Born into Social Engagement

“Being raised in a loving family that emphasized treating others as you wish to be treated combined with the act of sharing and giving back is in my blood. For me, it is like nature, simply a purely natural thing to do.”

Dinese learned very early how to give back via volunteering and engaging in social responsibility. In the 60s and 70s, both her mother and father worked as volunteers for the US Peace Corps and for local NGOs. Dinese tutored children and youths from lower socio-income families as a volunteer during her high school years in New York City and later during her university years studying at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In Germany, she worked on a voluntary basis as President and Vice President of the MIT Club of Germany e.V. from 1999 until 2004. Under her leadership as president, the number of dues paying members doubled. She also led the MIT Club of Germany’s first Biotech Conference with more than 140 participants. This conference raised over 35,000 Euros and this sum was donated for scholarships.

During Dinese’s previous career in the investment banking sector, she forged strong relationships with C-Level executives at global corporations and built an international network of debt and equity funding sources including venture capital and private equity funds, and banks.

Since founding Grace Impact gGmbH in 2014, Dinese has invested her own money in social projects and companies together with donations received.

Career

1982
Bachelor of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Economics

1983
Financial Analyst, Equity Research, Goldman Sachs, New York

1987
MBA, The Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania), Philadelphia, PA

1987
Associate, Latin America Merchant Banking, Bankers Trust Company, New York and South America

1989
Senior Associate, Deutsche Bank/Morgan Grenfell M&A / Corporate Finance, Frankfurt

1992
Director, Apax Partners, Munich

1996
Founded Grace Advisory M&A / Corporate Finance GmbH, Munich

2007 – 2012
Active volunteer at “Children for a Better World e.V.” – Join + Help (Munich, Germany)

2014
Founded Grace-Impact gGmbH, Munich

2014
Joined as a Board Member, AMREF Health Africa Deutschland / Flying Doctors e.V., Berlin

2015 – 2017
Patron of “American Academy of Berlin e.V.”

2016
Joined Supervisory Board SolarWave AB, Gävle, Sweden and became a shareholder

2017
Managing Partner and Shareholder, Plant-a-Talent gGmbH, Munich

2017
Joined Supervisory Board, Lamera LA, Gothenburg, Sweden

Dinese Hannewald is a native New Yorker and lives in Munich since 1990. She is fluent in English and German and proficient in Spanish.