BALTIC VCA
SUMMIT 2019

21–22 AUGUST, PÄRNU, ESTONIA

Each summer, at the end of August, Baltic Private Equity & Venture Capital professionals gather at one the beautiful Baltic resorts to discuss industry developments, network & enjoy various activities together. EstVCA has the pleasure of inviting you to the 8th edition of Baltic VCA Summit.

Book your ticket now

PÄRNU, ESTONIA

Baltic VCA Summit will be held on 21-22 August in Pärnu – a resort town known for its 19th-century timber villas and for sandy Pärnu Beach, with its shallow waters, and promenades.

The main event will be held on 21 August at the iconic Pärnu Beach Hotel. On 22 August Baltic VCA Summit will continue with a series of activities and will reach its finale at Pärnu Rowing Club with a thrilling race where VCs go up against Buyout.

DAY 1

Wednesday, 21 August 2019

12:00 - 13:00
Welcoming lunch
13:00 - 14:30
SESSION I

OPENING SPEECH:
Taavi Rõivas / Former Prime Minister of Estonia
THE UNBELIEVABLE RISE OF BALTIC PE & VC:
Kristjan Kalda / Chairman at EstVCA
CRASH COURSE: Baltics & Finland
Kristiina Koort / Managing Director at EstVCA
Pia Santavirta / Managing Director at FVCA
BEHIND THE SCENES: Developing Finnish VC Industry
Matias Kaila / Director of Fund Investments at TESI
BALTICS: EBRD PERSPECTIVE ON THE PAST AND WHAT LIES AHEAD
Pavel Dvorak / Principal Banker at EBRD

14:30 - 15:00
Networking break
15:00 - 16:30
SESSION II

THE €70 BILLION LIMITED PARTNER PERSPECTIVE:
Ralph Guenther / Partner at Pantheon
Jesper Knutssøn / Partner at Saga Private Equity
Emma Honkanen / Associate at eQ
Tadas Gudaitis / CEO at Swedbank Investment Funds
Kriss Spulis / Senior Investment Manager at EIF
INSIDE A CORPORATE VC:
Tomoko Inoue / CEO at Omron Ventures
HELLO FROM EUROPE
Michael Collins / Chief Executive at Invest Europe
ASIAN OPPORTUNITY FOR EUROPEAN ENTREPRENEURS - CAN LP-s HELP TO BUILD THE BRIDGE?

Chris Wade / Partner at Isomer Capital. Fireside chat with Margus Uudam

16:30 - 17:30
Closing remarks, drinks & refreshments
19:30 -
Dinner & evening programme by TGS Baltic
Dress code: Summer Cocktail Attire

Did you know that

IT IS ACCEPTABLE TO NAP ON THE JOB IN JAPAN? IT’S VIEWeD AS EVIDENCE OF WORKING VERY HARD.

To keep the official part lively and entertaining, and to broaden the prospective of the audience, we add a specific country touch each year (previously Israel, India, Columbia, Netherlands).

This year the moderator will take the audience on a journey to Japan.

Insights into Japanese business and culture will continue throughout the day and evening programme.

CONFIRMED Speakers

Jerry Yang
General Partner at Hardware Club, Paris/Tokyo/SF
Moderator
Jerry Yang
General Partner at Hardware Club, Paris/Tokyo/SF

Jerry Yang is General Partner at Hardware Club, a Paris-Silicon Valley-Tokyo based VC firm whose fund LPs include  Foxconn, Taizo Son’s Mistletoe, NGK Sparkplug, Digital Garage, Isomer Capital, Draper Esprit etc. And as a name suggests – it invests in hardware startups. Before switching to the dark side, Jerry had been in analog IC design for more than a decade.

Originally from Taiwan, Jerry's career has spanned across many continents and cultures. At a young age he won a large contract with Japanese electronics part manufacturer ROHM, which in turn it allowed him to exit his startup. Since then he has established a very strong connection with Japan and is closely familiar with Japanese corporate culture. He is also fluent in Japanese and is a routine speaker at VC and tech events, including Tech in Asia and SLUSH Tokyo.

Jerry has obtained a BS and MS degrees in electrical engineering from the National Taiwan University and MBA degree from HEC Paris.

