Europe's largest impact fund, Summa Equity, opens a North America office

Summa partners Tommi Unkuri, Gustavo Salem and Nick Roelofs will lead U.S. operations, and they will be joined by a number of Summa staff, including investment director Anna Ryrberg. The new office is Summa’s fourth; beyond the Stockholm and Oslo offices, Summa opened an office in Munich in 2022.

Commenting, Summa founder and managing partner Reynir Indahl, said:

“Summa has never been bound to its Nordic roots in the companies we work with. Our strategy is non-geographical, non-sector, and non-asset class specific. Opening a West Coast office is an extension of this approach: we are not just looking at American companies, but looking to attract and work with some of the world’s leading minds on how we can transform the world. Today’s interventions are the innovations of the past – Summa invests in global transformation.”

Summa partner and U.S. lead Tommi Unkuri added:

“The Summa approach is very unique. In leading the Changing Demographics theme at Summa, we are seeking transformative companies that will deliver positive outcomes for communities across the globe and enable people to prosper. Such businesses typically deliver sustainable growth and achieve continued long-term success, whilst creating value for the wider public.”

Summa will be prioritizing companies in healthcare, as exponential technological advancements and innovations are rapidly expanding what is possible. In turn, this is creating fundamentally new avenues for impacting health and improving patient outcomes. Summa will be investing in assets that develop innovative and transformative solutions that make healthcare more predictive, preventive, personalized, and participative.

Unkuri has been with Summa since its inception and leads the Changing Demographics theme at Summa, drawing on his experience as a seasoned healthcare investor. At Summa, Unkuri works with companies that have strong growth prospects and that are well positioned to bring value to society, notably those drawn from the healthcare space.

As a Thematic Partner, Salem is part of the Changing Demographics team, where his time at life science tools and diagnostics companies (including bringing new technologies to market) is put to use. Roelofs (ex-Baxter Healthcare, Applied Biosystems, Stratagene, Bio-Rad and Agilent) has 30+ years of experience in the life sciences and diagnostics industries, and he will play a leading role in his position as a Thematic Partner.

In January this year, Summa announced the closing of its third fund – a USD 2.4 billion impact fund, which is to be invested in companies which solve the biggest challenges the world is facing. Summa invests in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (“UN SDGs”) and the new fund has invested in, among others, Norway-based Tibber, a smart energy company that is active in several European markets.

To date, Summa has made 23 investments that advance the UN SDGs. Summa is committed to pushing the limits on quantifying positive impact through its collaboration with the Impact Weighted Accounts (IWA) project at Harvard Business School. Summa is a certified B Corporation.