David Barret
Operating Partner · PE- & VC-backed B2B Tech Companies
Turning deal theses into operational reality.
From operational due diligence to Day 100 and beyond — carve-outs, post-merger integration, and turnarounds for PE- and VC-backed B2B technology companies across Europe. Embedded with your deal and portfolio management team. Fluent in English, German, and French.
30 Years
consulting, corporate, startup, and operational leadership
Board Level
former executive board member at Vattenfall and Arvato/Bertelsmann
Full Lifecycle
due diligence, carve-out, integration and turnaround
EN · DE · FR
cross-border execution across European markets
When to call me
Four moments in the deal lifecycle where an operator makes the difference.
Find your situation — each one links to how I work on it.
01 · Pre-deal
“Can this deal operationally deliver what it promises?”
Stress-test assumptions, surface risks and value levers before signing.
02 ·Carve-out
“We need to stand this unit up on its own.”
From signing to closing, monitoring carve-out plan execution, governance.
03 · Post-merger
"Synergies are in the model, not in the P&L."
Integration plans that keep people, customers, and suppliers on board.
04 · Performance recovery
“The plan doesn't deliver the expected value.”
Root causes, quick wins and an execution cadence that restores confidence.
Services
What I do — and what you get.
M&A Operational Due Diligence
I step in during due diligence — validating the deal’s operational and commercial substance, challenging assumptions, and stress-testing its design.
Typical situation
Vendor DD and data-room phase; the deal team needs an operator’s view on management, scalability and IT.
What I deliver
ODD report, red-flag list, risk-adjusted value-creation hypotheses, input to SPA/APA.
Outcome
A deal priced and structured on operational reality — not on slideware.
Carve-Out Design & Execution
Separating a business unit is harder than it looks on paper. I run it across people, processes, systems and contracts.
Typical situation
Signing done; the unit still runs on the parent’s people, IT and suppliers.
What I deliver
Perimeter definition, separation plan, Day One readiness plan, TSA design and governance, standalone operating model.
Outcome
A clean, investor-ready separation with business continuity from signing through closing.
Post-Merger Integration (PMI)
Value doesn’t integrate itself. I set the pace for synergy capture and operating-model alignment.
Typical situation
Acquisition closed; two teams, two cultures, two sets of processes — and customers watching.
What I deliver
Day 30/100 roadmap, target operating model, synergy tracking, integration governance across workstreams.
Outcome
Synergies captured, customers retained, and one organisation delivering the investment case.
Operational Turnaround
Some businesses don’t need a transaction — they need an operator.
Typical situation
Revenue stalling, costs out of control, or execution has broken down.
What I deliver
Root-cause diagnostic, quick wins and structural fixes, management accountability, a clear execution cadence.
Outcome
Performance stabilised and investor confidence restored.
Across all four: Operating model & organisation design
Roles, RACI, spans and layers; governance and cadence; hiring and onboarding structures.
Across all four: Cross-border execution
Working in English, German and French with deal teams, works councils and local management.
Recent Mandate
Recent work, anonymised.
CARVE-OUT & PMI
Healthcare IT Software Business
2026 — Carve-out and post-merger integration of a German healthcare IT software business unit.
Buyer: French PE-backed healthcare IT software company.
Target: its main competitor in the German market — a 50-person software business generating €10M in revenue, carved out of a PE-owned seller.
Mandate
Buy-side lead for the carve-out, from signing through closing, then into the TSA and the post-merger integration period.
What I did
Ran both tracks as programmes with adapted governance across legal, HR, finance, IT and sales; coordinated management, the PE sponsor, legal counsel and the seller’s PMO. On integration: department-head kick-off, readiness workshops, a CEO decision brief, the Day One service handover, direct reporting lines and a group-level onboarding plan.
Value case
Gradual migration of existing customers onto the buyer’s platform, cross-selling into the installed base, and a stronger brand and win rate in Germany.
Facing a similar situation?
How I work
Embedded with your team — not a report on the shelf.
Format
Embedded advisory or interim leadership
Hands-on in the portfolio company, alongside management.
Cadence
2–5 days per week
Scaled to the phase of the transaction.
Duration
3–9 months
With a planned handover to the management team.
Who I work with
Sponsors and management
Deal teams, portfolio operations and portfolio company leadership.
1
30-min intro call
Your context, timeline and definition of success.
2
Scoping & proposal
Scope, expectations, deliverables, and budget.
3
Embedded mandate
Execution, governance, value creation and sponsor reporting.
4
Handover
Management owns the result; I step out.
About
An operator who has sat on both sides of the table.
Before focusing on M&A execution, I served on the executive boards of Vattenfall and Arvato/Bertelsmann — leading product innovation and business development, building partner channels, and driving cross-functional execution across Germany and France. Earlier, I built my career in management consulting across telecom, automotive and e-commerce in Europe. Today I work on the investor side of the table, alongside PE and VC sponsors — which is why I speak both the sponsor's language and the language of the teams who have to make the plan work.
Based in Berlin. Working in English, German and French.
Education
MSc Business Informatics · BSc Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Claude Bernard University Lyon I · Executive Certificate in Global Management, INSEAD
2024 – today
Independent Operating Partner
PE- and VC-backed B2B tech companies across Europe
2016 – 2024
VP Business Development & Strategic Partnerships, Executive Board
Vattenfall Germany & France
2008 – 2016
Interim Executive, Digital Product & Operations
T-Mobile · T-Online · Toll-Collect · Axel Springer
2005 – 2007
VP Content & Product Management, Executive Board
Arvato Mobile, Bertelsmann
1996 – 2005
Consulting & B2B sales
Cap Gemini France & Germany · Pixelpark · LogicaCMG · Jamba/Verisign
Imprint
4SEED Investments GmbH
Peter-Vischer-Straße 16, 12157 Berlin, Germany
Managing Director: David Barret
Register court: Amtsgericht Charlottenburg (Berlin), HRB 130692B
VAT-ID: DE276453251
T: +49 30 80581784
M: info@davidbarret.com