Thinking like an owner: on building long-term partnerships
Meet Julius Höh, Investment Director in Zurich, on working across markets and sectors, building relationships with founders and entrepreneurs, and knowing where you can truly add value.
For Julius Höh, identifying an attractive investment opportunity is only part of the picture. Equally important is understanding the people behind a business and whether there is a meaningful role to play as a long-term partner. Julius sees this as particularly relevant in the DACH region, where many businesses remain family-owned and relationships are central to building successful partnerships.
“In our industry, trust and relationships matter tremendously. Our partnership approach requires people who know how to build long-term relationships and work collaboratively with founders, families and management teams.”
Julius believes Altor’s Nordic heritage and entrepreneurial mindset resonate with founders looking for long-term partners. To him, thinking like an owner or entrepreneur means looking beyond the investment itself and understanding how to contribute to a company’s development. It also means being selective, focusing on opportunities where there is genuine potential to add value rather than pursuing every opportunity that comes along.
Based in Zurich, Julius works closely with colleagues across Altor’s offices. Rather than being organised primarily around geography, teams collaborate across sectors and investment themes, bringing together local market knowledge and different areas of expertise. Regular sector meetings and office rotations help facilitate this exchange, allowing colleagues to share insights, challenge perspectives and explore new investment opportunities together.
Before joining Altor, Julius had already crossed paths with the team through several investment processes. Having spent years working in Swedish private equity, he had become familiar with some of the people and their way of working. Today, Julius sees a connection between those early impressions, the way colleagues work together and the relationships they build with founders and management teams.
“It all connects; from how we recruit, to how we collaborate internally, to how we build partnerships externally. There is a consistency in how we approach things. That is what makes the culture special.”
Published: Oct 14 2026
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