Category Archives: People

ICG hires Imene Boumalala to head up marketing to France, Italy, Spain, Geneva and Monaco

Paris, London, Geneva–Intermediate Capital Group

(ICG), the specialist asset manager, announces it has appointed Imene Boumalala to head up marketing to France, Italy, Spain, Geneva, Monaco and selected strategies to Israel, effective immediately.

Her responsibilities will include marketing ICG’s investment strategies directly to institutional investors as well as managing Existing investor relationships. Ms. Boumalala reports to Michael Biereth, Managing Director, Marketing and Client Relations. She will also interact extensively with ICG’s global distribution team.

Ms. Boumalala brings to ICG a wealth of experience in a variety of complex alternative investments. She joins ICG from Neuberger Berman, where she worked for 11 years, and was part of the institutional sales team for seven years. Whilst at Neuberger Berman, she pioneered sales activities In Israel, as well as covering institutional sales for France. Prior to Neuberger Berman Ms. Boumalala worked for Morgan Stanley within the Listed Derivatives Division, where she Gained strong expertise in relationship management while covering institutional clients, Hedge Funds, and High Net Worth Individuals across Europe.

Ms. Imene Boumalala holds a degree in Economics from the University of Paris,Sorbonne.

Michael Biereth said:

“We are delighted to welcome Imene to our global sales team, where her expertise in reaching new clients and developing new markets will be a tremendous asset to our team. ICG’s ability to continuously diversify our investor base has underpinned our success in developing new strategies and scaling our most successful strategies.

 

For further details please contact:

Helen Gustard, ICG +44 203 201 7760

Finlay Donaldson, Maitland PR +44 207 379 5151

 

About ICG

ICG is a specialist asset manager with over 28 years’ history.

The company manages €27.2bn* of assets in third party funds and proprietary capital, principally in closed – end funds. Its goal is to generate income and consistently high returns whilst protecting against investment downside. Investing across the capital structure, ICG combines flexible capital solutions, local access and insight with an entrepreneurial approach. ICG operates across four asset classes – corporate, capital market, real asset and secondary investments. In addition to growing existing strategies, the company is committed to innovation and pioneering new strategies across these asset classes where the market opportunity exists to deliver value to fund investors and increase shareholder value.

ICG is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: ICP). Further details are available at: www.icgam.com

*as at 30 September2017

 

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Global Fashion Group appoints new leadership and Board director

Kinnevik

Kinnevik AB (publ) (“Kinnevik”) today announced that Global Fashion Group (“GFG”), the leading online fashion destination for growth markets, has appointed Christoph Barchewitz and Patrick Schmidt as Co-Chief Executive Officers effective 1 February 2018. In addition, Kinnevik’s CEO Georgi Ganev will join GFG’s Board of Directors.

Under the new leadership, GFG will continue to expand its position as the leading online fashion and sports destination in its markets, strengthen partnerships with international and local brands, and further improve the customer experience.

Christoph Barchewitz, Co-CEO-elect of GFG, commented:

“I am very excited to take on this new role and look forward to continue developing GFG, Kinnevik’s largest private asset, in this new capacity. With Patrick’s operational knowledge, and my experience from the Board of GFG and in e-commerce investing, I believe we have highly complementary skill sets to pursue the significant fashion e-commerce opportunity in GFG’s markets.”

Georgi Ganev, CEO of Kinnevik, commented:

“I am delighted to join the Board of GFG in this next chapter for the company, and would like to congratulate both Christoph and Patrick on their new roles. Christoph’s appointment is a testament to Kinnevik’s commitment to active ownership, as well as our aim to offer our employees continuous career development opportunities.”

Christoph Barchewitz joins GFG from Kinnevik where he has been an Investment Director since 2014, focusing on the development of the e-commerce investments, including Zalando, GFG, and several other companies. Christoph has served as a Board Director of GFG since 2015. Prior to joining Kinnevik, he spent seven years at Goldman Sachs.

Patrick Schmidt joins from The Iconic, GFG’s Australian business, where he has served as CEO since 2013. Prior to joining The Iconic, Patrick founded Groupon Australia and later oversaw Groupon’s Latin American business. He started his career as a strategy consultant at Boston Consulting Group.

Georgi Ganev, Kinnevik’s CEO since 1 January 2018, will join GFG’s Board of Directors in February.

GFG’s press release published today can be found on their website:
www.global-fashion-group.com.

