Anne Jalkala, vice-president for startup and fund investments at Finland-based energy group Fortum, has been leading its program since August 2016 and is preparing to launch a new corporate venturing fund this year.
She said: “Corporate venturing is a key building block in the innovation toolkit of a modern company. It is a vehicle to gain insights into the future through innovation and great way to combine entrepreneurial skills with corporate assets. At Fortum, we have 2.5 million consumer customers that we want to delight with innovative products and services. For startups, we can offer a gateway to their next million users.
“We are adopting a best-practice approach to corporate venturing by building an experienced investment team and an independent venture fund structure. We invest where digital technologies meet global megatrends. While building the venture fund, we have made investments in potentially game-changing technologies in the areas of future mobility, solar and biotech.”
These deals include Fortum investing $5.5m in Exeger Sweden in return for a 5% stake in the solar technology producer at the end of 2016, while its fund commitments include Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital.
Despite this experience over the past few years, Jalkala said: “Setting up an ambitious corporate venture fund that both serves strategic and financial goals is a big challenge.
“You have to get multiple stakeholders within and outside the company involved and excited about the idea. Top management support is key and we have been very fortunate to have exceptional support throughout the process.”
And it is a goal she is focused on accomplishing: “My professional ambition is to contribute in building next generation corporate venturing activities that truly add value to entrepreneurs, to large companies and to the society as a whole.
“I am passionate about new business models and the opportunity of digital and clean technologies to transform industries. I also enjoy transforming the way big corporates work towards startup way of working.”
This passion is perhaps no surprise given her previous role was leading complex change as a dean of
a business school, Lappeenranta University of Technology.
Before that Jalkala, “a happy parent, sports lover and heavy user of inspiring podcasts”, worked as
a marketing professor at the same university and as a visiting scholar at Stanford University.