Marjut Falkstedt has been appointed as Chief Executive of the European Investment Fund (EIF) by the EIF’s Board of Directors. She will take up her duties on 1st January 2023.
EIF, Europe’s largest venture capital and private equity financier, plays a leading role in facilitating access to finance via EU programmes for Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses.
Marjut Falkstedt assumes the leadership of the EIF ahead of the roll-out of the European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) aimed at providing crucial financing for Europe’s high-tech companies in their late-stage development. She will also be in charge of coordinating the EIF’s contribution to the European Investment Bank Group’s support package for the REPowerEU plan, in the form of equity investments to clean energy ventures and innovative green funds.
Commenting on the appointment, Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank, said: “I am delighted to be announcing the appointment of Marjut Falkstedt as the Chief Executive of the European Investment Fund. I look forward to working closely with Marjut in her new role, after her positive contribution to the EIB in recent years. Marjut is a seasoned professional with extensive experience of working both in finance and the EU institutions, including at the EIF and the EU bank.”
Commenting on her new appointment, Marjut Falkstedt said: “I am pleased to be appointed as the new Chief Executive of the European Investment Fund, especially at a time when the role of the institution is becoming even more important. It is a huge pleasure for me to return to the EIF and be given a chance to lead an institution that plays a crucial role in supporting businesses across Europe.”
A Finnish national currently serving as Secretary General of the EIB, Marjut Falkstedt began her career at Dresdner Bank before joining the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs at the European Commission in 1996. She held various roles in the field of SME and infrastructure financing until 2013 and was also advisor to the European Commission’s representatives on the Board of Directors of the European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the EIB Group, between 2001 and 2007. From 2013 to 2015, Marjut (previously known as Marjut Santoni) was Deputy Chief Executive of the EIF, before being appointed to the position of Deputy Secretary General of the EIB in September 2015. She was promoted to Secretary General at the EU Bank in 2018.
EIF’s current Chief Executive Alain Godard has been nominatedas Chairman of the European Tech Champion Initiative , following the joint declaration of the 8th February 2022 on “European Scale-Up” under the French Presidency of the European Union. The European Scale-up Initiative aims to provide crucial financing for Europe’s high-tech companies in their late-stage development, when they want to scale up their business from a start-up status to a more developed venture.
Background information:
The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment.