Erkki Aaltonen has been hired as director of venture investments for Norway-based chemical and agircultural product supplier Yara International earlier this month.
Aaltonen said: “I will set up and run a new fund for Yara. YaraGerminate is the name of the unit. We will also set up incubation/acceleration programs in various locations globally, (and the) first one will be in Sao Paolo, Brazil.”
Aaltonen had spent two years as executive director of StartAD, New York University Abu Dhabi’s seed investment fund and “one-stop-shop for launching new ventures” in the Middle East and North Africa region. He will be replaced as leader by Robyn Brazzil.
The StartAD position followed a year spent as a growth investor at the Kaust Innovation Fund, the Saudi Arabia-based King Abdullah University of Science and Technology’s venture fund.
In total, Aaltonen said he had more than 15 years of diversified experience in various investment and corporate development roles in venture capital and telecommunication businesses, including stints in Finland for VTT Ventures and Nokia Ventures.