Experienced entrepreneur and former CEO strengthens the investment firm with operational experience, sector expertise and buy-and-build know-how.
Munich, 12 October 2026 - EMERAM, one of the leading independent investment firms for mid-sized companies with assets under management of more than EUR 800 million, is expanding its partner team with Tilman Au. The entrepreneur and long-standing CEO of the digital services provider and EMERAM portfolio company diva-e (diva-e Conclusion since 2024) brings more than 25 years of leadership and industry experience in digital and IT services. Au, who has been a member of EMERAM's Advisory Board since 2024, will contribute his extensive operational experience in building, integrating and scaling technology-oriented companies in his new role. This builds directly on his previous work, which focused on the digital transformation of companies and, most recently, on their further development in the context of artificial intelligence. At EMERAM, Au will be responsible for areas including Portfolio Management and Value Creation. Together with the portfolio companies, he will also drive the targeted use of AI as a lever for growth, efficiency and the further development of business models. With this appointment, EMERAM expands its partner group to a total of eight partners and underlines its approach of supporting portfolio companies operationally beyond the provision of capital.
From portfolio CEO to investor with entrepreneurial DNA
Au is regarded as a pioneer of the digital services industry in Germany and combines an entrepreneur's perspective with experience from working with a private equity investor. In 1998 he founded New Identity AG, which became part of the EQT-backed United Digital Group in 2011. From 2015 to 2024 he was CEO and co-founder of diva-e, a digital services provider and during this period a portfolio company of EMERAM. Under Au's leadership and with the support of the EMERAM team, the combination and integration of a total of twelve companies created one of the leading German digital services platforms with more than EUR 100 million in revenue and more than 900 employees. During this time, Au and EMERAM were also responsible for the sale of the data center business to Cube Infrastructure Investors in 2020, followed in 2024 by the sale of the professional services business to Conclusion Group. Most recently, Au served as Managing Director of Conclusion DACH and as CEO of diva-e Conclusion, and was a member of the Group Executive Team.
Systematically anchoring operational expertise
The long-standing partnership between Au and EMERAM now continues seamlessly with his move into the firm's partner group. Dr. Christian Nähter, Managing Partner at EMERAM, said (paraphrased): Tilman has long been part of the firm's entrepreneurial family and has experienced its way of working at close quarters for many years; he knows both the management and the investor side very well and therefore brings ideal prerequisites for working with the portfolio companies.
In addition to expanding the partner group, EMERAM intends to make know-how, sector depth and best practices from individual investments more systematically available to the entire portfolio, including in integration, reporting and AI-supported core processes.
Tilman Au said (paraphrased): his connection with EMERAM goes far beyond the time together at diva-e; years of jointly developing the company have created a deep relationship of trust, and after many years on the entrepreneurial side he looks forward to supporting other entrepreneurs and management teams.
This text was automatically translated from the German original.