Nordic M&A and Private Equity Forum

Nicklas Bergman Serial entrepreneur, technology investor and futurist

Nicklas Bergman has spent the last 20 years working as a serial entrepreneur and investor focusing on emerging markets and technologies. With vast experience from navigating through turbulent and uncertain technology environments, he is a perfect guide when trying to understand what the future will bring.

His focus has mostly fallen on investments in emerging markets, web services, nanotechnology, computing, new materials and new media art. He is the co-founder and largest investor in several companies including the Volvo trucks and buses distribution network in Romania, an electron microscopy company with a unique patented technology for movement and interaction on the atomic scale, and a Scandinavian ski resort development that has attracted investments of over US$100 million in the past few years, and invigorated a whole region in the north of Sweden.

Bergman is also advisor to the TechCast Technology Think Tank in Washington DC, which is trying to understand where we are heading, and if society will be able to handle the upcoming technology revolution. Further, as part of an emerging research project at Lund University in Sweden, Bergman is focusing on humankind’s relationship to technology and technological development, and more specific on the business implications of multi-disciplinary and transformative emerging technologies in the coming 5-50 years.

His book “Surviving The Tech Storm” tackles the strategic implications of disruptive technologies was released in 2015. The book is becoming increasingly relevant as technology gets more and more integrated into corporate strategy and decision making. According to a recent study by Constellation Research, digital challenges, automation and technology in general are five of the top 10 issues that keep CXOs awake nowadays.

Nicklas is also part of the “Nordic Ways” project at the SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University in Washington D.C., USA, which resulted in a book of essays on how Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden are facing economic and social challenges through what has been known as the “Nordic Model”. Authored by people from all the Nordic countries, all the writers have backgrounds in politics, academia, design, arts, industry, and civil society. This game changing book was released in October of 2016.

Mikael Männik Director, M&A and Investor Relations Visma AS

With strategic acquisitions an important factor in Visma’s growth, Männik has since 2010 had to make full use of his diplomacy skills and excellent financial insight. Männik and his highly skilled team of financial analysts and experts are hands-on throughout all Visma’s M&A processes.

Benjamin Roszczewski Senior Manager - M&A Microsoft

Benjamin  is an Integration Manager with Microsoft’s Venture Integration Practice. Over  the past few years, Benjamin has led and participated in numerous acquisitions  and divestitures at Microsoft. As a serial acquirer, Microsoft invests  considerable effort and resources to continuously improve and evolve its  Integration and M&A Practice. In his current role, Benjamin’s key accountabilities  include: due diligence, integration & separation planning and execution and  performance tracking of the acquired businesses. 

Auri Aittokallio Nordics Reporter Mergermarket

Auri is Nordic Correspondent at Mergermarket. She joined the company in December 2016, having previously worked as financial reporter for TMT Finance, where she tracked deal activity in the telecom, media and tech sectors across Europe.

Prior to this, Auri covered the IT and telecoms sectors for many years as a reporter and researcher, and the TMT sector remains her special area of interest.

Auri, originally from Finland, holds a BA in Journalism from the University of West London.

Mats Johnson M&A Advisor PwC

Mats is a Director of the M&A-team in Stockholm. He joined PwC Corporate Finance in 2011.

Before joining PwC Mats had his own M&A advisory firm based in London and Stockholm. For eight years he worked at Lazard responsible for the machinery sector. Mats has also worked for UBS and Handelsbanken Corporate Finance.

Mats has an extensive international M&A-experience having advised both Nordic and non-Nordic clients.

Markus Oksanen Partner- Head of IPT DLA Piper Finland

Markus Oksanen practices in general corporate law with an emphasis on mergers & acquisitions and private equity investments. Markus advises equity investors as well as target companies in buyouts and venture capital financing.

As the head of DLA Piper Finland's IP&T practice, Markus possesses years of experience in ICT matters, advising corporate clients and IT suppliers in complex IT procurement and outsourcing transactions.

Markus participates actively on start-up ecosystem, in some cases also in the role of member of Board of Directors.

Prior to starting in private practice, Markus worked as in-house counsel of technology companies.

Tom Allen M&A Lead Midaxo

Tom is the M&A Lead at Midaxo. He has led and worked on numerous M&A projects, many being cross border. Tom’s experience spans acquisitions, divestments, due diligence, integrations, VC rounds, valuations and IPO to the London Stock Exchange. In his current role at Midaxo, he leads the M&A aspects of business development – working across the development of M&A best practices, the Midaxo SaaS platform and training.

