Partners

The competence of the partners at EquityNova is consciously select and unique: their combined track record encompasses all areas of strategic and operative corporate management. What links the partners of EquityNova is a long-standing, trust-based collaboration on a range of projects and a common set of values. They have a national and international orientation and are at home in a variety of linguistic and cultural contexts.

René J. Bär

born 1958, Swiss citizen. He gained his MBA at IMD in Lausanne. He worked in various countries in Europe and the Middle East for 16 years and has actively developed companies primarily in the financial sector. Since 2004 he has invested in a range of companies in the SME sector and provides support for their strategic development.

Hans Gattlen

born 1964, Swiss citizen, bilingual law degree at the University of Freiburg, admitted as a lawyer in Zurich and he gained his MBA at IMD in Lausanne. He worked around the world for international industrial companies in the fields of legal, M&A, restructurings and divisional management for around ten years. Today he is an independent investor with stakes in diverse companies in which he takes a strategic, and to an extent also operative, interest.

Harry Houthuijse

born 1961, is a Swiss citizen with Dutch roots. He graduated in industrial and organizational psychology at the Institute of Applied Psychology and the ETH in Zurich. For twelve years he managed a renowned executive search company in Zurich and was later head of Corporate Human Resources Europe & Global Talent Management at one of the world’s largest elevator companies. Since 1993 he has been an independent entrepreneur and advises primarily Swiss and European industrial and technology companies in the direct search for and selection of managers.

Dieter Widmer

born 1963 and a Swiss citizen, is a Swiss certified public accountant (CPA). For over 20 years he was an auditor and advisor working with listed companies and SMEs in the industry, commerce and service sectors for one of the world’s biggest auditing companies. He was a member of that company’s executive committee for eight years in Switzerland and spent three years on the European board. Since the middle of 2010 he has been an independent entrepreneur, member of boards and advisor.

Competences

Specialist expertise
Corporate management, strategy and business development, sales and marketing, supply chain management (production, purchasing, logistics), research and development, finances, controlling, administration, IT, human resources management, real estate management, legal

Sector experience
Mechanical engineering, plant and equipment, metal, electrical, automotive, textiles, plastics, chemical, cosmetics, food, construction, building technology, real estate, services, trade

Languages
German, English, French, Scandinavian languages, Dutch