Ulrika Ringdahl new CEO of SmiLe Venture Hub

SmiLe Deputy CEO Ulrika Ringdahl takes over as new CEO of SmiLe. She succeeds Ebba Fåhraeus who after ten years has announced that she wishes to leave the CEO role.

Ulrika has extensive experience in life science and has worked with both innovation, commercialization, business development and international partnerships. Currently she is the Deputy CEO of SmiLe and has led the strategy work for the next five-year period. Before joining SmiLe she held the position as CEO of Invest in Skåne where she was responsible for attracting international investments to the southernmost part of Sweden. Ulrika holds a PhD in Medical Microbiology from Lund University.

“I am honored and humbled to step in as CEO of SmiLe Venture Hub. I hope that with my experience I can contribute to the continued development of both our own operations and all the ambitious and driven entrepreneurs that participate in our educational programs. Turning research into societal benefit is incredibly important in a sustainable society. It feels good to contribute to this often long and complicated process that requires large amounts of capital,” says Ulrika Ringdahl, new CEO of SmiLe Venture Hub.­

Under Ebba Fåhraeus leadership, SmiLe has developed from a small regional incubator to an internationally recognized life science player during the last ten years. The original incubator business has been supplemented with a number of educational programs within life science and entrepreneurship as well as a unique lab infrastructure which today includes 12 state-of-the art labs. Ebba has been driving the launch of the angel investment company SmiLe Inject Capital and since she took office as CEO, the SmiLe companies together have raised 1 BEUR in venture capital. Equality issues have also been in focus and the percentage of female CEOs in SmiLe companies has increased steadily during her time as CEO to around 40 percent today.

“It has been a fantastic assignment to lead SmiLe for the past ten years, building bridges between research, entrepreneurship and society. Working with so many inspiring people and projects has been incredibly stimulating and I am proud of what we have achieved. Now it’s time to pass on the baton to Ulrika, whose experience and vision will continue to drive SmiLe forward. I look forward to supporting her and the team in my new role as strategic advisor," says Ebba Fåhraeus, departing CEO of SmiLe Venture Hub.

Ulrika assumes her new role on November 1st. Ebba will continue to contribute to SmiLe in a strategic advisory role.

“Ebba Fåhraeus has elevated SmiLe to something that not many people thought was possible ten years ago. It is really an impressive achievement in an area that is very complicated,” says Pia Kinhult, Chairwoman of SmiLe Venture Hub.

“At the same time, we are extremely pleased that we have managed to find such a great candidate to continue this journey. Ulrika Ringdahl is a very worthy CEO to continue the development of SmiLe,” Pia Kinhult continues.

For more information, contact:

Ulrika Ringdahl, new CEO of SmiLe Venture Hub +46(0) 73 6566232, ulrika.ringdahl@smileincubator.life

Ebba Fåhraeus, departing CEO of SmiLe Venture Hub +46(0) 73 4000433,  ebba@smileincubator.life

Pia Kinhult, Chairwoman of SmiLe Venture Hub +46 (0) 72 1792339, pia.kinhult@ess.eu

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