 

For further information, visit www.kinnevik.com or contact:

Torun Litzén, Director Investor Relations
Phone +46 (0)70 762 00 50
Email press@kinnevik.com

Kinnevik is an industry focused investment company with an entrepreneurial spirit. Our purpose is to build the digital consumer businesses that provide more and better choice. We do this by working in partnership with talented founders and management teams to create, invest in and lead fast growing businesses in developed and emerging markets. We believe in delivering both shareholder and social value by building well governed companies that contribute positively to society. Kinnevik was founded in 1936 by the Stenbeck, Klingspor and von Horn families. Kinnevik’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm’s list for large cap companies under the ticker codes KINV A and KINV B.

Categories: People

Gilde-buy-out-partners appoints head of investor relations and co investments

Gilde Buy Out

Utrecht / Brussels / Zurich – Gilde Buy Out Partners (Gilde) is pleased to announce that Maikel Wieland has joined Gilde as Head of Investor Relations and Co-investments. “Maikel has significant experience in investor relations,” said Ralph Wyss, Chairman of Gilde Buy Out Partners. “The relationship with our limited partners and the investment community as a whole are as important to Gilde as ever. Professional responsiveness and sustainable long-term relationship are key to our future success. Maikel will be a tremendous resource to our LP base, and we are thrilled to have him on board.” Previously, Maikel worked for OTPP’s direct and co-investment team in London and in Investment Banking for Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse.

About Gilde Buy Out Partners

With offices in the Benelux and DACH region, Gilde Buy Out Partners is a leading European private equity investor in mid-market transactions. Founded in 1982, Gilde has been supporting management teams in over 100 buy out transactions. Today Gilde manages funds in excess of €3 billion and has a controlling interest in companies such as Royal Ten Cate, ZND, Reesink, Amor, T-group, Albelli, Riri, Comcave, Oystershell and Losberger De Boer Group. For more information: Gilde Buy Out Partners Maikel Wieland T: +41 43 268 20 78 E: wieland@gilde.com www.gilde.com Read more at: http://gilde.com/news/2018/gilde-buy-out-partners-appoints-head-of-investor-relations-and-co-investments

Categories: People

Jyri Järvinen new CEO of LEDiL

Ratos

Jyri Järvinen has been appointed as the new CEO of LEDiL, a leading growth company in the global market for secondary optics for LED lighting, as Rami Huovinen hands over the leadership after seven years as CEO. With experience of successfully developing organisations undergoing change, Jyri Järvinen will now lead LEDiL on its continued expansion. He will assume his new position in February 2018.

Jyri Järvinen has more than 20 years of operational and international experience within the ABB Group. Most recently as Group Vice President Industrial Drives and Wind converters. Jyri will take over as CEO of LEDiL on 1 February 2018.

“Under the leadership of Rami Huovinen, LEDiL has implemented a number of growth and innovation strategies in recent years that have contributed to the company’s leading market position. As the company now enters the next stage of its expansion and its organisational and product development, we consider Jyri – with his leadership and operational experience – to be a highly suitable person to lead the company. LEDiL is well positioned to achieve organic growth in several application areas and markets, and Jyri’s experience of global sales development and customer focus will be highly valuable in these efforts,” says Robin Molvin, Senior Investment Director.

LEDiL is a leading Finnish company in the global market for secondary optics for LED lighting. LEDiL products are sold through its own sales force and through agents and distributors in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. Ratos acquired 66% of LEDiL in 2014 and the company has demonstrated continuous growth and a strong operational performance in recent years. Sales for the first nine months of 2017 amounted to EUR 31.1m and the EBITA margin to 30.5%.

For further information, please contact:
Robin Molvin, Senior Investment Director, +46 70 695 50 49
Helene Gustafsson, Head of IR and Press, +46 8 700 17 98

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Mika Sutinen appointed as industrial partner in VAAKA Partners

Mika Sutinen has been appointed as Industrial Partner in the private equity company Vaaka Partners as of November 27, 2017. Vaaka Partners has an extensive industrial advisor network covering various industries and geographies to support the current and prospective companies through experience, knowledge and networks. With Mika’s nomination, his long experience especially in consumer business is now available to Vaaka’s companies.

