Heikki Mäkijärvi (pictured) joined Sweden-based telecommunications and mobile network operator Telia this month as CEO of its new Telia Ventures corporate venturing unit.

Mäkijärvi had spent nearly a year as a partner at Airbus Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of aerospace manufacturer Airbus, but left in mid-2016 to manage a portfolio of advisory and board positions.

In addition to the Telia Ventures role, Mäkijärvi also recently joined the board of Finland-headquartered network equipment installer Teleste.

Brendan Ives, managing director of Telia’s new business opportunities unit, Telia X, said the decision to form a separate venture unit under Mäkijärvi followed the departure of his direct report, Nils Granath, to Swisscanto Invest by Zürcher Kantonalbank.

 

James Mawson

James Mawson is founder and chief executive of Global Venturing.