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Taavi Rõivas
Former Prime Minister of Estonia
Taavi Rõivas
Former Prime Minister of Estonia
Taavi Rõivas is an Estonian politician, former leader of the Reform Party and former Prime Minister of Estonia (2014-2016). He is a routine speaker at tech events around the world  including SLUSH (Helsinki, Tokyo, Singapore)
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Chris Wade
Partner at Isomer Capital, London
Chris Wade
Partner at Isomer Capital, London

Chris is a Cofounder and Partner at Isomer Capital. He is on the  board of  technology companies Calastone, Machines with Vison and in 2016 Magic Pony Technologies that was acquired by Twitter. He was one the original advisors and Venture Partners at Entrepreneur First. Chris was the founding director of the Venture Capital Unit for the UK Government where he promoted the UK VC and direct investment opportunities to investors in the US and Asia and attracted over $1B, he also advised the Singaporean Government on European VC’s. In 1998 he co-founded CPS a mobile location tech company which he successfully sold in 2007 to a major global chip design company. Prior to his start up experience he had over 15 years operational experience at US based DSc which he assisted in the $4B sale to Alcatel and Northern Telecom where he worked in Turkey and the US. He has a BSc in Physics and Chemistry from Leeds University under an industrial scholarship program   

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Jesper Knutssøn
Partner, Saga Private Equity, Copenhagen
Jesper Knutssøn
Partner, Saga Private Equity, Copenhagen

Jesper Knutssøn is partner and co-founder of Saga Private Equity. He has 28 years of experience in private equity and investment banking. At Saga Privat Equity he is responsible for investor relations and he has been involved in several due diligence processes. Previously, Jesper was responsible for investor relations at Danske Private Equity from 2006-2017. Before entering the private equity industry in 2006, he worked at Ixis Securities (Natixis) and Svenska Handelsbanken France. Mr. Knutssøn holds a M. Sc. (Economics) from the University of Copenhagen. 

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Pia Santavirta
Managing Director at FVCA, Helsinki
Pia Santavirta
Managing Director at FVCA, Helsinki
Pia Santavirta is the Managing Director of the Finnish Venture Capital Association (FVCA). FVCA represents the Venture Capital and Private Equity industry in Finland. Continuously growing membership covers all the active private equity investors in Finland and the service providers to the industry – standing now at 140 members. Pia and her team work actively together with decision-makers, investors, startup- and growth companies and other stakeholders in order to improve investors’ and entrepreneurs’ operating environment and to further fuel economic growth in Finland and in the New Nordics.
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Michael Collins
Chief Executive at Invest Europe, Brussels
Michael Collins
Chief Executive at Invest Europe, Brussels
Michael represents the industry at the highest levels of business and government and is a regular commentator in the international media. He joined Invest Europe in 2013 from Citigroup, where he was Managing Director for European Government Affairs. Michael was previously at the UK Permanent Representation to the EU and has 15 years of experience in the UK civil service.

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Tomoko Inoue
CEO at Omron Ventures, Tokyo
Tomoko Inoue
CEO at Omron Ventures, Tokyo
Tomoko Inoue is a venture capitalist with rich experience in healthcare. Prior to joining OMRON Ventures, she was a founding member of a unique venture capital firm that focused on medical devices under Japanese government backed investment firm. She invested in seed to early-stage startups primarily in Silicon Valley and Japan. She was born in the US, and grew up in the US, Germany and Japan. She loves to explore what she has not seen, and always seeks to go beyond the boundaries. She has a PhD in Biomedical Science, an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and is a Faculty Fellow of Stanford University’s Biodesign program.
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Matias Kaila
Director, Fund Investments at TESI, Helsinki
Matias Kaila
Director, Fund Investments at TESI, Helsinki
Matias Kaila has been heading the Fund of Fund Investments at Finnish private equity focused national promotional institution Tesi since August 2017. He has 15 years private equity experience through various positions in M&A advisory, leveraged & structured finance as well as senior debt, mezzanine, equity and fund investments on behalf of a Finnish pension fund. His previous employers include Danske Bank, Tapiola Pension (now Elo) and MCF Corporate Finance. Matias holds Masters degree on Economics and Business Administration from Turku School of Economics in Finland.

Tesi is a Finnish state-owned investment company that accelerates growth companies’ success stories by investing in them, both directly and via funds. Tesi is a major player in the Finnish private equity market with AUM of €1.3bn. Tesi invests in all sectors on equal terms and always together with private investors. The mission of Tesi is to develop Finnish venture capital and private equity market as well as to promote economic and business growth in Finland.

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Kristiina Koort
Managing Director at EstVCA, Tallinn
Kristiina Koort
Managing Director at EstVCA, Tallinn
Kristiina has been heading Estonian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association since 2013. Prior to that she worked at KredEx where she participated in the structuring process of Baltic Innovation Fund. Kristiina’s background is in equity sales and trading for Institutional clients across Europe and US. She is also co-founder and partner at Estelon and Advisory Board member at Latitude59. She holds MA from HULT International Business School, London.
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Tadas Gudaitis
CEO at Swedbank Asset Management, Vilnius
Tadas Gudaitis
CEO at Swedbank Asset Management, Vilnius
Tadas has 15+ years of experience in life insurance and asset management area and currently leading the largest pension funds’ management company in Lithuania. He is member of the Management Board at Lithuanian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association and Review Board Member at Baltic Financial Advisors Association. In 2010 he defended PhD thesis in Economics at Vilnius University.

