Ulrich Ulrich

Ulrich Müller is a member of the Executive Board of the Joachim Herz Stiftung, one of Germany's largest private foundations (roughly €1.5 billion in equity, with its capital majority-tied to Beiersdorf AG). He serves as the foundation's CFO, overseeing capital investment, finance, organization, and human resources. He trained originally in banking, then completed a business administration degree in 1996 before building a career in institutional investment and risk management.

His earlier career spanned several major German financial and insurance institutions: he worked at the Allianz insurance group in Munich as a consultant for financial planning, controlling, and risk management; served three years as head of internal controlling at Wilhelm von Finck AG; and led the department responsible for "strategic asset allocation of investments" at Munich Re AG. He also lectured on capital investment for insurers at the University of Applied Sciences in Ludwigshafen.

Müller joined the Joachim Herz orbit in 2007 at CORO Vermögensverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH (Joachim Herz's asset-management vehicle) and was part of the founding team of the Joachim Herz Stiftung in 2008. He became division manager for capital investment, finance, organization, and HR in 2011, and was appointed to the foundation's Executive Board effective October 1, 2014. He also sits on the Supervisory Board of IntReal International Real Estate Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH in Hamburg and is a member of the U.S.-based Foundation Financial Officers Group (FFOG). The current Executive Board comprises Müller alongside Ariane Neumann and board chair Sabine Kunst.

• Runs the investment side of a large mission-driven foundation whose capital is, per the founder's wishes, invested "predominantly entrepreneurially." As of end-2023 the portfolio was ~64.5% Beiersdorf shares, ~20% financial investments, ~13.1% real estate (Germany/USA), and ~2.4% other business interests.
• In 2026 the foundation formally opened a venture capital allocation, anchoring the Marvelous Scito Fund (€20M, launched May 2026) as sole anchor investor, managed by Berlin-based Marvelous Capital.
• Deeptech focus: Advanced Materials, Waste Valorisation, and Robotics — technology-oriented spin-offs in pre-seed/seed phases, plus selective participation in other deeptech funds and co-investments in their portfolio companies.
• Targeted ticket sizes of roughly €250k–€3M, favoring ventures at "advanced technological maturity transitioning toward commercialization."
• Dual objective of financial return and impact: In his own words — *"By expanding into venture capital, we are complementing our existing investment strategy with another asset class, aiming to generate sustainable market-level returns here as well,"* adding that the foundation invests "a larger portion of foundation capital while considering impact-oriented aspects."
• Support goes beyond capital: the Marvelous "Catalyst" arm connects startups with scientific institutions and industry partners for market validation, first customers, and early scaling — reflecting the foundation's research-transfer mission.