Lorenzo Grabau is an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
businessman and he was recently
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
of
Swedish investment firm
Investment AB Kinnevik until December 7, 2016. Prior to this, Grabau had an extensive career in investment banking, with 17 years spent at
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...
.
Career
After graduating from
Universita degli Studi di Roma, La Sapienza, in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, Grabau joined the investment bank
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, doing business as Merrill, and previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investm ...
in 1990 as an analyst. He remained here for five years working in the mergers and acquisition department in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
In 1994, he joined the investment banking division of
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...
, where he remained until 2011. During his time here, he held various leadership positions, eventually rising to managing director in 1999, responsible for driving growth within the consumer/retail and media/online industry practices, as well as the firm’s financial sponsors group.
Grabau’s Kinnevik career started in 2011 after he was appointed as the non-executive director of
Modern Times Group
Modern Times Group (MTG) is a digital entertainment company based in Stockholm, Sweden. It formed from the media holdings of investment company Investment AB Kinnevik, Kinnevik, which in 1997 was distributed to the company stockholders. It is a ...
. At this time, he was also appointed as a non-executive director of
SoftKinetic, a Belgian IT software provider.
In May 2013, he was appointed as a non-executive director at
Millicom
Millicom International Cellular SA is a Luxembourgish fixed line and mobile telecommunications services provider operating in Latin America operating under the Tigo brand. Its main shareholder is Xavier Niel, a French billionaire who owns 40% of ...
, while the following month, he was offered the role of co-chairman of
CTC Media
CTC Media LLC is a Russian broadcasting company with headquarters in Moscow, Russia.
History
CTC Media (till 2004 - StoryFirst Communications) was established by a U.S. entrepreneur Peter Gerwe in 1989 in Delaware in the United States. , which he accepted.
In May 2014, he assumed his current role as CEO of
Investment AB Kinnevik,
as well as a directorship at
Tele2
Tele2 AB is a provider of mobile and fixed connectivity, telephony, data network services, TV, streaming and global Internet of things services, amongst others, to consumers and enterprises. It is headquartered in Kista Science City, Stockholm, ...
.
Through Kinnevik, he is a board member of various Kinnevik-owned companies, including telecoms giants Millicom and Tele2, media firm Modern Times Group, e-commerce company
Rocket Internet
Rocket Internet SE is a German Internet company headquartered in Berlin. The company builds startups and owns shareholdings in various models of internet retail businesses. The company model is known as a startup studio or a venture builder.
I ...
, as well as advisory firm SecureValue and online music retailer CDON.
He is also the deputy chairman of the board of Kinnevik’s online fashion firm, Zalando. In addition to these roles, Grabau is also the co-chairman of CTC Media, a Russian media company.
Personal
Grabau was born and raised in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, attending a French school in his early years. He had some initial success as a golfer, reaching the Italian national team at the age of 21, before eventually shelving his sporting ambitions to study economics at the La Sapienza University in Rome.
He is now married to wife Sabrina Bodmer and they have two children.
Both Lorenzo and his wife are art collectors and sit on the council of the
Serpentine Galleries
The Serpentine Galleries are two contemporary art galleries in Kensington Gardens, Westminster, Greater London. Recently rebranded to just Serpentine, the organisation is split across Serpentine South, previously known as the Serpentine Galler ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grabau, Lorenzo
1965 births
Living people
Goldman Sachs people