10 On The Weekend questions with Eva-Maria Kuhlmann: how she “rebuilds” companies and built Ancova Capital

“10 On The Weekend” is IMI’s weekly (with a few small exceptions) feature. The concept is simple: each episode is an interview where the guest is asked the same 10 questions—so readers get to know the person more closely, in a more relaxed and human way, not only through a business lens.

In this edition, our guest is— Eva-Maria Kuhlmann, CEO and Co-Founder of Ancova Capital.

How do you usually spend your weekends?

My family is very active—and, to be honest, a little “workaholic.”

In winter, you’ll most often find me skiing—either at a mountain resort or, if we’re in Dubai, at Ski Dubai in Emirates Mall. The rest of the time: tennis, horseback riding, and any kind of sport that keeps the body moving. I genuinely enjoy staying active and testing myself physically.

And even during a long walk, my mind doesn’t truly “shut off.” It keeps working on a puzzle: building, rebuilding, optimizing. For me, business architecture is almost therapeutic—understanding how processes are set up, spotting inefficiencies, and bringing the system to a new level. In a sense, that’s my hobby.

While someone grows a garden, I rebuild companies.

What are your top three business goals this year?

My three goals are:

1) Strengthen Ancova’s position as a leading independent platform for wealth advisory and investment management for internationally oriented families.

2) Continue building a unified “ecosystem” approach where finance meets lifestyle—what I call “fun and finance”. The idea is to combine the reliability of institutional-level decision-making with flexibility and a creative mindset.

3) Scale the regulated investment platform and our global investment structuring services—while preserving the boutique precision that defines us.

Growth matters. But reputation matters most.

What worries you most about the business right now?

I’m concerned about the normalization of unverified competencies—when advice on complex matters is offered without sufficient qualification.

Yes, the industry includes strong and ethical teams. But at the same time, we’re seeing a growing shortage of honesty and fairness. We regularly encounter cases where clients pay excessive fees for structures that weren’t properly designed—or for decisions that were flawed from the start. Sometimes it feels almost like “daylight robbery.”

Of course, professionals should be paid for the value they create. But fairness must come before profit, and integrity must come before speed.

Our principle is simple: if I wouldn’t suggest a structure to my own family, we don’t recommend it.

What book is on your bedside table right now?

A surprising pairing: “The Art of War” and “Reality Transurfing.”

The first helps sharpen strategic thinking and competitive positioning. The second makes you look at reality differently and revisit your assumptions. I like reading across disciplines—strategy, macroeconomic shifts, psychology—because business isn’t a one-dimensional story.

To build resilient institutions, you need both structure and imagination.

How and when did you first get into the investment migration industry?

Finance has always been part of my environment. In the 1990s, my uncle in New York built one of the largest asset management companies—during a period that became a turning point for institutional investing. And my father is a fourth-generation entrepreneur.

I grew up around conversations about capital allocation and strategic thinking.

At first, I worked within a family setup as a Managing Director, responsible for operations and strategic investments. Over time, I decided not only to manage capital, but to co-invest and build alongside partners. That step is what led me to my role as co-founder and principal in the investment platform.

In 2017, we formalized and expanded the structure. What started as a private family office evolved into Ancova Group—a platform headquartered in DIFC (Dubai) with a Cayman Islands jurisdiction. Today, it’s a comprehensive ecosystem: investment management, global structuring, real estate portfolio advisory, and a community for private members.

The vision was straightforward: give sophisticated families access to institutional-grade infrastructure—without institutional bureaucracy.

What moment do you consider the proudest in your role as a service provider?

Without question, it’s great to see recognition from the fund after three years of a track record and a 28% return last year.

But personally, the proudest moments are when clients message me: the team solved a complex issue quickly and correctly—effectively and fairly—and helped them feel protected.

I’m truly proud of the people in our organization. They’re smart, hardworking, and genuinely care about quality. When clients see that, no bonus can compare to this kind of recognition.

What development in the investment migration market surprised you most over the last year?

What surprised me most was the rise in popularity of media personalities who position themselves as financial authorities.

I enjoy financial content online too. But structuring wealth, mobility, and cross-border planning requires depth, an understanding of regulation, and a full 360° perspective. What looks simple in a short video can be significantly more complex in real life.

Visibility is not the same as qualification.

If you could go back 10 years, what business decision would you change?

I would move into finance earlier.

After my studies, I spent a few years exploring more creative directions—I thought finance was “too dry.” The irony is that later I realized it’s one of the most dynamic industries. You constantly encounter energy, real estate, technology, geopolitics, and managing a family system—through the lens of capital.

Today, I can combine creativity with structure. Maybe that detour wasn’t a mistake—it simply prepared me.

Which figure in the investment migration industry earns your highest respect?

I especially value people who raise standards quietly, without making a big show.

Leaders who emphasize compliance, long-term thinking, and sustainable approaches—not those chasing headlines. The industry doesn’t need more volume; it needs more reliability and trust.

If everything goes according to plan, what will you be doing in five years?

I want to scale Ancova into a globally recognized independent wealth ecosystem—so that investment management, structuring, mobility matters, and access to private opportunities work as a single architecture.

Through Ancova Société Privée, we’re already touching nearly all the pain points that complex families face. The next step is to refine processes, scale them, and strengthen global depth.

Personally, I also see an increasing focus on knowledge transfer and strategic transformation.

Right now, I’m already a guest lecturer at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, where I teach board members and senior executives. Over the next five years, I want to expand this practice—sharing unconventional strategic thinking with people who want to build institutions, not just companies.

Beyond finance, I’d like to assemble a high-performance consulting team—a sort of “power unit” that enters industries, breaks down inefficiencies, and takes businesses to the next level.

Whether it’s a financial institution or a small independent business, the principles are the same: structure, clarity, positioning, efficiency, and smart capital allocation.

I’m inspired by transformation.

If everything works out, I’ll keep building—just on an even broader canvas.

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