Meet KI Innovation’s board of directors

Hi Annika,

Why did you choose to accept to chair the board at KI Innovations?

I have been involved in KI Innovations for a long time because I think it is important that KI’s research not only results in published articles but that it also benefits through products and services that quickly benefit healthcare and society.

In which questions do you see that you can best contribute with the expertise that you bring to KI Innovation’s board? I can contribute with my knowledge in economics and finance and my experience of working close to companies in the early stages. I know what it means to start a company, finance the business, further develop it yourself or make an exit. I know what effort and joy it means to start a company, to be an entrepreneur.

What do you think is most exciting about the work that KI Innovations does and what is important to focus on right now? I find it extremely exciting to follow the companies we work with today and to see the new ideas we meet in INREACH and START transform into something that is useful in healthcare today. In the short term, it is of course important to contribute to concretizing ideas about Covid-19. In the slightly longer perspective, it is important to capture ideas that are based on new technology and that can streamline care and treatment methods. In order for sustainable ideas to be developed and benefit society, a basic financing aimed at the Start-up phase is required. Today it is one of our biggest challenges that we think about a lot.

Hi Daniel,

Why did you choose to join KI Innovations?

Because I have a long and passionate commitment to entrepreneurship and its ability to develop society and contribute to new solutions within welfare. In my various roles, I have seen so many fantastic ideas come true, and create benefits for so many. But I have also seen even more creative ideas that have fallen flat on the ground due to society’s inability to pave the way for innovation, especially in the public sector. That is why I have been involved in various roles at national and regional level in order to increase the capacity for innovation in the public sector, in collaboration with researchers and innovators, entrepreneurs and businesses, solve the major societal challenges.

In which questions do you see that you can best contribute with the expertise that you bring to KI Innovation’s board? My focus will mainly be on increasing the chances that innovative solutions can be tested, evaluated, introduced and used more quickly in society, and that we understand and remove structural obstacles in order to do this. Here, I hope my many years of experience from the Government Offices, VINNOVA and the Stockholm Region can be used so that KI Innovations and projects and companies we support will be able to navigate more quickly in a complex healthcare or life science sector.

What do you think is most exciting about the work that KI Innovations does and what is important to focus on right now? Of course, I think the new concrete collaboration between KI Innovations and Stockholm Region around Sthlm Life Tech is extremely exciting! This collaboration has fantastic potential to build  the innovation systems between KI and the region, and take us closer to all the other innovation environments around the Stockholm region. The corona crisis shows that the need for new digital solutions, innovative treatment methods or new analysis platforms and decision support is greater than ever, here we can make a difference!

Hi Lisa, 

Why did you choose to join KI Innovations?

It is an interesting activity that is of great importance. Research results to be used and useful. Entrepreneurship at our universities is active in many places and it gives me an opportunity to closely follow developments in the medical field.

In which questions do you see that you can best contribute with the expertise that you bring to KI Innovation’s board? I have many years of experience from holding companies and entrepreneurial activities through my role as rector at SLU during 9 years 2006-2015 when we developed SLU Holding and various types of test operations. I also have experience from the private sector through my position as head of research at Skogforsk – the forest industry’s research institute – where the researchers work closely with the sector.

What do you think is most exciting about the work that KI Innovations does and what is important to focus on right now? I have just received a presentation of KI Innovations and it was all very exciting. It is not easy to single out any one thing until I have a little more information to go on, but campus development is an important part. Then we wait for the Innovation Inquiry and hope that it will bring positive news.

Hi Katarina,

Katarina Bjelke is currently university director at KI and most recently came from the position of university director at Uppsala University. Katarina was previously a Councilor and Head of the Research Policy Unit at the Ministry of Education.

Hi Sofia,

Why did you choose to join KI Innovations?

I have always been passionate about entrepreneurship and innovative power – creating the conditions for strong ideas to become core business. When I was asked to sit on KIIAB’s board, it felt like a matter of course. If I, with my own entrepreneurial and business strategic experiences, can contribute to KIIAB being given the conditions to enable Karolinska Institutet’s researchers to utilize their research, I am happy to do so. KI Innovations is, in my eyes, an important part of KI’s vision to work for better health for all.

In which questions do you see that you can best contribute with the expertise that you bring to KI Innovation’s board?

After four years as a member of Karolinska Institutet’s board and three years as a member of KI Holding AB’s board, I am well aware of the company’s ownership structure, opportunities and challenges. I think it is a strength in the board work. In addition, I myself am a serial entrepreneur and well acquainted with smaller companies’ strengths, weaknesses and possible notches in the curve.

What do you think is most exciting about the work that KI Innovations does and what is important to focus on right now?

The most important thing right now, and always, is to secure an internal infrastructure that can take care of the fantastic research ideas that are created within KI, so that these ideas have a chance to be evaluated and taken forward, if and when appropriate. I am impressed by the broad experience and high competence gathered within KI Innovations. We on the board must therefore also ensure that management and employees continue to have the right conditions to develop the business.

Hi Eugen,

Why did you choose to join KI Innovations?

As a KI alumnus, I see it as both a duty and an honorary assignment to help develop “the third task” by taking advantage of innovations at Karolinska Institutet and making them visible .It is very important to better both utilize and make innovations visible not only when they lead to new companies but also when they more and more affect and improve everyday healthcare, which of course accounts for 11% of all of Sweden’s GDP.

In which questions do you see that you can best contribute with the expertise that you bring to KI Innovation’s board?

Through my background as a research doctor and from having subsequently led several young research companies in both Sweden and other countries over the past 30 years, I can contribute with an understanding of how different stakeholders in society interact around innovations.

What do you think is most exciting about the work that KI Innovations does and what is important to focus on right now?

I think the most interesting thing is the construction of Karolinska Institutet Science Park and to develop a long-term sustainable financial structure for this platform, which I believe has great future potential for utilizing the great competence that exists at Karolinska Institutet.

Hi Hans,

Why did you choose to get involved in KI Innovations?

I partly sit on the board because I have to because KI Innovations is a subsidiary in the group. But above all also because I very much want to do it because the business is absolutely central to a successful utilization of research and good ideas at KI.

In which questions do you see that you can best contribute with the expertise that you bring to KI Innovation’s board?

I probably think that my experience of other innovation ecosystems in Sweden and abroad is a useful expertise I can contribute.

What do you think is most exciting about the work that KI Innovations does and what is important to focus on right now?

I think KI Innovation’s contribution to creating a sharp innovation environment in Innomedicum and on the Solna campus and over time in Flemingsberg is absolutely crucial.