Tom is a Chartered Accountant (ACA), member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England & Wales (ICAEW) and started his career in financial services at PwC. Following PwC, he worked as an M&A advisor for a London based corporate finance boutique. He holds a BA in Economics and MA in Development Economics from UEA, UK.

Philip Whitchelo Vice President, Strategy & Business Development Intralinks

Philip is responsible for the product, sales and marketing strategy of Intralinks’ Strategic Financials business. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the M&A Research Centre at Cass Business School, City, University of London. Prior to joining Intralinks in 2010, he worked for 17 years as an M&A investment banker and in management consulting. He began his career at Deloitte in London in the financial services practice and then worked at NatWest Markets Corporate Finance, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and in corporate development for The Rank Group Plc, as well as founding an M&A consulting firm. Philip holds postgraduate degrees in Finance and Computer Science and a BA in Linguistics, from the University of London.

Karl Svozilik Partner Norvestor

Karl joined Norvestor as a Senior Associate in 2008. He was promoted to Investment Manager in 2009, Investment Director in 2014 and Partner in 2016. He is currently the chairman of Nordic Camping and is on the board of Nomor and Eneas. Previous board positions includ 4Service, Phonero and Life. Prior to joining Norvestor he spent almost four years as an Associate Director at Evli Bank Corporate Finance (Stockholm) and also half a year as an Analyst at CIBC World Markets in London. During 2001 and 2002 he had internships with the Bank of America in London and Merrill Lynch in Frankfurt. Karl has a BA (hons) in International Business from the European Business School in London and Oestrich-Winkel.

Frederik von Barnekow Partner Riskpoint

Frederik von Barnekow joined RiskPoint in 2014, having i.a. practised law in both Copenhagen (Plesner) and New York (Reed Smith) with a focus on M&A and corporate law since 2006. Frederik is a partner and Head of RiskPoint’s M&A Group, admitted to the Danish bar and holds an LL.M. from UC Berkeley (California). Frederik is based in Copenhagen.

David Lillo Nordic Practice Leader – Private Equity and M&A Marsh

David joined Marsh in 2014 as Transactional Risk Leader for the Nordic region as part of their global Private Equity and M&A Services practice. He advises clients in connection with the use of M&A insurance products including warranty & indemnity (W&I) insurance, contingency issues and tax indemnity insurance. David has a broad M&A experience working with Linklaters’ M&A department in Stockholm and most recently as an investment manager at a Private Equity firm in the Gulf region. He holds an LL.M. from Uppsala University and an MBA from IE Business School.

Tim Wright Partner - Head of European Private Equity DLA Piper

Tim Wright heads up the European Private Equity group and has been specialising in private equity for over 20 years. He acts for private equity sponsors, management teams and corporates on a variety of UK and cross-border private equity backed buyouts and corporate M&A.

Fredrik Näslund Partner Nordic Capital

Fredrik has been with NC Advisory for over 15 years and has been involved in 13 platform investments across the Technology & Payments and Healthcare sectors. Fredrik heads the NC Advisory Technology & Payments team. Over the last fifteen years, Fredrik has Devoted significant effort in building Nordic Capital’s position as the leading private equity Investor in the Nordic mid-cap Technology & Payments sector, being the responsible advisor for deals such as Point, Bambora, Itiviti and CINT. Since the beginning of 2017, Fredrik is also Head of Norway. Prior to joining, Fredrik was part of the management team of Capio in various leadership positions. Fredrik holds an MSc in Engineering Physics from the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg and an MSc in Business Administration from the School of Economics and Commercial Law, University of Gothenburg.

Jussi Kallasvuo CIO Evervest

Jussi Kallasvuo is the co-founder of Helsinki based Evervest. He is also a board member of Negen Oy and East Finland Real Estate Oy. He has previously held the positions of M&A Director at Sanoma and Investment Manager at SanomaVentures.

Kristina Patek Head of M&A Tieto

Kristina Patek is Head of M&A at the Tieto Corporation since 2015. Tieto is the largest Nordic IT services company that employ more than 14,000 people, operate in more than 20 countries and have a turnover of approximately EUR 1.5 billion. The shares are listed on Nasdaq in Helsinki and Stockholm.

Prior to joining Tieto, Kristina worked for 15 years in private equity, as investment manager for the listed private equity company Ratos and more recently as partner for the Nordic growth equity fund Scope Capital. She started her career as management consultant for Accenture based in Stockholm, Helsinki, London and Johannesburg and was then part of the first strategy consulting team of Cell Network during the dot-com era. During this period she also held the role as CEO of the venture capital portfolio Cell Innovation .

She holds a MSc in International Business Studies and Economics from Uppsala University and an MBA from Aston Business School.

