The Finnish Venture Capital Association’s Board was renewed at the spring Annual General Meeting. Once again, experienced industry professionals were elected to the Association’s Board, bringing with them broad expertise and a strong vision for developing the Finnish private equity and venture capital industry. The new Board takes up its duties at a particularly timely moment, as next spring’s parliamentary elections will bring themes related to the private equity and venture capital industry to the forefront, further highlighting the importance of ensuring that the industry’s voice is heard in advocacy work.
At the Association’s Annual General Meeting, two new full members and three new deputy members were elected to the Board of the Finnish Venture Capital Association. Reima Linnanvirta from Trind Ventures and Kimmo Vanne from MB Funds will join as full members. Juha Malm from LähiTapiola, Pauliina Martikainen-Rahnu from Maki.vc, and Sofia Nyberg from Sponsor Capital will join as deputy members. We asked our new Board members what inspires them about the private equity and venture capital industry, as well as for their views on the private equity and venture capital market for the year ahead.
Reima Linnanvirta is a Partner at venture capital firm Trind Ventures and has 15 years of experience in startup investing. Before joining Trind in 2022, Reima worked as a full-time angel investor and served, among other roles, as Chair of the Finnish Business Angels Network from 2020 to 2021. Previously, he has worked as a co-founder of Alder & Sound, now Svalner Atlas Finland, Chair of the Board at Innovestor, and as an expert at EY. Reima holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Helsinki. For the past two years, he has served as a deputy member of the Finnish Venture Capital Association’s Board.
“What fascinates me about venture capital is the opportunity to help passionate entrepreneurs realise their visions and change the world. As a former entrepreneur, it is inspiring to see people take risks and build something new, and I find it meaningful to be able to support them on that journey.
Finland has one of the world’s leading startup ecosystems, and as a member of the Finnish Venture Capital Association’s Board, I want to contribute to developing Finland’s venture capital landscape towards becoming one of the strongest in Europe. There is still work to be done, for example in developing the legal structures of funds and removing administrative barriers, but I believe this progress will be reflected in the coming years in the development of both domestic and international fundraising.”
Kimmo Vanne has worked in the private equity and M&A sector for over 20 years, including more than the past 10 years as a Partner at MB Funds. Today, Kimmo serves as the CEO of MB Funds. Before joining MB, he worked in the M&A and strategy teams at KPMG and EY. Kimmo holds Master’s degrees in Economics and Business Administration, and in Law, from the University of Turku.
“The private equity industry is at the heart of the economy, helping to create sustainable growth and wellbeing in Finland. We support ambitious entrepreneurs, renew business models, and take companies to international markets. All of this offers an opportunity to be part of transformative moments in the lifecycles of companies and the broader economy, and it is inspiring to be part of this community.
The number of external uncertainties is unlikely to decrease in the coming years, which means companies will need to become more resilient and increasingly seek growth outside their domestic markets, as well as through structural arrangements, for example. I believe the Finnish private equity industry is excellently positioned to support Finnish growth companies also during somewhat more challenging economic times.”
Juha Malm is Chief Investment Officer at LähiTapiola. LähiTapiola acts as a portfolio investor, with a particular focus on unlisted asset classes such as private equity funds, private equity investments, financing, and real estate investments. A particularly important part of Juha’s work is identifying and advancing new investment opportunities in a corporate environment. Juha is a lawyer by education, and his expertise is complemented by the CEFA qualification, which brings a strong synergy advantage in combining contract law and investing.
“What fascinates me about private equity is that it naturally complements an insurance company’s investment assets, with both emphasising a long-term investment horizon. Our private equity investments are entirely domestic, and although the economic outlook can at times be grey, I am especially encouraged by the companies and entrepreneurs succeeding in Finland, whom we can support through ownership and financing.
This year is an exceptional one for us at LähiTapiola: we are strengthening our own resources in private equity and increasing our investment activity!”
Pauliina Martikainen-Rahnu is the CEO of Maki.vc and has been at the heart of the Finnish venture capital scene for a decade. Maki.vc invests in world-class Nordic technology entrepreneurs at their first funding round. For example, Maki.vc invested in IQM, Europe’s leading quantum computing company, at an early stage. Before Maki.vc, Pauliina co-founded Wave Ventures, Europe’s largest student-led venture capital firm.
“What inspires me about the venture capital industry is the courage and perseverance of entrepreneurs. I see venture capital investing as an important part of the innovation ecosystem, and therefore also as a tool for societal growth and impact.
I believe the market this year will emphasise quality and discipline, but also the courage to take bold views. These are interesting times for technology investors, as artificial intelligence is reshaping and redistributing markets across industries. This creates opportunities for new major global technology companies to emerge from Finland as well, but also, on the other hand, corrections in the valuations of many companies, at least over a certain time horizon.”
Sofia Nyberg is a Partner at Sponsor Capital. Sofia joined Sponsor Capital’s investment team in 2021. Prior to this, she worked as a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group and as a lawyer specialising in acquisition finance at Hannes Snellman Attorneys. Sofia holds a Master of Laws degree from the University of Helsinki and a Master’s degree in Economics and Business Administration from Hanken School of Economics.
“Private equity brings together everything I have learned during my career — strategic, business, and legal thinking — into one role where results can be seen in concrete terms. What inspires me most is the moment when the value creation plan built together with the management of a portfolio company starts to materialise, and the company takes steps towards a new scale or international success.
Finland’s economic situation forces companies to seek growth beyond national borders with even greater ambition. I see this above all as an opportunity to build Finnish companies into even stronger international success stories. At the same time, artificial intelligence is transforming companies’ operating models across industries, and private equity investors have a key role to play in helping their companies make use of this transformation.”
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Riku Asikainen from Evli Growth Partners will continue as Chair of the Board. Jussi Sainiemi, Mia Sirkiä, Juha Peltola, Samuli Sipilä, and Tommi Äijälä will continue as full members of the Board. Erkka Niemi, Claes Mikko Nilsen, Mari Simula, and Maria Wasastjerna will continue as deputy members. You can find the full composition of the Board on our website.
