David Barret
Operating Partner · PE- & VC-backed B2B Tech Portfolio Companies
Turning investment thesis into operational reality.
From operational due diligence to Day 100 and beyond — carve-outs, post-merger integration, and turnarounds for Private Equity- and Venture Capital-backed B2B Tech portfolio companies across Europe. Embedded with your investment team and portfolio company management.
1996 - 2026
30 years of hands-on international cross-industry experience across strategy, operations, technology and people.
Board Level
Former Executive board member at Vattenfall Europe Sales and Arvato Mobile (Bertelsmann)
Full Lifecycle
Due diligence, carve-out design & execution, post-merger integration (PMI), and operational turnaround
Trilingual 🇬🇧 🇩🇪 🇫🇷
Fluent in English, German, and French, hands-on cross-border execution across European markets and cultures
When to call me
Four situations in the investment lifecycle where an operator makes the difference.
Find your situation — each one links to the matching service.
01 · Due Diligence
“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.”
Separation plan, Day One readiness and TSAs, run from signing through closing.
03 · Post-merger
“Synergies are in the model, not in the P&L.“
Integration that secures synergies while people, customers, and suppliers remain on board.
04 · Performance recovery
“The business is missing the plan badly.”
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
Operational and commercial assessment of target companies ahead of investment or acquisition - Data room phase, with or without vendor DD, and the deal team needs an operator’s view on management, scalability, and IT.
What I deliver
Evaluating management capability, operating model scalability, process maturity, and IT landscape, and translating findings into
risk-adjusted deal recommendations.
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
End-to-end separation from parent entities. Signing is done; the unit still runs on the parent’s people, IT, and suppliers.
What I deliver
Structured Day One readiness plans covering people, operations, clients, systems, and risk controls — alongside TSA design and functional strand execution (HR, IT, finance, operations) through to standalone operating model build-out.
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
Integration of products, teams, and commercial operations following acquisitions. Acquisition closed; two teams, two cultures, two sets of processes — and customers watching.
What I deliver
Structured Day 30/100 roadmaps — covering people, operations, clients, systems, and risk controls — drive operating model alignment,
synergy capture, and people and cultural integration to maintain customer continuity and deliver on the investment case.
Outcome
Synergies captured, customers retained, and one organisation delivering the investment case.
Operational Turnaround
I diagnose fast, stabilise what's failing, and rebuild the operating engine.
Typical situation
Revenue stalling, cash under pressure, costs out of control, or execution flaws.
What I deliver
Root-cause diagnostics, rapid stabilisation, and performance recovery for underperforming portfolio companies
Outcome
Fast diagnostics, prioritised quick wins and structural fixes, and a clear execution cadence to restore accountability and investor
confidence.
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.
Selected Engagements
How it looks on the ground.
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: A leading 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.
CARVE-OUT & PMI
Digital Energy Services Platform
2017/2020 — Carve-out and integration of a white-label SaaS platform for decentralised energy solutions.
Buyer: Vattenfall, one of Europe's largest energy companies, acting through its German sales entity.Target: Trianel PED, a digital platform built by Trianel, a cooperation of German municipal utilities (Stadtwerke). It automates the sales and fulfilment of rooftop PV, battery storage, heating solutions and EV charging, and is used by more than 50 Stadtwerke as a white-label solution.
Mandate
Buy-side lead from signing in 2017 through the carve-out from Trianel and the integration into Vattenfall's German decentralised energy business in 2020.
What I did
Moved the full business across: team, code base, hosting, customer contracts, and the supplier network of installers and manufacturers. Kept the white-label Stadtwerke clients and the supplier network running through the transition. Integrated the platform into Vattenfall's prosumer offering.
Results
More than 90% of the Stadtwerke clients stayed on the platform. After the integration, Vattenfall used it to launch its own consumer (B2C) offering in Germany.Value case
Faster growth for Vattenfall's prosumer business in Germany, building on its experience in Sweden and the Netherlands, while keeping a B2B channel of more than 50 municipal utilities on a platform with the investment it needs to scale.
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
Investment 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 Europe Sales (Germany & France) and Arvato Mobile (Bertelsmann), leading acquisitions, carve-outs, and integrations alongside business development and partner channels. 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.
Education
MSc Business Informatics & BSc Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Claude Bernard University Lyon I, France · Executive Certificate in Global Management, INSEAD Fontainebleau, France.
2024 – today
Independent Operating Partner
Private Equity- and Venture Capital-backed B2B Tech portfolio companies across Europe
2016 – 2024
VP Business Development & Strategic Partnerships, Executive Board
Vattenfall Germany & France
2015 – 2023
Startup Mentor
Hub:Raum (Deutsche Telekom), APX (Axel Springer & Porsche), EXCEL (Metro & Techstars)
2008 – 2014
Interim Executive, Digital Product & Operations
T-Mobile · T-Online · Toll Collect · Axel Springer
2005 – 2007
VP Content & Product Management, Executive Board
Arvato Mobile (part of 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