“It’s great to have Mika’s experience available for our companies. In seven years, he built Musti&Mirri as the largest chain of pet supply stores in Scandinavia. When we acquired Musti&Mirri, the net sales were approximately 24 million euros. When Mika left the company, the net sales had grown to approximately 170 million. This is exactly what we do as a growth-focused private equity firm; we build a strong growth strategy in co-operation with company’s management as well as bring additional resources and expertize into the company. The average net sales growth in our companies over the last 12 months has been +23%, which is a strong proof of successful execution of growth strategies”, comments Juha Peltola, CEO of Vaaka Partners.

“Good ownership is a matter of professionalism. It is a great pleasure to work with a highly skilled and growth focused owner, boards and as well as the competent management teams. As private equity, we provide companies with resources that often open up strong growth opportunities. Together we accomplish more”, states Mika Sutinen, Industrial Partner, Vaaka Partners.

Contacts:
Juha Peltola, CEO, Vaaka Partners Oy, Tel. +358 50 514 84 01
Mika Sutinen, Industrial Partner, Vaaka Partners Oy, Tel. +358 400 600 999

Vaaka Partners Oy, Kasarmikatu 36, 00130 Helsinki, Finland

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Ratos: Jonas Wiström new CEO of Ratos, Per-Olof Söderberg new Chairman of the Board

Ratos

Press release 13 December 2017

This information is information that Ratos AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out below, at 7:45 a.m. CET on 13 December 2017.

Ratos’s Board of Directors has appointed current Chairman of the Board, Jonas Wiström, as the company’s new CEO as of 13 December 2017. In conjunction with this change, Magnus Agervald will step down from Ratos effective immediately. The Board of Directors has appointed Per-Olof Söderberg as the company’s new Chairman of the Board, and Jan Söderberg to the new position of Deputy Chairman. The Board’s assessment is that these changes are necessary to enable the company to create value.

“The Board is not satisfied with Ratos’s performance. To succeed in implementing the new strategic direction established during the year, we believe a different leadership is needed. We believe Jonas Wiström’s experience and leadership is more relevant for the updated strategic agenda. During its more than 150 years as a company, Ratos has continuously changed and reinvented itself, and this type of change is more necessary today than ever before,” says Per-Olof Söderberg, the company’s new Chairman of the Board.

“I look forward to taking on an operational role at Ratos. The Board of Directors and I believe in the new strategic direction. Now my goal is to work with Ratos’s organisation to figure out how to best implement it. The management teams and boards of the portfolio companies possess critical expertise that I also want to leverage to ensure better value creation for Ratos as a whole. My task is clear: to increase shareholder value,” says new CEO Jonas Wiström.

Chairman of the Board Per-Olof Söderberg, concludes:

“The Board also wants to extend its sincere thanks to Magnus Agervald, who left an important mark during his time at Ratos. He has cut the company’s operational administration costs, discontinued underperforming companies and completed an important platform acquisition.”

According to his employment contract, Magnus Agervald is entitled to a notice period of 12 months, which will be offset against any income earned from new assignments. A maximum total cost will be recognised in Ratos’s next interim report.

For further information, please contact:

Per-Olof Söderberg, Chairman of the Board of Ratos, +46 8 700 17 98
Helene Gustafsson, Head of IR and Press, +46 8 700 17 98

Financial calendar from Ratos:
Year-end report 2017                                              16 February 2018
Interim report January-March 2018                         3 May 2018
Interim report January-June 2018                           17 August 2018
Interim report January-September 2018                  25 October 2018

Ratos owns and develops unlisted medium-sized companies in the Nordic countries. Our goal as an active owner is to contribute to long-term and sustainable business development in the companies we invest in and to make value-generating transactions. Ratos’s portfolio consists of 14 medium-sized Nordic companies and the largest segments in terms of sales are Industrials, Consumer goods/Commerce and Construction. Ratos is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and has a total of approximately 13,400 employees.

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Henrik Blomquist leaves the board of directors of Lauritz.com Group A/S

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Bure

Henrik Blomquist has decided to resign from the board of directors of Lauritz.com Group A/S, effective immediately.

“I and two other board members have different views on how the company should be governed and managed, which caused us to make a decision today to leave the board effective immediately,” says Henrik Blomquist, CEO of Bure Equity AB.
Bure Equity AB (publ)
For more information contact:

Henrik Blomquist, CEO
Tel. +46 (0)8-614 00 20

Categories: People

Dame Amelia Fawcett proposed to be elected Chairman of Kinnevik

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Kinnevik

Kinnevik AB (publ) (“Kinnevik”) today announced that its Nomination Committee will propose the election of Dame Amelia Fawcett as new Chairman of the Board at the Annual General Meeting 2018.

