Thomas Demmer (b.1961) is a Managing Parter at East West Capital GmbH. He has advised companies in a wide range of different transactions and special situations, including IPOs, mergers & acquisitions and restructuring programmes. He has particular expertise in the financial services sector and the media industry.

Thomas Demmer is also a Managing Partner at Demmer, Spilker & Company. In his previous career, he was a Director at Burson-Marsteller and Gavin Anderson & Company, two leading international consulting firms.

Thomas Demmer studied Law and Political Science at the universities of Saarbrücken and Frankfurt. He speaks German and English as well as French.

Dr. Dirk Spilker (b. 1966) is a Managing Partner at East West Capital GmbH. He has advised companies in a wide range of different transactions and special situations, including IPOs, mergers & acquisitions and restructuring programmes. He has particular expertise in the services industry and the technology sector.

In his previous career, Dirk held positions at Burson-Marsteller and Gavin Anderson & Company, two leading international consulting firms.

Dirk is an alumnus of the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, where he took an M.Phil. in International Relations and a D.Phil. in Modern History. He is also an alumnus of the National German Academic Foundation. He speaks German and English as well as some French.

Rong Yang (b. 1962) is a Managing Partner at East West Capital GmbH. He is a successful entrepreneur in the IT industry and runs a software firm developing applications for financial services companies. In his previous careers, he has worked for various banks and consulting firms.

Rong is an alumnus of Peking University and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in Chengdu, where he gained a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and a Master’s degree in electrical engineering. A native speaker of Chinese, he also speaks German and English.

Michael Picard is a Director at East West Capital GmbH. He is an experienced management consultant who has advised a wide range of clients in special situations, particularly transactions, restructurings and change programmes.

Michael has worked extensively in the pharmaceuticals industry, focusing on trainings and internal communications campaigns. A former board member of Star 21 and inm magic, he also has a strong background in the technology sector as well as the online and media industries.

Michael holds a degree in Economics, Finance and Marketing from the University of Applied Science in Frankfurt. He speaks German and English.

Larysa Zhdan is an Investment Advisor at East West Capital GmbH. She has extensive experience in advising Western companies on investments in Eastern Europe, particularly in her native Ukraine.

In her previous career, she was a Business Development Manager at Noerr LLP and an Investment Manager at the Ukrainian Centre for Foreign Investment Promotion (Invest Ukraine).

Larysa is a graduate of the National Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine and the National Technical University of Ukraine. She is also an alumna of the American Institute on Economic and Political Systems (AIPES) and an active member of the Ukrainian Investment Promotion Professionals Association ProInvest. In addition to her native languages, Russian and Ukrainian, Larysa also speaks German and English.