Footbalance elects Roger Talermo as new Chairman of the Board and becomes strategic partner to Intersport Sweden
September 28, 2010
Roger Talermo, Master of Economic Sciences and Doctor of Physical Sciences h.c., has been elected as the new Chairman of the Board of Footbalance System Ltd. Talermo, current President of the Finnish Olympic Committee, previously served as CEO of Amer Sports, one of the leading sporting goods companies in the world. Footbalance also continues its expansion in Sweden and becomes Intersport Sweden’s strategic partner.
Press release
23.9.2010
"Footbalance System is an interesting and internationally growing company, whose product has a clear global demand. I am delighted to bring my experience and expertise to a company with an intriguing story and great potential to grow into a significant player in the sports equipment market," says Talermo.
Talermo has chaired boards of several sports industry companies in Europe, North America and Asia. Footbalance's founder and majority owner Erkki Hakkala confidently hands over the position of Chairman to Talermo: "Roger brings our company over 30 years of experience in the international sporting goods industry. In addition, he has very strong expertise in the challenges and opportunities that Finnish companies face in North America. The North American market is one of the major markets for Footbalance now as well as in the future," Hakkala states.
Footbalance continues its successful expansion, after a successful pilot in 3 stores over the summer, INTERSPORT Sweden has chosen Footbalance to become its strategic partner. The roll-out starts at the end of 2010 with the target to cover 50 - 60 % of INTERSPORT stores in Sweden by the summer 2011.
For more information, please contact:
Footbalance System Ltd
CEO Antti Pihlakoski, mobile +358 400 408 064
Founder and CTO Erkki Hakkala, mobile +358 50 368 7715
About Footbalance
Footbalance System develops innovative custom-molded insoles that can be individually molded on the spot at sporting goods retailers in less than 10 minutes at a customer-friendly price. Launched in 2006, Footbalance has since grown from a domestic Finnish company into an international player whose products are currently sold in 16 countries on three different continents. In the beginning of 2010 the Swedish private equity company Scope invested 7 million Euros in Footbalance System. For more information, visit www.footbalance.com
About Scope
Scope Growth II L.P. is a private equity fund that, together with entrepreneurs, invests in building internationally relevant, Nordic-based companies that have unique, commercially-validated business models. As an active owner, Scope partners with managements to create companies with internationally scalable platforms that support sustainable growth. Scope currently manages two funds with aggregate capital in excess of 1.2 billion Swedish kronor. For additional information, visit www.scope.se.