Executive Ventures launches with Carolina Ragnerstam as CEO
By Olesia Karvetskaia, COO
October 1, 2026
Pictured from left to right:
Helena Strigård, CEO and Founder, Ventures Accelerated;
Carolina Ragnerstam, CEO, Executive Ventures.
New life science executive search firm, sister company to Ventures Accelerated, will build leadership teams and boards for the growth phase a company is heading into — not simply the one it is in.
Executive Ventures AB today announced the appointment of Carolina Ragnerstam as Chief Executive Officer. Executive Ventures is a life science executive search, interim leadership and board advisory firm, and the sister company to Ventures Accelerated AB, founded by Helena Strigård.
Executive Ventures was established to address a recurring pattern in life science: companies with world-class science that stall when their management team, board and cap table no longer match the next step of the journey. Scaling internationally, commercialising a pipeline and attracting international capital all require leadership with a proven track record and global connections — experience that may not be readily available within a company’s existing local network.
"Life science companies move fast. The leadership team that is right for an early-stage company is not necessarily the team that will take it through commercialisation, international expansion or the next phase of capital growth," says Carolina Ragnerstam. "Leadership needs to be built around where the company is going, not only where it is today."
Ragnerstam joins Executive Ventures from TFS HealthScience, an international contract research organisation, where she was Director of Business Development. She previously held roles at PharmaRelations, the Nordic life science recruitment and consulting group, and management roles at Kronans Apotek, and holds an MSc in Pharmaceutical Science from Uppsala University. The combination is deliberate: a career spanning both life science recruitment and the commercial side of clinical development.
"I strongly believe in starting with the end in mind," says Ragnerstam. "The question shouldn't only be 'who do we need today?' but 'who do we need to become the company we want to be tomorrow?' That shifts executive recruitment from filling a position to building the leadership required for the next stage of growth."
As the sister company of Ventures Accelerated, Executive Ventures builds on a network spanning major life science hubs across Europe and North America, and with insight into what a company needs commercially as well as who it needs to lead it. The two companies share Njord, the proprietary matching and search platform that Ventures Accelerated uses to connect life science companies with investors and partners, which Executive Ventures also uses to identify and evaluate candidates.
"The combination of human capital and financial capital is what sets Executive Ventures apart," says Ragnerstam. "Through our connection with Ventures Accelerated we can see not only what capabilities a company needs, but what kind of leadership is required to create the conditions for the next stage of growth."
Helena Strigård, founder of Ventures Accelerated in 2024 and Executive Ventures in 2026, says the appointment reflects how the firm intends to compete. ’We look upon recruitment as matching a company’s growth journey with someone who can take it to the next inflection point and beyond. We dive deep into each candidate’s ability to land deals, partnerships and raise capital in international markets. Carolina has worked on both sides of this: finding leaders and selling into the companies that need them. She understands what a board is actually buying when it hires a CEO."
Executive Ventures will source in both directions: placing Nordic leaders into international ventures, as well as UK and US leaders into Nordic companies. The firm will introduce itself market by market through the Venture Bridge event series, beginning in London during the Jefferies London Healthcare Conference in November 2026 and continuing in San Francisco during J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference week in January 2027.
"Executive recruitment shouldn't be something you turn to when there is a gap around the table," says Ragnerstam. "It should be part of the growth strategy from the beginning — making sure the right people are in place before the next inflection point, not after it."
About Executive Ventures
Executive Ventures AB is a life science executive search, interim leadership and board advisory firm based in Stockholm, and the sister company to Ventures Accelerated AB. It places C-suite executives and board members for life science companies scaling internationally, combining sector specialisation, international candidate networks and the Njord search platform. Executive Ventures serves clients across the Nordics, the UK, continental Europe and North America.
Skeppsbron 10, 111 30 Stockholm, Sweden · www.executiveventures.org
About Ventures Accelerated
Ventures Accelerated AB, founded in 2024 by Helena Strigård, accelerates growth for life science companies pursuing global expansion through precision partnering of business opportunities and capital. Its Njord platform matches companies with investors, partners and market-access routes across international life science hubs.
Media contact
Carolina Ragnerstam, CEO, Executive Ventures AB
carolina@executiveventures.org · +46 76 308 57 97
Media contact
Helena Strigård, CEO and Founder, Ventures Accelerated
helena@venturesaccelerated.com · +46 73 640 28 05