Going forward, there will be an an increased focus on investing closer to Schibsted’s core business by, amongst other things, strengthening the portfolio with marketplace business models. Jussi comes from the role as CEO of Schibsted Marketplaces Finland and SVP of Nordic Accelerator.
“The space of venture investments is incredibly exciting these days, as valuations of start-ups have declined. There is a lot of value creation potential for Schibsted given our proven track record and strong position in this space. With this new role, I get the opportunity to really dig further and explore this potential and look forward to contributing to our core businesses through venture activities, building optionality for Nordic Marketplaces and News Media”, says Jussi Lystimäki.
Andrew Kvålseth, Chief Investment Officer.
“I’m really happy to welcome Jussi onboard as our new SVP Head of Schibsted Ventures. His solid background in building and investing in startups, long experience leading marketplace businesses including as CEO of Schibsted Marketplaces Finland and his entrepreneurial mindset, makes me confident he will drive our venture investments with great success. He will lead an experienced venture team in a challenging market, exactly the conditions history has shown us game changing companies are built and great investments are done,” says Andrew Kvålseth, EVP Chief Investment Officer, Schibsted.
Schibsted Ventures is a corporate venture investor in the nordics, with more than two decades of experience investing in digital consumer products and services. The team operates as an active investor leveraging competence, experience, and vast marketing reach, bringing superior value and returns to the venture companies and Schibsted’s consolidated brands.
Success stories like Blocket, Lendo, and Leboncoin are all examples of initial venture investments made in the past. More recent ones that have become part of Schibsted’s core business include Podme, Plick and Nettbil. Schibsted Ventures will continue finding strategic optionality for Schibsted while securing competitive financial returns on par with other leading Nordic VC funds.
Jussi Lystimäki has been working with digital startups and startup investments since 1997 in Finland, UK and Germany. The more recent build-up of Adevinta Ventures and working closely with European and Nordic VC reinforced his passion to help founding teams make a positive impact in the space of next gen marketplaces. He first joined Schibsted in 2009 to launch Tori.fi, building its leading position within general merchandise. In 2020, he returned to Schibsted as CEO of Schibsted Marketplaces Finland, heading up the marketplaces Tori.fi
and Oikotie.fi.
Jussi Lystimäki replaces Dan Ouchterlony who was Head of Ventures until September 2022, when he decided to leave Schibsted.
