DFJ Esprit Adds Adviser

Top tier European venture capital firm DFJ Esprit has announced today the appointment of Mikko Suonenlahti, who joins the team as a Senior Adviser, focusing on investments in the B2B and B2C software, med-tech, Bio-IT and energy efficiency.

Press release:

Top tier European venture capital firm DFJ Esprit has announced today the appointment of Mikko Suonenlahti, who joins the team as a Senior Adviser, focusing on investments in the B2B and B2C software, med-tech, Bio-IT and energy efficiency.

Mikko has over 25 years experience of global management in business building and spent 15 successful years as a venture capitalist in the US, Middle East and Finland. He has been a board member of over 20 venture capital financed businesses, of which 15 have been realised, as a co-founder of SFK Finance Oy and a Partner with 3i USA. His investments include IObox Oy, a European case study of early stage investing and Enfo Sofware, an acquisition of a pre-IPO business. His investments in personally led business include two cash realisations for a return multiple of 20X.

Prior to working in venture capital Mikko’s extensive career includes roles with venture backed 3D Computing Oy, Nokia Data Oy, Unisys European HQ in London and McKinsey. Mikko holds a MBA (KTM) from the Helsinki School of Business and a BBA from Portland State University, Oregon as well as executive education at Harvard Business School.

“I am incredibly excited about working with DFJ Esprit,” said Mikko Suonenlahti, “The firm has a diverse and interesting portfolio and I look forward to helping them build on this. My co-operation with many of the team members goes back to the mid 90’s – both in Europe and the US.

“Mikko is a fantastic addition to our team,” said Paul Murray, partner at DFJ Esprit. “Finland and the whole Nordic region are full of potential investment opportunities and his wealth of experience in hands on venture investment will increase our presence in the region significantly, enabling us to invest in some of its most exciting young companies.”

About DFJ Esprit

DFJ Esprit is a leading cross-stage venture capital firm that invests in European technology companies. Members of the DFJ Esprit team have been active in technology investing since 1985 and have experience of investing in over 200 companies and generating strong returns for investors through building valuable global companies alongside the founders and management teams.

The DFJ Esprit partners have invested in many of Europe’s most successful venture exits of recent years, including Buy.at, Alphamosaic, KVS, CSR, Domantis and Arakis. DFJ Esprit is the exclusive European partner for Silicon Valley based Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) Global Network of venture funds, the largest such network in the world with $6bn under management and offices in 30 cities spanning four continents. Encore Ventures is a division of DFJ Esprit with a dedicated team focused on the acquisition of venture capital portfolios.