{"id":762,"date":"2023-09-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-04T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/liuinvest.se\/2023\/09\/05\/liu-invest-seeks-business-operations-manager-investment-manager\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T10:17:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T08:17:12","slug":"liu-invest-seeks-business-operations-manager-investment-manager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/liuinvest.se\/en\/2023\/09\/05\/liu-invest-seeks-business-operations-manager-investment-manager\/","title":{"rendered":"LiU Invest Seeks Business Operations Manager, Investment Manager"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vision and Objectives<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our goal is to establish a revolving evergreen fund within five years, where value creation can benefit new research commercializations. Our mission is to ensure that investments made within LiU’s various research areas lead to commercial success, advancing research results for societal benefit, primarily in the form of spin-off companies. We also work to foster a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation at LiU. <\/p>\n

We currently have a portfolio of approximately thirty companies. The portfolio’s value is 38 MSEK, compared to a total invested capital of 15 MSEK. Investment activities have been ongoing for over 10 years, but value growth has primarily been generated over the past 5-7 years. This indicates a strong return on invested capital. The company portfolio is listed at: https:\/\/www.liuinvest.se\/#portfolj<\/a> The value growth will secure our long-term ability to continue supporting early-stage companies with more than just pure investments, which can include coaching, business development, and advisory services. <\/p>\n

Our Approach<\/strong><\/p>\n

A key success factor has been to invest very early, sometimes even as co-founders, and to be operationally active in the companies. We work very closely with LiU’s innovation office (LiU Innovation) and our incubator LEAD, where LEAD, in particular, has an important role in continuously developing the investment through active business coaching. Most of the value growth we have seen in the last five years has occurred in companies where we have been active in our ownership role. <\/p>\n

The Board of LiU Invest functions as both an investment committee and a board of directors. The Board decides on the direction for early company formation, i.e., which research groups to approach and how priorities should be set. When we act as co-founders, it’s about us identifying opportunities rather than someone approaching us with a pitch. Sustainability is an important part of the investment process, and we strive to invest in companies with long-term sustainable business models. <\/p>\n

Investment amounts are relatively small. A typical investment is up to 500 kSEK plus 500 kSEK in two tranches, and can be followed up with follow-on investments where we maintain our ownership stake up to an additional 500 kSEK. All new and additional investments exceeding 200 kSEK are reported under the news section on the website, see: https:\/\/www.liuinvest.se\/nyheter\/<\/a>
\nWe are now looking for someone with a genuine interest in investments in research results from LiU, who wants to be a driving force in LiU Invest’s and LiU Holding’s operations, and work with business development and value creation. <\/p>\n

About the Job<\/strong><\/p>\n

An important part of value growth is active ownership. Thus, in parallel with investment and exit decisions, shareholder agreements, and portfolio value monitoring, you will drive active ownership, ensure its effectiveness, and guarantee that allocated resources are utilized where they provide the most benefit. A key task as Business Operations Manager, Investment Manager, is also to build networks with co-investors. The future plan is for active ownership to be exercised by LiU Invest’s own staff, by personnel within the group (i.e., staff from the LiU Holding Group), and by external consultants. Therefore, it is important that you have the ability to inspire and coordinate resources from other providers. <\/p>\n

As an Investment Manager and Portfolio Manager, you will work on preparing decision-making documents for investments, as well as monitoring and overseeing existing investments. To achieve our objectives, investment decisions are crucial, and competent, well-founded, and sound investment decisions are required to generate the necessary value growth. You will also analyze completed investments and participate in our role as owner. <\/p>\n

The ownership role is important, and to ensure good value growth, active ownership is central. This includes, in addition to obvious aspects such as participating in general meetings, involvement in board work, coaching and advising portfolio company CEOs, and participating in capital raising efforts, all with the aim of achieving strong company development and, in the long term, good value appreciation in the portfolio. <\/p>\n

In prioritizing which portfolio companies should receive active ownership, a matrix is currently used that considers parameters such as how much we can positively influence the company through active ownership and the perceived growth potential of the companies. Ongoing tasks also include making portfolio updates and risk analyses, as well as preparing financial documentation for analyzing goal attainment and annual financial statements. Continuous dialogue with the LiU Invest Board and colleagues within the LiU Holding Group is important. <\/p>\n

The position is located in Link\u00f6ping. Full-time is preferred. <\/p>\n

Your Background and Experience<\/strong><\/p>\n

You should have several years of experience in qualified investment activities, preferably in early stages, typically high-risk pre-seed investments. You also have solid experience in portfolio management, for example, of startup companies. Active ownership requires competence, willingness, and drive to develop portfolio companies. Experience in the academic sector, as well as your own entrepreneurial experience in the startup sector, e.g., having personally run a startup, is a merit. <\/p>\n

