Activist hedge fund Accendo Capital has expanded its advisory network with the appointment of Johanna Pynnä as Senior Advisor, Strategy. In her new role, Pynnä will focus on board-level work and strategic development across Accendo’s concentrated portfolio of companies, supporting the firm’s collaborative and constructive activist investment approach.
“We are thrilled to welcome Johanna Pynnä to the Accendo team. With extensive experience in strategy, Johanna brings a valuable perspective to our activist approach,” announces the team at Accendo Capital. “Her insights will be instrumental in helping our portfolio companies enhance execution and drive impactful results.” Reflecting on the new role, Pynnä says she is excited “that I am stepping into a new bigger role and will be starting as a Senior Advisor to Accendo Capital.” With two decades of experience in strategy from “different sides of the table, I am happy to look at strategy from yet another angle through the board work of portfolio companies and activist investing.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Johanna Pynnä to the Accendo team. With extensive experience in strategy, Johanna brings a valuable perspective to our activist approach.”
Pynnä joins Accendo after eight years as Head of Corporate Strategy at Kemira Oyj, a Helsinki-based water chemistry company serving water-intensive industries. She joined the company in 2017, at a time when Kemira was underperforming financially, paying dividends through additional debt, and lacking clear strategic direction outside its oil and gas business. Through strategy work and execution, Kemira sharpened its focus, significantly improved profitability, and reoriented its growth strategy toward water treatment and renewable chemicals. Her earlier roles include Head of Business Development at Finland’s state-owned railway company VR, strategy and M&A advisory within the same organization, and work as a management consultant at Booz & Company, among other roles.
Founded around the time of the 2008 financial crisis, Accendo Capital is an activist hedge fund focused on listed Nordic small-cap companies, with a particular focus on businesses driving or benefiting from technological innovation. The firm takes a hands-on approach, typically investing in a limited number of companies and working closely with them to unlock long-term shareholder value. With a lean core team, Accendo collaborates with a network of senior advisors who contribute to decision-making, board engagement, and value creation at portfolio companies. Pynnä’s appointment strengthens Accendo’s ability to support portfolio companies in driving shareholder value.
