// Workers AI · dad joke modeWho's Peter Ekelund? Ekelund to be famous.
Peter Ekelund | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Peter Erik Daniel Ekelund  22 October 1954 |
| Education | Stockholm School of Economics |
| Occupations | Financier, entrepreneur |
| Father | Göran Ekelund |
| Relatives | Bo Ekelund (grandfather) |
Peter Erik Daniel Ekelund (born 22 October 1954)[1] is a Swedish businessman and investor. He was involved in the development and launch of Absolut Vodka,[2] served as chief executive of the broadband operator Bredbandsbolaget,[3] and was the initial chairman and a major investor in video on demand service HBO Nordic.[4]
Career
[edit]Ekelund graduated from the Stockholm School of Economics in 1977. He subsequently joined the Swedish state-owned wine and spirits company Vin & Sprit, where he worked on the development and launch of Absolut Vodka together with, among others, advertising executives Gunnar Broman and Hans Brindfors.[2][5][6]
He later worked for Swedish industrialist Hans Rausing and subsequently in the European pay television industry, including as managing director of FilmNet Benelux and in business development at its parent company NetHold.[7][8]
In the late 1990s, Ekelund became chairman of the Swedish Internet consultancy Framtidsfabriken and subsequently chief executive of Bredbandsbolaget, a newly established broadband operator. During his tenure, Bredbandsbolaget entered into a strategic agreement with Cisco Systems for the construction of a broadband network in Sweden.[3] The company also filed a complaint with the European Commission against incumbent telecom operator Telia concerning predatory pricing.[9]
Ekelund later served as chief executive of the Swedish investment company Novestra and became a partner at the New York-based private equity firm Baker Capital.[10] He also returned to the spirits industry as one of the people behind Karlsson's, a Swedish vodka produced from new potatoes grown on the Bjäre peninsula.[11][12]
In 2009, the Finnish sports pay-television service URHOtv was launched with Ekelund as the principal owner and chairman, acquiring broadcasting rights to Liiga, Finland's top-level ice hockey league.[13] In 2012, the technical platform developed for URHOtv was spun off into Urho Digital Services (UDS), chaired by Ekelund.[14]
That year, Ekelund's company Parsifal International formed a venture with HBO to establish HBO Nordic, a subscription television and streaming service for the Nordic countries, with UDS as a platform supplier.[14] Ekelund became chairman, while Parsifal initially held an 80-percent stake in the company.[15][4] He sold the stake to HBO in 2013 and left the chairmanship.[4][16] Resumé reported that Ekelund had helped establish the organization and management of HBO Nordic before its integration more closely with HBO's international operations.[16][17]
The following year, Ekelund and Parsifal were involved in establishing Starzplay Arabia, a streaming service launched in 2015 across 17 countries in the Middle East and North Africa.[18][17][19]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Mémorial C — N° 673" (PDF) (in French). Mémorial. 2010-03-30. p. 32259.
- 1 2 Hamilton, Carl (1994). Absolut: Historien om flaskan (in Swedish). Norstedts. pp. 5, 127, 218. ISBN 978-91-1-939242-8.
- 1 2 Latour, Almar (24 November 1999). "Cisco, B2 Plan Swedish Network To Provide Online Media Services". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 Byttner, Karl-Johan (10 September 2013). "Finansmannen Peter Ekelund har sålt HBO Nordic". Resumé (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- ↑ Matus, Victorino (2014). Vodka: How a Colorless, Odorless, Flavorless Spirit Conquered America. Lyons Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-4930-0311-2.
- ↑ "Absolut Conviction – the story of how the Absolut bottle was born". The Absolut Company. 2019. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- ↑ Jackson, Tony (19 December 1985). "A better class of direct mail". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- ↑ "Registration Statement on Form F-1 – InterXion Holding N.V." U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 12 January 2011. p. 80. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- ↑ Mitchener, Brandon (21 September 1999). "Bredbandsbolaget to Air Grievance Against Telia". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- ↑ "Registration Statement on Form F-1 – InterXion Holding N.V." U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 12 January 2011. p. 80. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- ↑ Wilson, Jason (24 June 2009). "There's Room for One More". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- ↑ Aguirre, Abby (21 September 2012). "Sweden's Pommes de Terroir". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- ↑ "Jääkiekon SM-liiga uudelle kanavalle". MTV Uutiset (in Finnish). 5 June 2009.
- 1 2 Brombach, Harald (21 August 2012). "Skal bruke finsk nett-tv-løsning i Norden". Digi.no (in Norwegian).
- ↑ Szalai, Georg (15 August 2012). "HBO Unveils Scandinavian Joint Venture as Netflix Also Plans Nordic Launch". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- 1 2 Byttner, Karl-Johan (10 September 2013). "Finansmannen siktar på nästa "HBO-investering"". Resumé (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- 1 2 Wolf-Watz, Sanna (14 August 2015). "Svensken bakom HBO Nordic tjänade 100 miljoner på ett år". Breakit (in Swedish). Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- ↑ Garrahan, Matthew (12 October 2014). "Starz to launch in international markets". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- ↑ Lundell, Stefan; Aronsson, Olle (12 May 2014). "Startar afrikansk Netflixkopia". Dagens industri (in Swedish). Retrieved 2026-09-21.