About Us — Founders & Partner Network

The team

Two managing partners. Forty years in thermal management.

MD Strategy Group was founded in September 2025 in Graz, Austria. Peter Drage and Tomas Mrkvica had known each other for years through the operational side of thermal management. The decision to found MDSG came from a specific observation: technical SMEs in this sector rarely find advisors who have built and run businesses in it — people who understand not just the technology, but the commercial logic, the buyer relationships, and how decisions at this level actually get made.

Managing Partner

Peter Drage

Peter is an Austrian executive, founder and entrepreneur with a track record in thermal management and e-mobility. He was co-founder and CEO of AVL qpunkt and AVL qpunkt Deutschland, where he led the development of thermal management solutions and international expansion across Europe. He has co-founded six technology companies, with experience spanning technical leadership, international business development, and organisational transformation.

He holds an MSc in Mechanical Engineering specialising in thermal management and e-mobility from FH Joanneum, and an MSc in Coaching, Organisational Development and Psychology from Sigmund Freud University.

Co-Founder & CEO: AVL qpunkt & AVL qpunkt Deutschland
Co-Founder: Wind2Power, Advanced Thermal Technologies, Creators Lodge
MSc FH Joanneum — Mechanical Engineering
MSc Sigmund Freud University — Coaching & Organisational Development

LinkedIn peter@md-sg.com +43 664 8842 1434

Managing Partner

Tomas Mrkvica

Tomas is a Czech engineering and strategy leader with deep roots in automotive and mobility. He is founder and CEO of SATTELO and SATTELO Holding, a Czech engineering firm specialising in thermal management, with 42 specialists from 11 nationalities and more than 220 delivered projects since 2015. His career spans technical delivery, commercial development, and international partnerships along the full automotive supply chain.

He is a board member of PT Teknik (Denmark) and previously held the role of Business Lead Central Europe at Ventac. He holds an MSc in Automotive Engineering Technology.

Founder & CEO: SATTELO and SATTELO Holding
Board Member: PT Teknik (Denmark)
Business Lead Central Europe: Ventac
MSc — Automotive Engineering Technology

LinkedIn tomas@md-sg.com +420 778 042 862

Our approach

Why we call ourselves a Group

Strategy, growth and transformation in today's automotive and industrial environment cannot be delivered by one company alone. They require an ecosystem that connects strategy with engineering, sourcing, financing and execution.

Our partners are not subcontractors. They are part of how we deliver. Each was chosen for depth in a specific area we deliberately do not cover ourselves. We bring partners in where their work is better than ours would be. We do not subcontract relationships.

At the core of this group are MD Strategy Group (Austria), focusing on strategy, business development and M&A advisory, and our sister company SATTELO (Czech Republic), delivering thermal management and HVAC engineering from concept through industrialisation.

The network

Our ecosystem

Partner	Country	What they do	Focus in our work
SATTELO Sister co. sattelo.com	🇨🇿 Czech Republic	Thermal management and HVAC engineering firm. 42 specialists, 11 nationalities, 220+ delivered projects since 2015. Heat pumps, battery cooling, climate testing, CFD simulation, refrigerants including R-290 and R-744.	Engineering DD, technical benchmarking, product development, post-merger integration
Aurata Technologies auratatech.com	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	Specialists in energy management and thermal systems strategy, simulation, and engineering. Full development cycle coverage from initial strategy through product development to in-service issue resolution. Focus areas include battery thermal management and fuel cell systems.	Energy management strategy, battery and fuel cell thermal systems
Automation Alley automationalley.com	🇺🇸 USA (Michigan)	Michigan's technology industry association and digital transformation centre. Connects manufacturers and technology companies across North America, with a focus on Industry 4.0 and advanced manufacturing. Gateway to the US automotive market and manufacturing ecosystem.	North American market access, manufacturing and technology network
EVDO Group evdo-group.com	🇨🇭 Switzerland	Inventory-as-a-Service and working capital solutions. Combines commercial, logistics and IoT capabilities to finance, hold, and trade inventory across the supply chain. Operations in 13 countries. Reduces balance-sheet exposure for SMEs during ramp-up of new platforms.	Working capital optimisation, inventory financing during ramp-up
JOSA Technology josatechnology.com	🇨🇳 China	Global automotive and EV supply chain partner. 100+ automotive suppliers, 31 specialists across 9 nationalities. End-to-end sourcing from RFQ through NPI to series production. Qualification to IATF 16949 and VDA 6.3. Deep supplier network in China, with direct local presence. Covers TMS components: heat exchangers, cold plates, compressors, valves, pumps.	Supplier search, qualification, cost reduction sourcing in Asia
JJ Simple Support jjsimplesupport.com	🇨🇿 Czech Republic	Digital and IT agency specialised in the automotive industry. Provides graphic design, web development, and digital marketing services. Member of the Sattelo Group. Operates the JOP platform (Join Our Projects) — a business network connecting automotive professionals, suppliers, OEMs, and investors.	Digital presence, web and marketing for automotive-sector clients
Navist navist.com.tr	🇹🇷 Turkey	Engineering and technology company with expertise in automotive thermal systems. Partner for regional market access and technical collaboration in Turkey and the broader region.	Regional market access, automotive thermal engineering
Nexia One Corporate Finance nexiaonecf.cz	🇨🇿 Czech Republic	M&A process and corporate finance advisory. 170+ transactions since 2003, senior team with €7B+ transaction experience. Member of Nexia International (8th-largest global advisory network, 125 countries). Active across CZ, SK, Poland, Hungary.	Legal DD, SPA drafting, data room, process management, cross-border reach
PT Teknik pt-teknik.dk	🇩🇰 Denmark	Danish company specialising in thermal manikin systems for automotive, buildings, and clothing research. 30+ years of development in dialogue with researchers. Customers include major OEMs (Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Subaru, Denso), research institutions, and test labs. Board member Tomas Mrkvica.	Thermal comfort measurement, automotive cabin testing, HVAC validation
SOLVHEAT	🇫🇷 France	Independent consultancy with 20+ years R&D experience in e-mobility and refrigeration. Expertise in compressors and expanders design, prototyping and validation (piston and scroll technologies), e-powertrain component thermal management including electric A/C and HP systems, and refrigerants and dielectric fluids.	Compressor and refrigeration system expertise, e-powertrain thermal management
SynErgy Thermal Management synergy-tm.eu	🇩🇪 Germany	Simulation and engineering consultancy for automotive thermal management systems, founded 2016. Uses Dymola/CATIA 3DS simulation environment with Human Comfort Library and Air Conditioning Library. Founder Marc Graaf brings 25+ years in heat pump and automotive AC development with alternative refrigerants.	System simulation, heat pump design, refrigerant system engineering, co-author on sector reports
TACR tacr.gov.cz	🇨🇿 Czech Republic	Technology Agency of the Czech Republic — public R&D funding body supporting applied research and innovation. Administers national programmes for industrial R&D collaboration. Relevant for clients pursuing co-development or innovation projects with Czech partners.	R&D funding access for Czech-market or cross-border innovation projects

Location

Where we sit

MDSG is registered in Graz, Austria. Through our sister company SATTELO we have a direct presence in the Czech Republic. Through our partners, we operate across nine countries on three continents.