Niklas Zennström

Education

Zennström has dual degrees in Business Administration (BSc) and Engineering Physics (MSc) from Uppsala University in Sweden. He spent his final year at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.

Career

Zennström started his professional career in 1991 at the European telecom operator Tele2. He went on to serve in various business development roles including launching and being responsible for European Internet Service Provider business get2net and as CEO of the everyday.com portal.

In 2000 Zennström and Janus Friis co-founded Kazaa, the peer-to-peer file sharing application. Niklas served as CEO and the program became the world's most downloaded Internet software in 2003. After lawsuits were filed by members of the music and motion picture industry in the USA, Kazaa was sold to Sharman Networks.

Zennström then founded and served as CEO at Joltid, a software company developing and marketing peer-to-peer solutions and traffic optimization technologies. Zennström also co-founded Altnet, the world's first secure peer-to-peer network promoting commercial content to consumers integrating promotion, distribution, and payment of digital content.

Zennström's most notable success to date is Skype, a telephony company based on peer-to-peer principles. On 14 October 2005 Skype was acquired by eBay for €2.1 billion ($2.6 billion) plus the potential to earn further performance-based bonuses up to €1.2bn. Zennström was CEO from Skype's inception until September 2007. During that time, Skype became the global leader in Internet voice communications with more than 309m registered users within five years of launch.

After the sale of Skype, Zennström went on in 2007 to launch Joost, an online video distribution service (where Zennström was co-chairman).

In 2009 Zennström was part of the investment consortium that bought Skype Technologies from eBay and re-joined the Skype board. Currently, Zennström runs Atomico. Based in London, the firm primarily invests in fast growing tech companies with the ability to transform their respective industries. Through Atomico they have invested in over 50 companies on four continents, including Supercell, Rovio, Last.fm, Fon, Rdio, Fab, Klarna and Skype.

On 10 May 2011 Skype was purchased by Microsoft for $8.5 billion in its biggest ever cash deal. It is reported that Zennström and Friis will make approximately $1bn between them from the sale.

On 27 November 2014 Zennström was inducted into SUP46's Swedish Startup Hall of Fame.

Zennström is President of the European Tech Alliance (EUTA), a group of fast-growing tech companies that have all been built in Europe. The EUTA focusses on Europe's strength as a tech hub, and on its contribution to the European economy both in terms of driving investment and creating highly skilled jobs. The group uses their collective experience to feed into the push to strengthen Europe's digital economy.

Atomico

Atomico is an international investment firm focused on the technology sector. The firm looks to invest in fast-growing technology companies that have innovative business models or are new enabling technologies. Headquartered in London with offices in Beijing, São Paulo, Tokyo and Istanbul, it has so far invested in more than 50 companies on four continents. Some of the team’s current and previous investments include category leaders such as Supercell, Rovio, Jawbone, Fon, Fab, Klarna and Skype.

Philanthropy

Together with his wife Catherine, he founded Zennström Philanthropies to direct their charitable giving in the fields of climate change, human rights and social entrepreneurship. Niklas is specifically engaged in combating climate change and improving the state of the Baltic Sea.

Green Mentorship Award is an award created by Zennström Philanthropies to shine spotlight on the work being done by entrepreneurs in Sweden to tackle climate change and create a low carbon future. The winner receives personal mentoring from Niklas Zennström for one year.

Personal interests

Zennström is a keen yachtsman and he has built and raced yachts in the TP 52 and the 72ft mini-maxi construction classes for inshore and offshore racing with consistently good results. His highly successful Rán II (Judel/Vrolijk 72ft design, 2009) won the Fastnet Race consecutively in 2009 and 2011. She also won in her class in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race in 2009, and tried again in 2010. She won the 72ft Mini Maxi World Championship in 2010, 2011 and 2013. Zennström's smaller Rán IV (Judel/Vrolijk 52ft design, 2011) won the 2013 TP52 World Championships and also competes regularly in the 52 Super Series on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Both boats were replaced by Rán V (JV72, 2014) and Rán VI (JV52, 2015) to compete in the same circuits.

Honors and awards

Zennström was recognized by Time Magazine as one of its 100 Most Influential People in 2006, and has received numerous other awards for innovation and entrepreneurship.

In 2006, he was voted Entrepreneur of the Year in the European Business Leaders Awards (EBLA).

In October 2009, the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, awarded Zennström the KTH Great Prize "for his outstanding entrepreneurial and technological skills".

In September 2011, Zennström received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Oxford University's Oxford Internet Institute.

In February 2013 Niklas Zennström was awarded H. M. The King's Medal of 12th size with a bright blue ribbon for significant contributions to Swedish industry and society.

In October 2013, the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, IVA, awarded Zennström the Gold Medal for his “highly successful entrepreneurial achievements, creative innovation, high technical competence and outstanding leadership”.

Interviews