Dame Amelia Fawcett has been a Director of the Board of Kinnevik since 2011 and has served as Deputy Chairman since 2013. She succeeds Tom Boardman who has decided not to stand for re-election at the Annual General Meeting 2018.

Cristina Stenbeck, Chairman of the Nomination Committee, commented:

“I am delighted that Amelia has accepted to be nominated for the role as Chairman of Kinnevik. Since her election in 2011, Amelia has been an active member of the Board. She has contributed her experience from leading global companies across multiple industries, including financial services, media and telecommunications. She also has led for many years the work of Kinnevik and its investee companies on governance, risk, compliance and remuneration, as a Board member and Chairman of relevant Board committees. I look forward to working even closer with Amelia in her role as Chairman.”

Cristina Stenbeck continued:

“On behalf of the Board and the Nomination Committee, I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Tom Boardman for his significant contribution during his seven years on the Board of Kinnevik and his leadership during his last two years as Chairman.”

Dame Amelia Fawcett has been a Director of the Board of Kinnevik since 2011 and was appointed Deputy Chairman in 2013. She is also Chairman of the Standards Board for Alternative Investments, a Board Director of State Street Corporation in Boston, USA and Chairman of its Risk Committee, and a member of the Board of the UK Treasury. Dame Amelia is Deputy Chairman and a Governor of the London Business School, Chairman of The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation and a Trustee of Project Hope UK. She held managerial positions within Morgan Stanley during 1987-2006 and was Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of its European operations during 2002-2006. She was a Board Director of the Guardian Media Group during 2007-2013, and Chairman during 2009-2013. In 2010 she was awarded a DBE (Dame Commander of the British Empire) by HM Queen Elizabeth II for services to the financial services industry. She has a Law Degree from University of Virginia, USA, and a BA in History from the Wellesley College in Massachusetts, USA.

The Nomination Committee’s complete proposals will be announced in the notice convening Kinnevik’s Annual General Meeting to be held on 21 May 2018. The Nomination Committee comprises Cristina Stenbeck appointed by Verdere S.à r.l., Wilhelm Klingspor appointed by the Klingspor family, Edvard von Horn appointed by the von Horn Family, James Anderson appointed by Baillie Gifford, and Ramsay Brufer appointed by Alecta.  The five shareholder representatives on the Nomination Committee jointly represent approximately 60 percent of the votes in Kinnevik.

This information is information that Kinnevik AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 12.00 CET on 8 December 2017.

For further information, visit www.kinnevik.com or contact:

Torun Litzén, Director Investor Relations
Phone +46 (0)70 762 00 50
Email press@kinnevik.com

Kinnevik is an industry focused investment company with an entrepreneurial spirit. Our purpose is to build the digital consumer businesses that provide more and better choice. We do this by working in partnership with talented founders and management teams to create, invest in and lead fast growing businesses in developed and emerging markets. We believe in delivering both shareholder and social value by building well governed companies that contribute positively to society. Kinnevik was founded in 1936 by the Stenbeck, Klingspor and von Horn families. Kinnevik’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm’s list for large cap companies under the ticker codes KINV A and KINV B.

Categories: People

HTL-Strefa strengthens Board of Directors with Rick Cook

eqt

HTL-Strefa is a fast-growing global med-tech company and pioneer in the medical sharps’ industry. The company is going through an exciting phase – transforming its commercial profile and execution capabilities, which has led to higher demand from customers. In order to fulfill the increased demand and to support the implementation of new investments in production, Rick Cook, former Global Head of Operations at Becton Dickinson, will join HTL-Strefa’s Board of Directors.

EQT V portfolio company HTL-Strefa is a global leading provider of proprietary capillary blood sampling and hypodermic injection devices. Global demographic megatrends, such as a growing number of insulin users and increasing need for safe point-of-care blood tests, underpin a solid underlying market growth for years to come. During EQT’s ownership, HTL-Strefa has embarked on a transformation journey from being a local manufacturer to a fully-fledged international medical device player.

Since the appointment of CEO Mikkel Danvold in January 2017 and the strengthening of HTL-Strefa’s management team, the top-line growth and earnings trajectory have been reinvigorated. The improved performance is the result of changing the commercial approach ensuring that customers and end-users are at the center of all decision-making. This approach has already led to a large number of new customers, an ongoing repositioning in the value chain, as well as implementation of multiple initiatives to ensure state-of-the-art commercial excellence and product innovation.

