René grew up in Vienna, Austria, where he attended the Lycée Francais. He studied law at Robert Schuman University in Strasbourg, where he graduated in 1994 before successfully completing his post-graduate DEA in European Law. Subsequently, he studied Political Science, and holds a degree and a LLP (Dr. iuris) in law from Vienna University.

René started his career as a consultant to the City Government of Vienna for European affairs, urban planning and economic development (Europaforum Wien). He then became partner and investment manager with march.fifteen, a leading Austrian venture capital group, focussing on technology, software and internet investments. Before Joining AT&S, one of the world's leading manufacturers of printed circuit boards for mobile devices, industrial and automotive applications as Director for Investor Relations, Public Relations and corporate communication, René was responsible for restructuring the portfolio in a private equity group.

With the foundation of next.march, René started as entrepreneur and partnered in 2009 with Toto Wolff, the mastermind of march.fifteen. René is managing director of next.march and non-executive Director at Mercedes GP Ltd. René has been awarded as Austrian Business Angel 2015. He lives in Vienna with his French wife and their two daughters.