Earlybird names three new Digital West partners

Harriet Matthews
30 June 2022

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VC firm Earlybird has named Andre Retterath and Paul Klemm as partners in its Digital West team, alongside new team member Vincenzo Narciso, in conjunction with the announcement of the first close of its fifth Growth Opportunity fund.

The Digital West team now comprises 31 people and operates in Munich and Paris. The VC held a final close for the latest fund in its Digital West strategy on its EUR 350m hard-cap in May 2022, as reported.

Narciso joins Earlybird from Rhône Capital spin-out Px3 Partners, where he was head of investor relations. He initially joined Rhône in 2020, prior to which he was a managing director at the Carlyle Group. In his new role, he will be responsible for investor relations at Earlybird.

Earlybird said in a statement that Narciso has known Earlybird co-founders and partners Hendrik Brandis and Christian Nagel since 2005, at which time he was responsible for the global venture capital program at Swiss Re.

Existing Earlybird team members Retterath and Klemm joined Earlybird in 2018 and 2017 respectively. Retterath focuses on developer, data and productivity tools, as well as AI-centric products and robotics; Klemm focuses on B2B software-as-a-service companies, including Earlybird portfolio companies such as messaging app HiveMQ and cloud engineering simulation company Simscale.

Alongside the new appointments, general partner Fabian Heilemann is transitioning to his role as a venture partner, allowing him to focus exclusively on his impact investing activities. Heilemann joined Earlybird in 2016 and is active in a number of impact initiatives, including family office Private Impact, where he is a founder and chairman.