Heikki Mäkijärvi (pictured) joined Sweden-based telecommunications and mobile network operator Telia this month as CEO of its new Telia Ventures corporate venturing unit.
Mäkijärvi had spent nearly a year as a partner at Airbus Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of aerospace manufacturer Airbus, but left in mid-2016 to manage a portfolio of advisory and board positions.
In addition to the Telia Ventures role, Mäkijärvi also recently joined the board of Finland-headquartered network equipment installer Teleste.
Brendan Ives, managing director of Telia’s new business opportunities unit, Telia X, said the decision to form a separate venture unit under Mäkijärvi followed the departure of his direct report, Nils Granath, to Swisscanto Invest by Zürcher Kantonalbank.