H ans Jakob Limbach is a German physician and entrepreneur who founded the Limbach Group, the largest owner-managed laboratory network in Germany. He started with a single medical laboratory in Heidelberg in 1979 and steadily expanded the business through organic growth and the strategic acquisition of independent laboratories across the country. His vision was to create a comprehensive network capable of providing high-quality diagnostic services to a broad range of healthcare providers.

Today, the Limbach Group employs thousands of people, including hundreds of medical specialists, and serves hospitals, private practices, and patients with advanced laboratory medicine, microbiology, and hygiene services. Limbach consolidated a fragmented industry, creating economies of scale and standardizing quality. He sold a minority stake to investors in 2016 but retained control of the group, securing his status as a key figure in the German healthcare sector.