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Axel Hagelsteen

Director

Team(s)

Operations

Our Operations team works closely with both Investment and portfolio company management teams throughout the investment lifecycle. Members are based across each of IK’s geographies which allows for a more local and tailored approach within our portfolio companies. The team is supported by a network of experts who help with the execution of key value creation initiatives.

With responsibility for developing full potential plans and supporting the implementation and mobilisation of these within companies at the start of an investment, the team continuously monitors and reports on impact during active ownership. Upon exit, both the Investment and Operations teams work together on vendor due diligence, also contributing to the next phase of the value creation plan.

Office

Paris

France

43, avenue de Friedland
75008 Paris Cedex 08
France +33 1 44 43 06 60

Sector

Consumer

Consumer

Background

IK Partners has a significant history of successful investments in the Consumer sector. Our investment strategy focuses on defined subsectors, selected based on a combination of strong growth and fundamentals, as well as market resilience. Within these subsectors, we look for companies that are: operating in fast-growing and fragmented markets; experiencing increasing consumerisation and a greater emphasis on quality as well as experiences; and are driven by digital innovation trends.

Why We Invest

Companies operating in fast-growing and fragmented markets offer the opportunity to drive consolidation through the facilitation of strategic add-ons. These markets also show a great amount of resilience. Where companies are driven by digital innovation trends, there is potential to adapt their go-to-market strategy and automate processes to increase personalisation. This also helps to improve the quality of the offering, especially where education is concerned.

Where consumerisation is increasing, there is opportunity to significantly improve productivity through production, logistics and procurement optimisation. In doing so, we can work alongside organisations, mainly in the private label food market, to achieve greater synergy and production efficiency.

How We Add Value

We work alongside management teams within this sector to add value in the areas of:

Digital Transformation
Go-to-Market Strategy
Production Efficiency
Research and Development

Our Track Record

We have a well-established track record of investing in successful companies within the Consumer sector. To date, we have invested in 44 companies and deployed €2.6 billion of capital.

Axel Hagelsteen joined IK Partners in 2020 and is a Director within the Operations team, based in Paris. He has extensive transformational experience and specialises in the Consumer sector.

Prior to joining IK, Axel held a role working in Strategy and Transformation at Sysco Europe. Prior to this, he worked as an independent consultant focusing on change programs and spent six years as a consultant with L.E.K. Consulting. Axel holds a MSc in Management from ESSEC Paris.

Outside of work, Axel enjoys music.

Axel Hagelsteen

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