Henrik Herr is an entrepreneur, investor and former Chairman of the Management Board of Rothschild & Co Wealth Management Germany. Before joining Rothschild & Co, he held senior positions at Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse for many years. He combines his extensive experience in wealth management with an entrepreneurial perspective: he once left his position at Credit Suisse to acquire a medium-sized company and take direct responsibility for its employees, capital and succession.
Today, Henrik Herr advises entrepreneurial families on wealth, investments, succession and capital strategy. At the same time, he is a deep-tech investor with more than 30 direct investments and focuses closely on technologies that are fundamentally transforming business and society. As a Strategic Advisor to TUM Venture Labs and UnternehmerTUM, he is also closely connected to Germany’s innovation and business succession ecosystem.
In his keynotes, Henrik Herr builds bridges between capital, technology and entrepreneurship. He speaks about Europe’s role in the technological transformation, the importance of trust in long-term partnerships and how wealth can be used not only to preserve value, but also to drive innovation and shape the future.
Interview with Henrik Herr:
1. What are the core subjects of your keynote speeches?
We stand at the beginning of the greatest technological transformation of our time — and the decisive question is not whether it comes, but who shapes it. My theme is the Bridge between three worlds that talk to each other far too rarely: capital, technology, and the entrepreneurial families who hold so much of Europe’s substance in their hands.
After 30 years at the top of the wealth world, I am convinced that capital should shape, not merely manage. I show how wealth becomes a force for building again — with the Right decision-makers, European values and the best technology available.
The race for our future is not lost. But we need people who build bridges — between the great families, technology, and the power of capital.
2. Which audience or which branch do you reach with your speech?
My first audience is entrepreneurial families in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
I equally enjoy speaking to people who are curious, who want a broader perspective and who want to understand their own role in this change.
And I reach C-level decision-makers who want to know how to prepare for a new chapter in good time and strategically — creating value for many, not just for a few.
3. Are you a PREMIUM SPEAKER? Where do you get your insights from?
As someone born in East Germany, change was always an opportunity for me — and the question of which values you keep along the way was always decisive. I have lived that stance for more than 30 years in the financial industry: at Deutsche Bank, at Credit Suisse, most recently as Chairman at Rothschild & Co. I have built successful organisations and supported many talented people on their way.
Then I resigned myself, to take over a company in a succession. Since then I have put my own capital at risk as a deep-tech investor with more than 30 holdings.
What makes me a speaker is not the address book. It is the direct line to the people who otherwise listen to no one — and the experience of turning a conversation into a partnership. I share that knowledge gladly, openly and first-hand.
4. What will be in the future? Does «time» play an important role in your work?
We live in extraordinarily exciting times — and as Europeans we have the chance to live our values successfully through change. But time is the decisive factor: we must accept the pace and make our important decisions with an eye to the future and to technology.
The world envies us for our family businesses and the unique data they hold. What is missing are the bridge-builders who turn that into a future.
I would not want to live anywhere else — and I will do my part to make the most of this change. Let’s go.
5. Tell us your life motto? What do you want to give your listeners to take with them?
If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.
Be part of the solution, and stay curious. Ask yourself where your greatest strengths lie — and how you can create the greatest benefit for the whole.
And the most important question: do you want to be the driver, or the passenger?