At the annual meeting of the Finnish Venture Capital Association, one new member and two new deputy members were appointed to the Board. They are Juho Frilander, Juhani Kalliovaara, and Tommi Äijälä. In this article, we have gathered some background information on the new board members and asked them about the significance of the private equity and venture capital industry for Finland.
Juho Frilander has a Master’s degree in business administration from Aalto University, where he majored in finance. Frilander joined EQT in 2014 and worked in buyout investments for about nine years. Currently, as Managing Partner, he is in charge of EQT Private Equity in Finland. Previously, he worked in the M&A team at Morgan Stanley. In his free time, Frilander is an enthusiastic skier and cyclist, and also spends time working on a summer cottage project and enjoying the outdoors with his dog.
“Especially from EQT’s perspective – since our investment strategy is focused on accelerating the growth and “future proofing” our portfolio companies and offering support through capital and expertise – I believe that the role of private equity for Finland’s economic growth is significant. The private equity and venture capital industry plays an important role not only in the venture capital segment, which has gained a lot of media attention, but also in buyouts, where SMEs are developed into international success stories.”
The Managing Partner of Sponsor Capital, Juhani Kalliovaara, is an experienced finance professional. He has a Master’s degree in Law and started his career in a bank from 1989 to 1996, where he experienced both the boom of the economy and the severe recession that followed. He spent the next 15 years as an investment banker before becoming a partner at Sponsor in 2009. He was appointed as Managing Partner in 2017 and he says the best part of his job is supporting companies in achieving their goals during both good and challenging times. In his free time, Kalliovaara likes to stay active, with golf, skiing, snowmobiling, and rinkball being his main sports.
“The significance of private equity and venture capital for Finland is enormous! We support companies in different growth stages to expand and internationalize, which is essential for Finland’s economic and employment development – the industry makes the entire business community more dynamic.”
Tommi Äijälä is the founder and chairperson of the board of Innovestor, a Finnish investment company focused on private equity and real estate. He earned a Master’s degree in business administration with a focus on economics and finance from the Turku School of Economics. With over 20 years of experience, Äijälä has worked in various roles in banking, asset management, and capital markets. He founded Innovestor in 2014. In his free time, Äijälä enjoys spending time with family and friends, and he has been active in various sports since childhood. Currently, he is mostly, but not only, drawn to tennis. He also has a passion for traveling.
“The private equity and venture capital industry is vital for Finland’s economic growth – there is certainly no need to look for further motivation in this line of work.“
