Altor has over the last years gradually spent more time and resources on tech and its implications on business. During 2017, Altor took the next step by appointing and implementing a tech advisory board. This board has two primary functions; to actively support existing portfolio companies and to take an active role in the sourcing processes for new investments.
“Overall, we see strong digital trends affecting almost all our companies and it becomes increasingly important to learn how to utilize and adapt to these technologies”, says Stefan Linder, Partner at Altor Equity Partners. “We have always worked closely together with industrial advisors in a successful way and with our tech board we believe that we will become better at understanding both opportunities and risks within companies owned by the Altor Funds, as well as finding new opportunities where technology plays a key role”.
The tech advisory board currently consists of:
Mattias Miksche: The former managing director of E*TRADE Sweden & Germany, CEO and founder of Boxman/Lovefilm and Stardoll. Miksche has extensive experience in building digital companies and is an active angel investor in the Stockholm tech scene. He currently sits on the board of directors of companies such as Dustin, Avanza Bank and PriceRunner.
Fredrik Nylander: As a former partner, currently technology advisor, at Lakestar, Zürich, and CTO/EVP of Tumblr and Oscar Insurance in New York, Nylander has hands-on experience from both building digital organisations as well as the investment side. Fredrik sits on the board of directors of BTI Studios and Transcom, both owned by the Altor Funds.
Ben Holmes: As a former general partner of London-based Index Ventures, investing in companies such as Playfish, King and Supercell, Holmes has a great track record of identifying interesting investment opportunities. In 2017 Holmes was listed in the Forbes Magazine’s Midas list of the world’s smartest tech investors. He is currently a board member of KRY, Trustpilot, Secret Escapes and iZettle.
“The pace at which technology changes the business landscape is accelerating. This makes it necessary for owners, board of directors and management teams throughout all sectors to take tech into consideration when making strategic decisions”, says Mattias Miksche, chairman of the Altor tech advisory board. “By working actively in both sourcing processes and with current investments of the Altor Funds, our aim is to see and seize opportunities given in the highly complex digital environment”.