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Erich Sieber

Founding General Partner

Former Partner of Nestlé’s €750M strategic “fund-of-one”

Prior to co-founding PeakBridge in 2018, Erich was Partner at Nestlé’s €750M strategic “fund-of-one” since its creation in 2001, investing in AgriTech, FoodTech and health and nutrition startups. Erich also spent 16 years as Partner/SVP with Nestlé’s strategic venture fund manager Inventages, along with time at the World Economic Forum and the German Finance Ministry. He received a B.A. in Business Economics and Law from HSG University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, a trilingual MBA of EAP-ESCP (Paris-Oxford-Berlin), and an L.L.M. in Financial Law of Geneva University, Switzerland.

What do you like most about food?

Food goes beyond taste for me. It is part of something bigger – more of an experience. Meals with special people in special places are what evoke the happiest memories. I have a big family, so everyone helps out with the cooking and when we sit down to eat, we spend hours sharing food and moments with each other. For us, it’s become a habit to plan lunch while eating breakfast, and dinner while eating lunch. We’re always thinking one meal ahead!

What was the greatest lesson an early job taught you?

I have two big takeaways from my time at Nestlé. The first is that change is good. While it may sound cliché, everything we do at Peakbridge is about change. We try to change the food industry to be better, to have a larger impact, and to be more sustainable.

 

The second takeaway is to always be respectful of other people’s time. Being on time not only makes a good impression, it demonstrates responsibility and reliability. At Peakbridge, I’m conscious that whatever I do can influence company culture. My work philosophy is to trust people to work on their own initiative. I expect trust and respect to go both ways.

What do you look for in a founder?

Vision, persistence, and an eye for detail. Founders need to have a strong vision for the end goal, because the process or method of achieving it will often change many times over. Knowing that the first idea or prototype isn’t the end product is important and having the persistence to continue on is critical. I also expect founders to be good communicators and know the details of their business inside out.