Biography

Joachim Drees, an independent director, has served on our Board since May 2024. Mr. Drees has served as Chief Executive Officer of Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH since October 2024 and has been investing in software-related start-up companies, particularly in the EV software charging space but also other industries, as a pre-seed, seed or pre-series A investor, since July 2020. From 2015 until July 2020, Mr. Drees served as CEO of MAN SE and MAN Truck & Bus SE, one of Europe’s largest players in the commercial vehicle industry. At the same time, Mr. Drees was also a member of the Executive Board of TRATON SE (formerly Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH), a commercial vehicle manufacturer, and held several non-executive director seats from 2015 to July 2020, including at Renk AG, a propulsion and drivetrain technology manufacturer, from 2017 to 2020, where he was also a member of the nomination and governance committee. Prior to that time, from 2012 to 2014, he was the Chief Financial Officer and a member of the executive board of Drees & Sommer AG, a European consulting, planning and project management enterprise with responsibility for Finance & Controlling, M&A, Human Resources, Administration and Internationalization Support. Between 2006 and 2012, Mr. Drees was an Operating Partner with Hg Capital, a private equity fund based in London and held several board positions in portfolio companies owned by Hg Capital. Mr. Drees held managerial positions in the Daimler Truck Group and at Mercedes-Benz Trucks, both commercial vehicle manufacturers, from 1996 to 2006, including as Commercial Director of the Gaggenau Transmissions Unit and as Head of Commercial Vehicle Controlling. He serves as a director of Spree Acquisition Corp. 1 Ltd., a special purpose acquisition corporation, since its initial public offering on December 20, 2021, where he also serves as the chair of the audit committee and a member of the compensation committee. Previously, he studied business administration at the University of Stuttgart and received an M.B.A. from Portland State University.