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Ralph Guenther
Partner at Pantheon, London
Ralph Guenther
Partner at Pantheon, London
Ralph is a member of Pantheon’s European Investor Relations team, focusing on Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and will also source deals for Pantheon’s secondaries team. Ralph was previously a Managing Director with bmp AG where he worked on private equity fund-of-funds and advisory services for institutional clients. He has a degree in economics from FU Berlin

Pantheon is one of the largest Private Equity houses in the world offering primary, secondary and co-investment strategies across private equity, infrastructure and real assets. Headquartered in London and with offices in New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Seoul, Bogotá and Dublin. Pantheon's AUM is 43,5bn USD.
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Kristjan Kalda
Partner at BaltCap, Tallinn
Kristjan Kalda
Partner at BaltCap, Tallinn
Kristjan is a Chariman of the Estonian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association and a founding partner at BaltCap - the largest private equity house in the Baltics. Kristjan specialises in buyouts and has lead a number of companies to successful exits: Fitek, Magnetic MRO, TREV-2, Energate, Tuuleenergia, Microlink, A. le Coq, to name a few.
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Kriss Spulis
Investment Manager at EIF, Luxembourg
Kriss Spulis
Investment Manager at EIF, Luxembourg

Kriss is a senior investment manager in EIF’s earlystage VC and BA fund-of-funds practice, former business angel, entrepreneur and management consultant. Kriss has a "hands-on" experience in co-founding and developing businesses in product and service sectors, advisory work, as well as investing himself as a business angel. Kriss holds an MBA degree from INSEAD (Singapore, France).

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Pavel Dvorak
Principal Banker at EBRD, London
Pavel Dvorak
Principal Banker at EBRD, London
Pavel Dvorak is a Principal Banker at the EBRD where he focuses on investments in venture capital and private equity funds across the EBRD region. He also leads policy and technical assistance initiatives to support innovation and the development of the venture capital ecosystem in the EBRD region. Pavel supported the development and implementation of the EBRD's EUR 200 million direct venture capital investment platform and the EUR 100 million Early-Stage Innovation Facility, a captive early-stage VC fund-of-funds. He previously focused on supporting direct investments in ICT, healthcare and pharma, as well as developing the EBRD’s approaches to supporting innovation in the EBRD region (including both investments and policy). In his previous role of a Principal Economist at the EBRD, Pavel worked on developing country and sector strategies, targeted policy initiatives, and impact assessment. Before joining the EBRD, Pavel was a management consultant at Deloitte, where he focused mainly on commercial due diligence for private equity investors, strategy development and operations excellence in a number of sectors in CEE. Pavel holds a Ph.D. in Economics from CERGE-EI, Charles University in Prague and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).
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DAY 2

07:30 - 08:30  KARMA RUN

Those who enjoy getting up really early can join Karma Ventures team for a 10k karma run and explore the city of Pärnu.

10:30 - 12:00  CYCLING

A relaxed guided cycling tour around Pärnu. Pedaling through the charming old town, beach parks and promenades, passing coastal meadow hiking trail, watching urban cows and making a few wine stops on the way.

10:30 - 12:30  TENNIS

Tennis lovers can join for a small tournament at the Pärnu City Tennis Club.

10:30 - 12:30  GOLF

Those into golf can enjoy one of the finest courses in Northern Europe - Pärnu Bay Golf Links.

13:00 - 17:00

BALTCAP PRESENTS:
BBQ & Baltic VCA Rowing RegattA

The city of Pärnu is strongly associated with its surrounding water, both the Baltic Sea and Pärnu River. Next to this, rowing is the most prominent sport and has brought the city of Pärnu many Olympic medals and international fame.

At 13:00 we will gather at Pärnu Rowing Club for a barbecue by the one and only Enn Tobreluts, followed by cocktails and a lots of entertainment. Those interested, can try rowing on Pärnu river with instructors. 

Baltic VCA summit will be concluded by a thrilling boat race where VC-s, Buyout, LP-s and service providers will go up against each other in a boats designed for 8 rowers. You can think of it as a Harvard-Yale Regatta but for Baltic PE & VC professionals.

EVENT IS SOLD OUT.

Baltic VCA members
€300 + VAT
Regular tickets (limited allocation)
€590 + VAT
Limited Partners*
Complimentary
* To apply for a complimentary pass please contact kristiina@estvca.ee

Accommodation

We have pre-bookings until July in the following hotels. Ask for a discount with the codeword “VCSummit”

Pärnu Beach Hotel

rannahotell.ee

For booking send email to:
info@rannahotell.ee

Estonia Resort Hotel & Spa

estoniaspa.ee

For booking send email to:
resorthotel@spaestonia.ee

Wasa Resort

wasahotels.ee

For booking send email to:
info@wasa.ee

Villa Ammende

ammende.ee

For booking send email to:
sale@ammende.ee

Locations