Rolf Kjærgaard joins Jolt as Strategic Advisor
Rolf Kjærgaard becomes the sixth person to join Jolt Capital's Strategic Advisory Board, alongside Florence Parly and Viviane Reding. Former CEO of the Danish sovereign wealth fund (EIFO), Rolf Kjærgaard brings with him exceptional experience of financing technology companies and a vast network of contacts in Northern Europe.
The renewed interest of the various European countries in technological sovereignty means that there is a closer relationship between the national strategic funds and the portfolios of companies they finance. Rolf Kjærgaard is one of Europe's leading experts on this ecosystem.
This appointment is a further sign of Jolt Capital's interest in the exceptional fertile space for innovation in the Nordic countries, both in terms of potential investors for its next funds and as a source of quality deals.
Jean Schmitt, Chairman and Managing Partner, comments: "We have had the good fortune to work with Rolf for a number of years and are absolutely delighted that he has decided to join us. It's no secret that we have a strong interest in Northern Europe and Denmark in particular. We have a regional office in Copenhagen and several companies from these countries in our portfolio. We are convinced that deeptech goes hand in hand with the protection of strategic interests, which explains the growing interest of sovereign wealth funds in our investment thesis. This is an area in which Rolf's experience will be invaluable to us.”
Rolf Kjærgaard said: "Jolt Capital's ambitions and vision are fully in line with my conviction that it is crucial for Europe's future to have strong private equity funds in order to finance the deeptech champions we want to see emerge from the region. Jolt Capital is clearly moving in to take a leading position in shaping this future. So after 20 years of contributing to the growth of a large number of start-ups, particularly in the Nordic countries, I am keen to bring my knowledge of this region of Europe, as well as my network of institutional and sovereign investors, to the formidable team at Jolt Capital".
Laurent Samama, Managing Partner and Impact Officer at Jolt Capital, said: "We are delighted to be building a strategy with Rolf to attract more private and public capital to high-impact technology companies in Europe.
Rolf Kjærgaard, 52, is an economist. He graduated with a Master's degree in economics from the University of Copenhagen in 1996, after going to the University of California at Berkeley in 1994.
Rolf Kjærgaard began his career at the Danish Ministry of Trade in 1996. From 1999 to 2002 he worked at the European Commission in the Economics and Finance Directorate. He joined the Danish sovereign wealth fund Vækstfonden in 2002 as Head of Research, before becoming Senior Vice-President (2005), Chief Investment Officer (2015) and then Chief Executive Officer from 2019 to 2022.