Jan Henric Buettner

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Jan Henric Buettner (born September 10, 1964 ) is a German entrepreneur .

Life

Buettner trained as a business economist and publishing clerk based on the dual training model of the Hamburg Business Academy; plus an internship abroad in London . Around 1988 he conducted field research on the prospects for value-added services in the mobile communications sector. His apprenticeship as a publishing clerk at the age of around 25 was followed by a trainee program at Axel Springer Verlag . In the investment department, where he was able to help shape the efforts to win the D2 mobile communications license, his London experience made him an expert in this field. As such, he had to speak to the highest publishing bodies.

He initially turned down the offer to become assistant to the Springer CEO, as he saw the prospect of setting up a new mobile communications company. However, after Springer-Verlag did not receive the license, it accepted a second offer and gained deep insights into the power structure and decision-making processes at this decision-making level. In 1992 he founded one of the world's first multimedia online services VideoTel.

From 1994 he set up the online service AOL Europe together with Andreas von Blottnitz as a joint venture between America Online and Bertelsmann AG . From 1995 to 1997 he was managing director of AOL Germany . Von Blottnitz followed him in this post until 1999. He then went to New York and California , where he has been raising venture capital for young US companies since 1998. Since moving to Santa Barbara, Buettner has headed BV Capital, in which Bertelsmann AG holds ten percent. Von Blottnitz is the head of a subsidiary in California.

After the sale of AOL Europe, he and von Blottnitz demanded 3.5 billion dollars from Bertelsmann AG, as they said they had played a key role in building AOL Europe. This was followed by years of legal battle before a Californian court, which awarded the two a share of the profits of 209 million euros. Finally, an out-of-court agreement was reached on a total payment of 160 million euros.

As a child, he often spent his holidays in the family's holiday home on the Hohwacht Bay and went to the strawberry coffee shop at Weissenhaus Castle. When Gut Weißenhaus was up for sale, Buettner acquired the 75 hectare site with two kilometers of natural beach for seven million euros. Since 2008 he has been converting Weissenhaus into a five-star hotel according to his ideas. In the summer of 2013, 26 residential units and 5 apartments were opened. With the completion of the castle and spa area, the Weissenhaus Grand Village Resort & Spa opened in July 2014 . The project is crowdfunded with 9.5 million euros via Companisto .

Buettner lives in Hamburg and flies to California once a month, where he manages his private holdings in various Internet companies.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ US court confirms: Ex-Bertelsmann managers get 209 million euros Heise.de, January 31, 2004.
  2. ↑ Martin U. Müller : buried in the sand. In: Der Spiegel . January 7, 2013, accessed September 1, 2017 .
  3. ↑ A castle by the sea DW.de, April 16, 2013.
  4. ↑ Ailing village becomes a luxury resort KN-online, March 3, 2012
  5. ↑ Weissenhaus luxury hotel achieves record crowdfunding. Allgemeine Hotel- und Gastronomie-Zeitung, August 27, 2014.
  6. ↑ Weissenhaus calls for another investment round. Allgemeine Hotel- und Gastronomie-Zeitung, October 4, 2017.
personal data
SURNAME Buettner, Jan Henric
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German manager
DATE OF BIRTH September 10, 1964