Hendrik Brandis

Dr. Hendrik Brandis is a Co-founder and General Partner at Earlybird Venture Capital, focusing on DeepTech (including energy and spacetech) and Enterprise Software. With over 29 years of investment, operational, and entrepreneurial experience, Hendrik has played a pivotal role in supporting and scaling cutting-edge technology startups across Europe. As a board member of several Earlybird portfolio companies, including top players Isar Aerospace, eleQtron, Greenlyte, Onefootball, Marvel Fusion, and Simscale, he actively guides pioneering ventures. Before co-founding Earlybird, Hendrik was a Partner at McKinsey & Company, where he led the firm’s SME company initiative and helped establish McKinsey New Venture. Earlier in his career, he gained hands-on entrepreneurial and engineering experience as a Project Manager at Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (now part of Airbus), specializing in the design and advanced manufacturing of composite aircraft structures. Hendrik holds a Dipl.-Ing. (MSc equivalent) and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the Technical University of Munich. He has also served as a board member of the European Venture Capital Association (EVCA) and as Chairman of the EVCA Venture Capital Platform Council, shaping the European investment landscape. Outside of venture capital, Hendrik is a passionate world-champion sailor.