Petter Hartman: new SmiLe Board member

News from SmiLe Incubator, Sweden: We are extremely pleased to welcome Petter Hartman as a new member of SmiLe Incubator's Board of Directors, and look forward to sharing his extensive industry knowledge and global network to expand SmiLe's operations.

Petter Hartman is currently the CEO of Medicon Village Innovation. He previously served for seven years as CEO of the Swedish-Danish cluster organization Medicon Valley Alliance, which has a membership of over 300 companies and organizations in the life sciences.

“I greatly look forward to serving on the Board and working with Ebba Fåhraeus, CEO of SmiLe, and the team, which I have already had the privilege of doing in my previous role. Now I would like to contribute an outside perspective as we continue to pursue internationalization and enter into collaborations with new players in a larger arena,” he says.

What does SmiLe mean for Medicon Village and the region?

“Medicon Village has become the natural gathering place for the life sciences in southern Sweden, and here SmiLe is one of the most important components, in part because of the incubator's high-quality service, and in part because the level of innovation found in SmiLe companies attracts great interest to the park. In Skåne, we have a strong tradition of commercializing research – a result of a clear division of roles and good collaboration with Lund University, whose innovation offices are responsible for the initial efforts of the researchers and then SmiLe helps the startup companies to develop and increase in value. The life science sector in the region, which is known for its high productivity levels, is experiencing strong growth in Skåne and SmiLe makes an excellent contribution to this process.”

What are SmiLe's success factors?

“The flow of high-quality ideas and people with ‘drive’ who apply to the incubator; SmiLe's team, which has the ability to find the keys to enable optimal development for each company; SmiLe's ownership structure, which is well rooted in academia, health care and business; and not least, the SmiLe team is very good at bringing in external funding for development-oriented initiatives.”

What opportunities do you see for SmiLe moving forward?

“The capital issue is extremely important for the companies, so initiatives like the SmiLe Inject Capital fund company mean a lot to the companies and, ultimately, to Skåne’s business community. Success breeds success, and with the many stellar examples among SmiLe companies, more companies can recognize the excellent opportunities that membership in the incubator provides. I also believe in opportunities for even more collaborative initiatives with other actors in the innovation system to further strengthen support for startup companies. Moving forward, I hope that we’ll see new initiatives aimed at the alumni companies, which have left the incubator and are in a strong growth phase. The major benefits to society, such as jobs and tax revenues, primarily come in that phase.”

 

For more information, please contact: Ebba Fåhraeus, vd för SmiLe Incubator, +46 (0)73 4000433, ebba@smileincubator.life 

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