Agenda 2026
Capital, control, and consequence: PE to 2030 in the Nordics
Anjana Haines, Editor, Real Deals
Keeping your nerve when the market turns
Opening the Real Deals Nordic Forum for 2026, a founder will share reflections from their personal journey. Offering a candid view on maintaining a distinct investment strategy through macroeconomic shifts, this will be a highly practical discussion on risk, holding your ground, and delivering real cash returns against a tough regional backdrop.
Waiting for the exit: is 2027 the turning point?
This panel will address the blockages holding back deployments and exits, particularly for software and growth businesses bought at the peak of the market. Partners from firms across the region will discuss when the exit window is likely to open, how they see trade tariffs impacting regional investment flows, and the practical strategies GPs can adopt to deliver real cash returns to their LPs.
Christopher Ekdahl, Partner, Nordic Capital
Carl Jakobsson, Partner, IK Partners
Andreas Källström Säfweräng, Partner, Altor
Carina Spitzkopf, Head of DACH and Nordics Direct Lending, Partners Group
The reality of the IPO market: lessons from the frontline
Drawing upon the recent listing of InstallatørGruppen on Nasdaq, this conversation will focus on the reality of executing IPOs in the current market. Our speakers will discuss why certain firms choose local listings over foreign exchanges, and how to manage growth through buy-and-build strategies when holding periods extend.
Liquidity or illusion? The real value behind the secondaries surge
Welcoming you back from the break with an energetic debate on whether the secondary market and continuation vehicles can provide genuine relief for Nordic investors. Focusing on the sustainability of CVs as a long-term exit strategy, panellists will discuss the reality of using these vehicles for partial exits, how to secure liquidity for backing investors, and whether reliance on these structures indicates a genuine lack of new market growth opportunities.
Johan Nord, Senior Partner and Head of Nordic Private Equity, Cubera
Ali Sanghari, Director, Private Equity Solutions Team, Hayfin
Helen Downie, Investment Director, MML Capital Partners
Michael Gentili, Head of Capital Markets, FSN Capital
Nordic investors in transition: adapting to a changing GP landscape
This fast-paced session will address the changing relationship between GPs and LPs. Speakers will discuss how investors are responding to longer holding periods, whether GP-led transactions genuinely solve liquidity issues, and how co-investment relationships must adapt as fund models evolve across the region.
Sofie Kulp-Tåg, Investment Director - Private Equity and Infrastructure, Skandia
Chloë Webster, Vice President, HarbourVest
Alan Gauld, Senior Investment Director, Patria Investments
AI, obviously: driving the conversation on origination, operations, and returns
Moderator: Erik Berggren, Independent Investor
Isabella Gillström, Vice President, Origination, Hg
Sector investment strategies
Our first set of breakout sessions offers the opportunity to discuss sector specific investment strategies, and in particular the medium to long-term opportunities presented by technology, industrials and defence.
Track 1: Technology and software | Track 2: Industrials and sustainability | Track 3: Defence and security |
The software reality check: driving growth when multiples compress Jonathan Ahrens, Director, Verdane | Funding the green industrial transition: capital versus compliance Arash Raisse, Partner, Alder
| Capital in the zone: backing defence and dual-use tech
Anthony Catachanas, Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Tower Peak Partners |
Operations and liquidity
Our second set of breakouts invite you to join one of three conversations on the theme of operations and liquidity, including novel financing options, talent and value creation, and capital and co-investment opportunities.
Track 1: Resilience and extended holding periods | Track 2: Talent and leadership | Track 3: Capital and co-investment |
Creative financing options for mid-market portfolios Kirsten Bode, Co-Head Pan-European Private Debt, Muzinich & Co
| Human capital as a lever for value creation Hetal Damani, Impact Partner, Trill Impact
| Structuring terms to unlock LP capital Lorenzo Sormani, Managing Director, Swedbank Robur |
What have we actually learned?
This rapid-fire panel will bring leaders from each of the breakout sessions to share the most compelling takeaways from their sessions. Split into two discussions of ten minutes each, we will first reflect on sector investment strategies, and then operations and liquidity.
The Nordic edge: navigating global shifts to secure the next decade of growth
To close this year’s forum, a leading figure from the regional investment ecosystems will share a high-level perspective on the forces reshaping the Nordic economy. This will include how the region can maintain its competitive edge, manage geopolitical risk, and deploy capital effectively through the next economic cycle.