Andre Lenz

André Lenz is a Director and Partner at CRP Companhia de Participações, one of Brazil's oldest and most established private equity and venture capital houses. Founded in 1981 in Porto Alegre, CRP has raised ten funds over more than four decades and today manages upward of BRL 230 million across a portfolio that generates several billion reais in combined revenue. Lenz is specifically tied to the firm's CRP VI Venture vehicle, the early/growth-stage fund launched in 2006.

Lenz holds a bachelor's degree from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), the leading public university in his home state. He works within CRP's partnership, which operates a "differentiated management model" — assigning specialists to each investment stage and providing individualized, hands-on monitoring of each portfolio company, typically through board seats and active governance involvement.

CRP positions itself as a pioneer of the Brazilian venture capital and private equity industry, historically focusing on the southern and southeastern regions of Brazil — an area that represents roughly half of the country's GDP. Over its history the firm has made 80+ investments spanning information technology, biotechnology, internet, retail, healthcare, agriculture, and industrial companies, giving Lenz and his partners exposure across a broad set of sectors and company stages.

• Invests through institutional fund vehicles (e.g., CRP VI Venture, CRP VII, CRP Empreendedor) rather than as a personal angel; stages span seed/early-stage to growth capital.
• Sector-agnostic but historically weighted toward technology and software, biotechnology, healthcare, retail/consumer, and agribusiness.
• Strong geographic thesis: a focus on Southern Brazil and São Paulo, capitalizing on CRP's deep regional network and its long-standing presence in Rio Grande do Sul.
• Emphasis on active, hands-on ownership — board participation, governance, and stage-specialized monitoring — rather than passive minority checks.
• Backs "emerging companies" with strong growth potential and clear paths to scale, consistent with a firm that has taken multiple portfolio companies to acquisition and consolidation outcomes.