Promotions and recruitment within Argos Wityu

• Four new Partners
• Four new Directors: three promoted and one recruited

Brussels (Belgium), Frankfurt (Germany), Milan (Italy), Paris (France) 11 September 2019 – Argos Wityu announces the nominations as Partners of Rainer Derix (DACH), Alessio Manigrasso (Italy), Maarten Meijssen and Richard Reis (both Benelux). The new Partners average eight years within Argos Wityu and 10 years in private equity experience. Additionally, Simon Guichard, Thomas Ribéreau (both France) and Fabian Söffge (DACH), are promoted as Directors and Andrea Pavesi (Italy) recruited as Director. The Argos Wityu investment team is composed of 33 persons, including 10 Partners.

Gilles Mougenot, Partner at Argos Wityu, says: « The group’s DNA has always been to promote talent and give access to partnership to the best. In this spirit, the partners have structured an Argos Academy that selects and trains future Partners. Today, all the Partners are happy with these four appointments, the promotion of three new Directors, and the recruitment of Andrea Pavesi. This evolution of our team supports our ambition which is to be one of the reference mid-market investment fund in Europe. »

New Partners

Rainer Derix - Argos Wityu

Rainer Derix (39 years-old) joined Argos Wityu in 2016 and has worked in the German office since then.

Graduated from International School of Management in Dortmund, Germany, Rainer started his career in 2006 with PWC as a consultant in the M&A Private Equity team and worked afterwards for Private Equity companies in Germany and Switzerland.

Rainer currently supports aktivoptik, where he is a board member and has been involved in the following operations:
• Acquisitions of aktivoptik (2018) and Wibit (2018)
• Special involvement in setting up the German office and the DACH market coverage.

Alessio Manigrasso - Argos Wityu

Alessio Manigrasso (43 years-old) joined Argos Wityu in 2004 and has worked in the Italian office since then.

Graduated from the Bocconi University in Milan, Alessio also holds an Executive Master in Private Equity from Politecnico di Milano. Alessio started his career in 2001 with Deloitte as a Senior Analyst in the Corporate Finance Advisory division.

Alessio has been involved in the following operations:
• Acquisitions of Chef (2005), GPP Industrie Grafiche (2006), Bellco (2008), Dimar (2011) and Via delle Perle (2013)
• Divestments of GPP Industrie Grafiche (2008), Chef (2010) and Dimar (2017)
• Supported Dimar for its acquisition of Opera Viva, Non Solo Mare and Un Mare di Sapori

Maarten Meijssen - Argos Wityu

Maarten Meijssen (36 years-old) joined Argos Wityu in 2014 and has worked in the Benelux office since then.

Graduated from the University of Bath (UK) and Solvay Business School (BE), Maarten also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation. He started his career in 2007 with Bank Degroof as a portfolio manager in the Private Banking department. In 2009, he joined the corporate finance department of EY where he was focused on Business Modelling.

Maarten currently supports Lineas, Gantrex and Future Groep, companies of which he is a board member and has been involved in the following operations:
• Acquisitions of Gantrex (Belgium) and Lineas (Belgium) both in 2015 and Future Groep (Netherlands) in 2017.
• Supported Gantrex for its acquisition of Gantrail (UK) in 2017 and Future Groep for its acquisition of Langhenkel in 2018.
• Special involvement in setting up the Brussels office and of the development of the Argos Benelux market coverage.

Richard Reis - Argos Wityu

Richard Reis (36 years-old) joined Argos Wityu in 2010 and has worked in the French office until 2015 and the Benelux office since then.

Graduated from ESCP Europe Business School, Richard also holds post graduate degrees in business and tax law and is a former member of the Paris Bar. Richard started his career in 2008 as business lawyer and joined Argos Wityu in 2010 as an Analyst.

Richard currently supports Lineas, Gantrex and Future Groep, companies of which he is a board member and has been involved in the following operations:
• Acquisitions of Efeso Consulting (France) in 2010 (and its delisting in 2016), Lineas (Belgium) in 2015 and Future Groep (Netherlands) in 2017.
• Supported Efeso Consulting for its acquisitions of Blupeter (Italy) and Empact (Belgium) as well as Lineas (Belgium) for its refinancing.
• Special involvement in setting up the Brussels office and of the development of the Argos Benelux market coverage.

New Directors

Simon Guichard - Argos Wityu

Simon Guichard (30 years-old) joined Argos Wityu in 2012 in the Paris office with an experience in the German office from 2016 until 2019.

Graduated from M.S. in Engineering from Mines ParisTech, Simon started his career in private equity in 2012 at Argos Wityu.

Simon currently supports Zodiac Milpro, of which he is a board member and has been involved in the following operations:
• Acquisitions of Cisbio Bioassays, Lineas, aktivoptik and Wibit
• Divestments of Axyntis, Lexsi and Cisbio Bioassays.
• Special involvement in setting up the German office and the development of the Argos DACH market coverage.

Andrea Pavesi - Argos Wityu

Andrea Pavesi (39 years-old) joined Argos Wityu in 2019 and has worked in the Italian office since then.

Graduated in Economics with a joint degree between Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna and Pisa University, Andrea started his career in Bain & Company in 2004 as associate consultant. He has more than 12 years of experience among Private Equity funds and SPACs, skilled in special situations and buy out investments. Prior to Argos Wityu, Andrea was senior investment manager at Fondo Italiano d’Investimento.

Andrea currently supports Fabbri, where he will become a board member on 30 September 2019.

Thomas Ribereau - Argos Wityu

Thomas Ribéreau (30 years-old) joined Argos Wityu in 2014 and has worked in the Paris office since then.

Graduated from Ecole Centrale Paris, Thomas also holds a M.Sc. in Management Science & Engineering from Columbia University. Thomas started his career as hedge fund manager assistant in AXA IM in the US.

Thomas currently supports Talentia Software and Factum, companies of which he is a board member, and has been involved in the following operations:
• Acquisitions of Talentia Software, Revima and Factum
• Divestments of Harlé Bickford Group, Revima and Salvia Développement
• Monitored all these portfolio companies and supported them in their development, notably for their acquisitions: SRCI and Alteva for Salvia Développement, Chromalloy France and Flightwatching for Revima, Les Artisans du Mobile and Nodixia for Factum, and Addedo for Talentia Software.

Fabian Soffge - Argos Wityu

Fabian Söffge (35 years-old) joined Argos Wityu in 2016 and has worked in the German office since then.

Graduated as Master and bachelor’s in management from EBS Business School, Fabian is also a Certified Public Accountant (U.S.) and holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the Technical University of Munich. Fabian started his career in 2009 as a Consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Fabian currently supports Wibit, where he is a board member and has been involved in setting up the Frankfurt office and the acquisitions of aktivoptik and Wibit.

Argos Wityu

Coralie Cornet
Head of Communications
ccc@argos.fund
+33 6 14 38 33 37

About Argos Wityu / www.argos.wityu.fund
Argos Wityu is an independent European investment fund that supports companies in the transfer of business ownership. It has assisted more than 80 entrepreneurs, focusing its investment strategy on complex transactions with emphasis on transformation, growth, and close collaboration with management teams. Argos Wityu seeks to acquire majority interests and invest between €10m and €100m with each transaction. With more than €1bn under management and 30 years of experience, Argos Wityu operates from offices in Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Luxembourg, Milan and Paris.

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