The Swedish firm behind Europe’s largest impact fund, Summa Equity, opened its first North America office in Palo Alto, Calif. this summer.
Tommi Unkuri, Gustavo Salem and Nick Roelofs will lead U.S. operations, and they will be joined by a number of Summa staff, including Anna Ryrberg. The move follows the firm’s launch of its $2.4 billion impact fund in January. The new office is Summa’s fourth outside Stockholm and Oslo and follows the open of an office in Munich earlier this year.
”Summa has never been bound to its Nordic roots in the companies we work with,” said Summa Founder and Managing Partner Reynir Indahl, in a statement. ”Our strategy is non-geographical, non-sector, and non-asset class specific. Opening a West Coast office is an extension of this approach: we are not just looking at American companies, but looking to attract and work with some of the world’s leading minds on how we can transform the world.”
Summa said it will be prioritizing companies in healthcare as technological advancements and innovations are rapidly expanding what is possible in the space. Investment will be made in assets that develop innovative and transformative solutions that make healthcare more predictive, preventive, personalized and participative.
Unkuri draws on his experience as a seasoned healthcare investor in leading the Changing Demographics theme at Summa since the firm’s inception in 2016.
”The Summa approach is very unique,” said Unkuri. ”In leading the Changing Demographics theme at Summa, we are seeking transformative companies that will deliver positive outcomes for communities across the globe and enable people to prosper. Such businesses typically deliver sustainable growth and achieve continued long-term success, whilst creating value for the wider public.”
Salem is also part of the Changing Demographics team as a thematic partner, putting his time at life science tools and diagnostics companies (inlcuding bringing new technologies to market) to use.
Roelofs has worked at Baxter Healthcare, Applied Biosystems, Stratagene, Bio-Rad and Agilent and has more than three decades in the life sciences and diagnostics industries. He will play a leading role in his position as thematic partner.
