Per Franzén is CEO and Managing Partner of EQT, a role he assumed in May 2025. He joined EQT in 2007 and has played a central role in the firm’s development and investment activities across Europe.

With over two decades of experience in private equity and financial advisory, Per has led and overseen investments across a broad range of sectors, including software, services, healthcare, and consumer goods. He has been involved in investments including IFS, Automic, SSP, AcadeMedia, Securitas Direct, IVC, Anticimex, Duni, Karo Pharma, and Piab.

Per began his career at Morgan Stanley, where he worked in M&A, Leveraged Finance and Nordic Banking in London and Stockholm. During his time at EQT, he has worked across the firm’s European offices, including London, Stockholm and Munich. He holds a Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration from the Stockholm School of Economics, with exchange studies at the University of St. Gallen.

Per is Chairman of the EQT Equity Partners Investment Committee and a member of the Infrastructure Partners Investment Committee.

Shaun Azhar is the Managing Director and Platform President of Pestokill, part of the Anticimex Group. With nearly two decades of experience across the Anticimex organisation, including its Australian operations under the Flick Pest Control brand, Shaun has built his career through a blend of operational depth, commercial leadership, and strategic transformation.

Starting in frontline technical and operational roles, Shaun progressed through senior leadership positions where he led large-scale teams, oversaw complex integration programs, and delivered sustained growth in highly competitive markets. His career has been shaped by hands on experience with more than a decade of acquisition integration, business consolidation, and platform scaling across multiple geographies.

Now leading the UK platform, Shaun is responsible for driving strategic expansion, operational excellence, and value creation across a rapidly growing business. His approach to M&A centres on cultural alignment, leadership continuity, and building organisations that thrive long after the transaction closes. He brings a pragmatic, people focused perspective to how businesses can unlock real value when they come together.

Jan Barsballe is an experienced M&A executive with more than twenty years of global experience shaping acquisitive growth strategies in industrial, technology, and life science sectors. Since, 2013, he has served as VP Business Development and Head of M&A at ASSA ABLOY Entrance Systems, where he has been instrumental in driving the company’s international expansion, completing over 100 acquisitions across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. His work has helped establish market leading positions and embed a disciplined, structured approach to pipeline building, valuation, deal execution, and post merger integration.

Before joining ASSA ABLOY, Jan held senior leadership roles at The East Asiatic Company, Coloplast, Danisco, and Chr. Hansen. Throughout his career, he has led complex cross border transactions, collaborated closely with executive management teams, and guided multicultural integration efforts to deliver strategic and financial value.

Jan holds an M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from DTU and has completed advanced executive programs at IMD, UCLA Anderson, and INSEAD.

Niamh Dawson is one of Boston Consulting Group’s foremost global experts on postmerger integration, change management, and culture. She has worked internationally for three decades across four continents.

Niamh has played a key role in expanding BCG's footprint in postmerger integration, transformation and change. She has collaborated with and coached the senior management teams of numerous BCG private and public sector clients worldwide on a broad range of integration and change questions, including synergy development and achievement, organisation design, people appointments and retention, communications, change management, cultural integration, carve out, salesforce optimisation, R&D and manufacturing rationalisation.

Her industry experience spans biotechnology, charity sector, consumer goods, energy, financial services, health care, industrial goods, insurance, media, private equity, public sector, technology, telecoms and travel.

For many years Niamh also led the BCG London Women’s Initiative establishing many of the ground-breaking policies that make BCG such a sought-after employer today.

She is a guest lecturer at Harvard Business School, Insead, IESE and University College London. Niamh is also Adjunct Professor at London Business School.

A trained executive coach with deep experience in coaching CEOs and C suite on the issues and dilemmas facing them, their executive teams and board, Niamh holds qualifications with distinction from Meyler Campbell, also Tavistock Institute of Human Relations and Harvard.

Before joining BCG, Niamh worked with Exxon Chemical in the UK and Belgium in a variety of roles spanning sales, distribution and logistics, and business analysis.

Per-Olov Bergström is Chairman of Nordics Investment Banking at Barclays Investment Bank.

He has more than 35 years’ experience in the Nordic M&A, equity and debt capital markets, having advised clients across a wide range of industries.

Love has over 20 years of investment banking experience with a particular focus on M&A across industrials, business services and renewables & energy transition.

Prior to DNB, Love spent 12 years at DB with a focus on Nordic and industrials M&A based in London and NY.

He holds a BA from Cambridge University and an MBA from INSEAD.

Anton Kotov is heading Corporate Strategy and M&A for ABB Group ($33bn). Based out of the HQ in Zurich, Switzerland, Anton is leading the teams who run the Group Strategy & Portfolio, Business Intelligence, Enterprise Risk Management, Ventures Portfolio, and Corporate M&A.

Prior to that, Anton served as a Global Head Strategy, Business Development, and Sustainability at ABB Electrification Business ($17bn).

Before joining ABB in 2017, Anton spent 10 years in various roles at Schneider Electric where he was driving Business Optimization for the global business unit, worked on strategy projects and M&A deals within the Corporate Strategy & Development team, and held a position of Strategy VP for Global Segments & Strategic Accounts.

Anton holds the MBA Degree from HEC Paris and IESE Business Schools. He also completed Executive Education Programs on M&A at London Business School, Strategic Sales at Harvard Business School, and Senior Leadership Development Program at IMD.

Elisabet is Managing Partner and the head of M&A Corporate at Linklaters Sweden. She advises corporates, financial institutions and private equity houses on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and business separations. She also counsels on regulatory issues and has experience in outsourcing and licensing. She has a wide range of sector expertise and co-lead Linklaters global business services and technology sector for five years. IFLR 1000 recognises Elisabet as one of the leading transaction lawyers in the world.

Jan joined Deutsche Bank in 1988 and has held several positions within M&A, Structured Finance and Corporate Finance. He holds a BA from Pomona College, an MBA from Wharton, an MA from University of Pennsylvania, and a Graduate Diploma in Business Studies from the London School of Economics.

Gabriel Mellqvist is an anchor at Swedish finance broadcaster EFN, Ekonomi- och Finansnyheterna. He is the host of stock market show Börslunch, as well as the weekly podcast Börssurr med Mitelman & Mellqvist. Gabriel is also a contributing writer and a frequent commentator on markets and economy in othermedia. Before returning to EFN, he was a journalist working for Dagens Industri.During his sixteen year long career at the financial newspaper, he has for instancecovered American business and politics as a New York correspondent, as well asworked as a UK Correspondent in London. He has also worked for Reuters and hasalso co-authored the book United Stockholms of America.

Rodney Alfvén is currently a Partner and Executive Director at Hallvarsson & Halvarsson. He brings over 25 years of experience in banking, having spent roughly half his career as a financial analyst, where he was voted the best financial analyst three times in banking and insurance. The remainder of his career includes senior leadership roles as Head of Investor Relations at Nordea and Chief Investment Officer at Nordea Life and Pension.

Niklas Bonnier is a senior member of the M&A group at DNB Carnegie, with over 15 years of dedicated experience advising on mergers and acquisitions. He has held M&A advisory roles at Lazard, Jefferies and Morgan Stanley, including working in Lazard’s New York office, advising on complex domestic and cross border transactions. Niklas has advised on a wide range of public and private deals for large corporates and financial sponsors, with significant experience in international M&A. He holds a degree from the Stockholm School of Economics.