Board member of Avega Group, Bilprovningen, Emric, Didner & Gerge Fonder AB

Stefan Björkman Managing Director Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company

Stefan Björkman has a 25 year + professional leadership experience covers global leaders and domestic financials as well as service companies ranging from engineering to health care.

In June 2017 Etera and Ilmarinen, two Finnish pension insurance mutuals, announced their merger. The merged Ilmarinen will be among the 20 largest pension investors in Europe with over 45 billion euro in assets. Stefan took up the position as deputy CEO in the merged entity having served as CEO of Etera from 2014-2017.

Relating to M&A his experience includes transactions and forming JV´s in a global setting as well as tens of acquisitions, numerous exits and three IPO´s. His experience covers the viewpoints of a chairman of the board, board member as well as CEO and CFO.

Sebastian Inger VP Investcorp

Sebastian Inger joined Investcorp in 2013 from Credit Suisse where he spent two years as part of their industrials team. Previously Sebastian worked at Swedbank in Sweden, in both the equity research team and corporate finance division.

Sebastian holds an International BSc and MSc in Finance with a sub-degree in Japanese, from the School of Business, Economics and Law in Gothenburg and Keio University in Tokyo.

Ragnar Hellenius Partner & Head of Nordic Region PAI Partners

Ragnar Hellenius is responsible  for the Nordic Team at PAI. He is the chairman for Atos Medical and is on the  board of ADB Safegate Group and Perstorp.

He has extensive experience in  management consulting having worked for Accenture, McKinsey & Company and  Booz Allen Hamilton. Prior to joining PAI, he worked as CFO and deputy CEO for Unibet Plc, a European on-line gaming company.

Per Franzén Partner and Head of Equity EQT

Per Franzén joined EQT Partners in Stockholm in May 2007. In January 2014, Per was appointed Head of Equity in Stockholm.

Per holds a M.Sc in Economics and Business Administration from the Stockholm School of Economics with exchange studies at the University of St Gallen in Switzerland.

Prior to joining EQT Partners, Per spent six years at Morgan Stanley’s  London and Stockholm offices working in M&A, Leveraged Finance and Nordic Banking.

Per has worked in the Stockholm and Munich offices at EQT Partners and is a member of the Equity Partners Investment Committee.

Jussi Salokangas Chief Investment Officer Hartwall Capital Oy Ab

Jussi Salokangas has worked for Hartwall Capital since 2016. Prior to joining Hartwall Capital, Jussi worked for over 10 years in private equity for FSN Capital in Stockholm and Argan Capital in London. Prior to that, Jussi worked in the M&A team at Merril Lynch, London.

Jan Johan Kuhl Managing Partner Polaris

Jan Johan Kühl joined Polaris as Managing Partner in April 2007. Prior to joining Polaris, he was Group Director of Icopal, where he started in 2000. He was previously employed as Equity Analyst with Gudme Raaschou Investment Bank (1989-1993), as Project Manager with Aarsø Nielsen & Partners and as CEO of Monarflex (1995-2000).

Johan Englund Investment Manager - Technology Industrifonden

Johan Englund joined Industrifonden in 2010 because he wanted to help build successful companies. He has more than 20 years of experience in building and developing ideas and companies in the internet, telecom, media, and entertainment sectors. He is also Chairman of the football organisation Ettanfotboll. 

Johan’s previous positions include acting as CEO of MTG Modern Times Group’s subsidiary Nordic Artist and as adviser to several leading VC firms. 

Bjarne Lie Managing Partner Verdane Capital

Bjarne joined Verdane Capital Advisors' Oslo in 2001 office from PaperX, of which he was co-founder and COO.

At Verdane Bjarne has been instrumental in the acquisition of a number of portfolios of direct investments and in building companies such as Banqsoft, Chipcon, ResLab, Resman, Reslink and Wireless Maingate. Bjarne launched the secondary direct strategy that forms the core of today’s Verdane Capital in 2003, and currently serves as the chief investment officer and managing partner of of the firm.

Yrjö Närhinen CEO Terveystalo

Mr. Närhinen serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lääkäripalveluyritykset ry, the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hyvinvointialan liitto ry, a member of the Boards of Directors of Hyvinvointialan Tieto Oy, Närhen pesä Oy, Kuntopolku Oy, Kuntoutumis- ja liikuntasäätiö Peurunka sr, Martela Corporation, LPY-Koulutus Oy and Teijon Masuuni Oy. Previously, Mr. Närhinen was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Terveyspalvelualan Tieto Oy (currently Hyvinvointialan Tieto Oy) as well as a member of the Board of Directors of Mathildedal’s Brewery Ltd. In addition, he has been the Managing Director of Hartwall Ltd, SCOY Holding Oy, Gillette Group Finland Oy, Helepark Oy and Lapin Kulta Oy as well as held various managerial positions at Procter & Gamble, including a position as the Country Manager for Norway and Finland. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Business Administration from the Helsinki School of Economics. He is a Finnish citizen.

