent. While heading Investment activities at Axel Springer, Gülsah was a member of the supervisory board at StepStone. Prior to this she was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and IBM. In 2023, Gülsah received the Impact Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the German Startup Association and in the same year, Handelsblatt recognised her as ‘Role Model of the Year’.
Nenad Marovac, DN Capital Managing Partner, commented: “At DN, we continue to invest in talent and investment expertise to build a truly diverse, world class team. We recognise the power of having an international team that mirrors the international backgrounds of the founders we support. Gülsah’s work with 2hearts is testament to her passion for investing in diverse founding teams and building leadership positions in the technology sector with her experience, capital and network.”
“Gülsah has an impressive industry track record and, having followed her journey to co-found 2hearts, we are excited to welcome her on board as we seek to grow our DACH business.”
Thomas Rubens, DN Capital Partner, added: “Germany is a core market for DN, and we are thrilled to have Gülsah on board to lead and deepen our German operations. Gülsah’s in-depth knowledge and extensive DACH network will be instrumental as we seek to identify businesses that can address significant consumer needs with market-leading technologies, and leverage the DN platform to support these companies’ international expansion.”
Gülsah Wilke concluded: “I am delighted to join DN, having long admired their differentiated investment approach, outsized returns and commitment to using technology to promote financial inclusion and leveling uneven playing fields.”
“Senior women, especially those from an immigrant background, are underrepresented in the venture world. Yet it is this diversity of perspective that is necessary for VC firms to succeed. I am committed to backing the best founders, not only the most obvious, by leveling access to capital and supporting the diversification of deal flow. This comes as a natural extension of my journey with 2hearts and I am excited to contribute to DN’s future success.”
Gülsah joins DN on 19 March 2024 and will be based in Berlin, working with Nenad Marovac and the wider DACH team.
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About DN Capital
DN Capital is a leading European early stage venture capital firm with operations in London, Berlin and Silicon Valley. The firm focuses on Series A investments in software, fintech, marketplace and consumer internet. DN Capital’s mission is to support entrepreneurs in creating global category leaders. DN was an early backer in global category leading unicorn companies such as Auto1, Shazam, Endeca, Incode, Go Student, Job and Talent, Mister Spex, Hometogo, OLX, Remitly, Quandoo and Yassir.