Group Leadership

Michaela Maria Eder von Grafenstein has more than 30 years of local and international experience in alternative assets, credit management, risk management, product development and corporate governance. Prior to joining Aquila Group in 2013, Michaela held numerous top management positions at Allianz, Dresdner Bank and the Deutsche Bank Group. She holds a degree in law from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich.

Dr Florian Becker is responsible for all operational, legal and governance matters. He heads all operational and legal functions within Aquila Group. Prior to joining Aquila Group, he worked as an attorney for several law firms in Hamburg and Sydney, where he advised corporate clients on renewable and real estate transactions as well as financial matters. He received his doctorate from the University of Regensburg and is a licensed attorney.

Christian Ohl heads up Aquila Group's finance function. Prior to joining Aquila Group in 2012, Christian was the Head of group controlling at a healthcare company. In 2002, he started his career in the audit and corporate restructuring divisions of Arthur Andersen (later Ernst & Young) where he was responsible for the restructuring of national and international photovoltaic, shipping and timber companies. Christian holds a degree in commercial law and is a former certified auditor and syndicus tax advisor.

Dr. Harald Schönebeck was Speaker of the Board of Alceda Fund Management S.A. since 2016, Aquila Capital’s fully licensed AIFM in Luxemburg. There, inter alia, he was responsible for portfolio management, business relations, finance, HR, administration and IT. He has more than 25 years of experience in the investment and capital markets business. Prior to joining Aquila Capital in 2016, he was Managing Director Corporate Finance at Commerzbank. Previous to that he headed the Rating Advisory Continental Europe for Deutsche Bank. Before, he was Managing Director at BA Venture, Cologne, a Deutsche Bank subsidiary focused on private equity investments in fast growing technology companies. Harald holds a degree in business administration from the Berlin Institute of Technology and a PhD in IT-based financial management.

Christian Holste is responsible for the support of existing customers and for the acquisition of new customers. He has more than 20 years of experience in investment banking and sales, most notably for fixed income and structured products. Prior to joining Aquila Capital in 2013, Christian was the Chief Executive Officer of Banque Bauer in Geneva. Before this, Christian held positions at UBS Germany, Salomon Smith Barney, Citigroup, Barclays Capital and JP Morgan. He was responsible for the strategic restructuring of UBS’s fixed income business in Germany and Austria, moreover he served as a member of the executive board of UBS Investment Bank in Germany. Christian studied business administration at the Goethe University Frankfurt.

Lars Meisinger oversees Aquila Capital’s international client advisory and corporate development. He has more than 18 years of experience in the finance sector. Prior to joining Aquila Capital in 2016, Lars was responsible for strategic product development at UBS Asset Management. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer at BlackRock Alternative Investors for the EMEA region. His long professional experience includes eight years in management roles at Man Group and senior positions at AXA Investment Managers in both London and Frankfurt. Lars holds a master's degree in economics from Maastricht University and a bachelor's degree from Goethe University, Frankfurt. He is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).