To meet the increased demand from both existing and new customers, HTL-Strefa is scaling up its organization and production capacity significantly. To support management in the implementation of the new expansion projects, Rick Cook will join HTL-Strefa’s Board of Directors. Rick has more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing and operations for Intravenous solutions and medical devices at all levels, from floor supervision to global operations leadership.

“As former Global Head of Operations at Becton Dickinson, Rick has a long track-record from leading large-scale projects within production and operations in the med-tech industry. Rick brings impressive experience which will be highly valuable to HTL-Strefa’s ongoing transformation. Supporting Mikkel and his team in implementing excellence in quality, service and cost from operations will bring competitive differentiation and enhanced value for customers”, says Gerard Van Odijk, Chairman of the Board of Directors at HTL-Strefa.

“I am honored to be asked to serve on HTL-Strefa’s Board of Directors. I look forward to helping Mikkel and the Operations team build upon the existing strong foundation and create a manufacturing culture and capability that will serve global customers of HTL with excellence in the exciting years ahead”, says Rick Cook, new Board Member of HTL-Strefa.

With the new commercial agenda being implemented, HTL-Strefa is uniquely positioned to further accelerate execution on the many top-line growth initiatives. The plan includes among other things a rapid channel expansion and launch of numerous new innovative products with distinct end-user benefits.

During EQT’s ownership, HTL-Strefa’s revenues have been growing at high single-digit rates and EBITDA margins have increased. With accelerated investments in product innovation and the implementation of an enhanced commercial strategy, growth has improved further to solid double-digit rates and are expected to continue to rise.

 

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Swedish technology entrepreneur Jakob Tolleryd joins Verdane

Verdane Capital

Verdane today announced it is welcoming technology entrepreneur Jakob Tolleryd to the team. Tolleryd brings invaluable experience, having founded, built and sold five technology companies the past 20 years, and will in his new position as partner help Verdane become the preferred partner to the management teams and owners of ambitious technology enabled growth companies.

“Verdane and I share the same investment philosophy, and have worked together in building several successful businesses over the years. Verdane stands out as the most attractive player in this market, and for me, after working together with the team for almost 10 years, joining them is the natural next step,” says Jakob Tolleryd.

Together, Tolleryd and Verdane have a long-standing and successful history of building fast-growing companies. In 2005, Tolleryd founded consumer finance comparison company, Compricer, which became part of Verdane Capital VII K/S’ (Verdane) portfolio in 2011, and was sold to Schibsted Media Group in 2013. The list of companies where Verdane and Tolleryd has joined forces also include companies such as MatHem, EasyArt and Desenio.

Tolleryd started his entrepreneurial career in 1996, and has since built an impressive track record founding companies such as Domain Network, Carambole, and Klikki, as well as Compricer and EasyArt. As part of the Verdane team, Tolleryd will contribute with his strong entrepreneurial background and experience from building fast-growing and profitable businesses.

“Verdane has a leading position within e-commerce and technology in the Nordics, having invested in companies such as newly listed Boozt, MatHem, Desenio, BabyShop and Outnorth. Among entrepreneurs, Verdane is considered a power house in this space, with its extensive network, in-depth expertise and experience in building tailored solutions to grow this type of businesses,” he says.

Over the past years, Verdane funds have invested in 158 companies within software and e-commerce, and have realised 96 companies. The current portfolio is on average growing with over 20% per year. According to Verdane’s managing partner Bjarne Lie, the addition of Jakob Tolleryd will position the company well to successfully source and execute more investments in this area.

“Digital transformation has been the main driver of the e-commerce boost over the past decade. Now, other and more mature industries will have to digitalise businesses and go-to-market models, creating opportunities for players with a tailored digital methodology and solutions. By welcoming Jakob Tolleryd to the team, Verdane confirms its leading position within this field of expertise,” he says.
For further information, please contact:

Bjarne Lie, bjarne.lie@verdanecapital.com or +47 918 15 508
About Verdane Capital Advisors and Verdane funds

Verdane funds provide flexible growth capital to fast growing software, consumer internet, energy or high-technology industry businesses. The funds are distinctive in that they can invest either in a single company, or in portfolios of companies. Verdane funds have €900m under management and have invested in over 300 holdings over the past 14 years. Verdane Capital Advisors has 28 employees working out of offices in Oslo, Stockholm, and Helsinki. More information can be found at: www.verdanecapital.com

Categories: People