Reynir Indahl Managing Partner Summa Equity

Previously, he was Partner of Altor Equity Partners where he joined at inception in 2003. Prior to this, he was CEO of Ignis Photonyx, Investment Director with Kistefos Venture Capital, and Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company. Reynir holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Reynir is a board member of eGain, Sortera and Milarex.

Ulf-Henrik Kull Senior Partner Avance

Ulf-Henrik Kull serves as the Senior Partner at Avance Attorneys Ltd in Helsinki. Ulf-Henrik’s experience covers over 20 years in complex cross-border transactions, including both public and private mergers and acquisitions, with a special focus on private equity. He is recognised as one of the leading experts in corporate, mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions in Finland and is regularly involved in some of the largest cross-border transactions in the Nordic region. Prior to joining Avance, Ulf-Henrik served as the Managing Partner and Head of Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity at Roschier.

Anders Løken CFO Webstep Group

Anders is the CFO of Webstep, where  he joined in 2008 and has served in group management since 2013. Webstep, a  high-end provider of IT consulting and digitalization services, has  demonstrated profitable growth since inception and through two  consecutive private equity ownership periods. Anders has considerable  experience with corporate development under private equity ownership and was  instrumental to the successful IPO of Webstep on Oslo Stock Exchange in 2017.

Anders holds  a B.Eng in software development and a master’s degree in Finance and Economics  from BI Norwegian Business School. 

Daniel Kjellén Co-founder and CEO Tink

Daniel Kjellén is co-founder and CEO of Tink, a Swedish fintech company with the goal of helping people understand their finances, empowering them to make smarter decisions and ultimately bringing financial happiness. Founded in 2012, Tink has been live with their consumer application on the Swedish market since 2013, and gained over 500 000 users. In 2017, Tink launched its B2B offering for banks, Tink Technology, enabling them to create next-generation banking services. Before founding Tink, Daniel was an investment banker at Carnegie, the Nordics’leading investment bank. Prior to this, he founded corporate domain name company Prodocon AB (now a part of NetNames Group), and served as the company’s CEO for seven years.

Per-Olov Bergström Managing Director and Head of Nordic Region Rothschild

Per-Olov Bergström is Rothschild's Head of Nordic Region and based in Rothschild´s Stockholm office.

Per-Olov has 29 years experience in the Nordic M&A, Equity and Debt capital markets having provided advice across a wide range of industries.

Per-Olov joined Rothschild in 2010 after five years at Handelsbanken where he was the head of corporate finance (M&A and equity capital markets).

Prior to that Per-Olov was a Director at Lazard and before that he held senior positions at Handelsbanken’s and KPMG’s corporate finance practices.

Per-Olov is a Swedish national with a MSc in Economics from the University of Uppsala.

Kasper Viio Corporate Development Executive Acuris Global

Kasper works as a Corporate  Development Executive at Acuris, focused on both organic- and  acquisitive growth initiatives. 

He joined Mergermarket’s  editorial team ten years ago, covering several public- and private market  M&A beats in Europe before moving on to strategy related roles in 2013.  Kasper still occasionally lends his byline to editorial- and events teams, but  struggles to remember how many times he has chaired the Nordic Forum.

In his spare time, he advises a  London based venture capital firm on fund strategy, communication and investor  relations, and is working hard to convince his young daughter about the merits  of downhill skiing.

Gustav Sandstrom Senior reporter Dealreporter

Gustav Sandstrom is a senior reporter at Dealreporter, part of the Mergermarket Group, covering financial services, credit and convertible bonds.

Before joining Dealreporter, Gustav worked at The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires in Stockholm for five years, where he covered several Nordic financial beats. Prior to that, he was a business reporter for Thomson Financial News, covering Denmark.

Gustav trained as an economist, with degrees in Economics and Political Science from the universities of Stockholm and Uppsala, Sweden.

Catherine Ford Editor-at-Large Mergermarket

Catherine Ford is the Editor-at-Large for the events division of Acuris. She is a consultant editor to event programmes, and engaged in the development of timely editorial content for global corporate finance, M&A and capital markets related conferences and events. She routinely moderates discussion panels at conferences across the region. She has worked for Acuris since early 2002, holding a number of senior editorial roles in the company’s European, US and Asia-Pacific head offices.