董事会主席声明 — Kinnevik 2021年年度与可持续发展报告

STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

Dear Shareholders, 2021 was a vital year in the continuing transformation of Kinnevik. We are now close to attaining our vision of the company as a committed and focussed investor in young, high growth and generally private ventures. The steps taken by our management towards this objective are ably described by our CEO in his letter and do not require my repetition. But after our divestment by distribution, it is right to record here too our thanks to the team at Zalando for their efforts and achievements over our many years of co-operation. We are most grateful and wish Zalando well for the future.

But 2021 already feels like the distant past. In the last three months we have seen small cracks turn into major fissures in the markets for public growth companies and gradually these are undermining much of the confidence that until recently marked the venture capital world. It will take many months before the environment settles and we will try to guide shareholders in as frank and open as possible a manner as the situation evolves.

Yet valuation issues seem superficial concerns compared with the terrible events in Ukraine. The depth of the tragedy is already becoming evident but further shocks and traumas seem inevitable if unimaginable. Kinnevik has made a donation to the UNHCR to do what little we can to ameliorate the sad circumstances in Ukraine.

Future Strategy

It is hard to maintain investment discipline at these times but it is essential. As time horizons shrink under the pressure of events and volatility it is of greater importance and differentiation to focus on the next five and ten years than the next 5 minutes or 10 days. Such a mentality is a central element of what we can offer to companies and shareholders. This is easy to say at times of buoyant markets, but it is in downturns that demonstrating resilience becomes both hard and worthwhile. 2022 will offer ample opportunity to display our support to companies building their capabilities for the long term.

Too often a commitment to diversity is interpreted as a series of numbers and adherence to words rather than deeds. It is rarely seen as strategically imperative. Our numbers and words are hopefully impressive and are described elsewhere in this report. But we are looking to create an atmosphere that goes beyond numbers into generating serious cognitive diversity and diversity in mentalities. That this is hard to measure is no deterrent to our ambition.

Whilst there is much to concern us all at present there remain great opportunities for Kinnevik. We have the ability to participate in the deep structural changes and transformations that our societies require and that great companies can, and should, assist in creating. We believe that investing in private companies will become more rather than less central to this objective. It may well require more patience and heavier capital commitments than many venture capitalists can muster but that we should be able to offer. Kinnevik has the skills and flexibility to play a significant role across not just Scandinavia but throughout Europe and globally in areas of clear expertise. We need to prove that we can lead beneficial and rewarding change in a troubled world.

James Anderson Chairman of the Board of Kinnevik