As a person, it is important that you are passionate about entrepreneurship and driven by the vision of creating a revolving evergreen fund that can finance parts of the group’s operations to create successful companies from the research conducted at Link\u00f6ping University. It is also highly desirable that you have your own experience in sales and business-to-business customer contacts, as portfolio companies often need support in this area. Being a certified board member is a merit. You hold at least a Master’s degree in economics and\/or engineering (e.g., Industrial Engineering and Management or similar). You express yourself well in both spoken and written Swedish and English. <\/p>\n

Your Personal Qualities<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a person, you are creative, independent, possess strong business acumen, and have a powerful inner drive and perseverance. You have high analytical skills and can identify the most important aspects in complex issues. <\/p>\n

You are curious and appreciate the intellectual stimulation gained from delving into complex ideas. You have an aptitude for mathematics and likely experience in company valuation for both early-stage and more mature companies (e.g., cash flow analyses). You enjoy interacting with both researchers and colleagues in a social and pleasant manner. You are collaborative but maintain strong integrity, balancing your deep commitment with clear boundaries. <\/p>\n

Questions and Application<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you have questions about the position, please contact johan.lilliecreutz@liu.se.
\nPlease submit your application, consisting of a CV, a personal letter, and a link to your LinkedIn profile. We apply continuous selection. Submit your application here<\/u><\/strong><\/a>. <\/p>\n


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\u2003
\nAppendix: Brief additional information about LiU Holding’s operations<\/strong><\/p>\n

The work within LiU Holding can be divided into the categories: prepare, acquire, manage, and divest. In addition, there are various other activities such as networking, communication, and administration. The operations are described below in overview based on these categories. <\/p>\n

Prepare<\/strong>
\n– Actively search for and identify potential investment objects in the form of ideas\/projects and companies originating from research or education conducted at Link\u00f6ping University.
\n– Evaluate potential investment objects, including negotiations with founders and, in some cases, coaching and advising founders to become investment-ready and attractive to other investors who may syndicate with LiU Invest.
\n– Prepare documentation for LiU Invest’s investment committee, which consists of the LiU Invest Board, and present potential investment objects to the Board\/investment committee.<\/p>\n

Acquire<\/strong>
\n– Execute investments, which includes, among other things, drafting shareholder agreements and other formalities.
\n– Assemble consortia of co-investors in cases where LiU Invest acts as the lead investor, and actively present potential investment objects in contexts where co-investors can be found.<\/p>\n

Manage<\/strong>
\n– Participate in general meetings and owner meetings to represent LiU Invest and safeguard its interests.
\n– For selected portfolio companies, actively participate in board work as an adjunct or full member.
\n– Coach and advise portfolio company CEOs and portfolio company boards with the aim of creating value development in the companies and thereby value development for LiU Invest.
\n– Provide practical advice and perform certain tasks to ensure order and efficiency in board work and corporate administration within portfolio companies.
\n– From time to time, certain interim assignments in portfolio companies may occur. All with the aim of achieving good company development and strong value growth in the portfolio.
\n– Through established networks and contacts, assist companies in which LiU Invest has invested in finding follow-on investors.<\/p>\n

Divest<\/strong>
\n– Based on established directives and guidelines, execute exits (i.e., sale of parts or all of LiU Invest’s holdings in a specific company), which includes negotiation with all parties, drafting transfer agreements, etc.<\/p>\n

Other \u2013 Networking, Communication, and Administration<\/strong>
\n– Actively establish contacts and participate in networking activities to build relationships with business angels and investors.
\n– Actively establish contacts and participate in networking activities with the regional innovation support system, as well as other relevant funders.
\n– Monitor and report on the value development of LiU Invest’s portfolio.
\n– Publish news about new or additional investments on LiU Invest’s website and publish news from portfolio companies on LiU Invest’s LinkedIn channel.
\n– Maintain LiU Invest’s archive of shareholder agreements and other important documents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vision and Objectives Our goal is to establish a revolving evergreen fund within five years, where value creation can benefit new research commercializations. Our mission is to ensure that investments made within LiU’s various research areas lead to commercial success, advancing research results for societal benefit, primarily in the form of spin-off companies. We also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-open-positions"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/liuinvest.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/liuinvest.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/liuinvest.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liuinvest.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liuinvest.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/liuinvest.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/liuinvest.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liuinvest.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liuinvest.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}