Pekka Koponen

Summary

Pekka Koponen is the Chair of Infinit Capital, a family office investing in companies that are shaping a better future, with a focus on education innovation. He is also a Professor-of-Practice of Industrial Transformation at the University of Vaasa, contributing his industry expertise to academia. Pekka is a Founder of innovation consultancy Spinverse. Since 2004, Spinverse has become a leader in Nordics for building innovation ecosystems and securing public funding. Spinverse has helped clients obtain over €2 billion in EU funding and coordinated projects worth more than €4 billion. Pekka is also an active investor and chair in several education organizations, influencing educational and industrial transformations through new business models. His extensive network spans European innovation leaders across corporations, SMEs, research institutes, universities, and government bodies. A key advocate for innovation policy, Pekka has contributed to regulatory and budget frameworks at national and EU levels. As Chairman of the Innovation & Competitiveness Working Group of Technology Industries of Finland, he successfully advocated for increased public funding, resulting in a historic law for sustained government investment. He also co-founded and served as President of the European Association of Innovation Consultants, establishing a leading European association for innovation funding consultants. Before Spinverse, Pekka had a 14-year career at Nokia during its fast growth phase. He began as a smart card expert for Nokia's first GSM phone, developing software deployed in 500 million devices. His work at Nokia also included facilitating market entries in emerging countries, shaping the company's ecosystem strategy, and spearheading corporate venturing initiatives. His international assignments took him to China, Singapore, the UK, and the Czech Republic. Pekka holds an MBA from IMD in Lausanne and an M.Sc. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Oulu. He and his wife Laura have a blended family of five children, all board members of Infinit Capital. Once an endurance sports enthusiast, Pekka now enjoys snowboarding, golfing, and catamaran sailing.