Allan Martinson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Allan Martinson (born 8 October 1966, in Tartu, Estonia) is an Eastern European Venture Capitalist.
Martinson was the founder and CEO of Baltic News Service, which quickly after launch in 1990 became the dominant real-time news organization in the region. In 1994 BNS teamed up with and received investments from Dow Jones and Swedish Bonnier media group. In 2001, BNS was sold to Finnish Alma Media.
In 1998, Martinson became the CEO of MicroLink, the leading PC maker in the Baltics, and built it into the largest system integration and IT services group in the the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. As a result of over 15 mergers and acquisitions of IT companies and ISPs in the Baltic region (including the two largest Latvian IT companies Fortech and VAR) MicroLink achieved annual sales of 60 m EUR and had almost 600 employees. In 2005, MicroLink's IT service operations were sold in trade sale transaction to three Baltic incumbent telecoms.
MicroLink was also a parent of two highly successful startups.
In 1999, it launched Delfi, the leading Baltic new media enterprise, which was subsequently sold to Norwegian Findexa in January 2004. Delfi still maintains the leading position on Baltic new media market and collects over half of the internet advertising revenue in the region.
MicroLink was also parent of SAF Tehnika – the fastest-growing developer of microwave radiolinks for the global mobile telecom sector. SAF Tehnika carried out a succesful IPO in May 2004, became the only listed Baltic technology stock and reached valuation of 70 m EUR.
In 2004, Martinson teamed up with the leading Baltic investment bank Trigon Capital and launched a VC management company Martinson Trigon Venture Partners. Its first fund, a 20 m USD MartinsonTrigon was raised in 2005 and has made five investments insofar (Russian software developer Reksoft, IT services company Microlink Lietuva, Baltic MTV franchise TVCorp, technology company InvisibleCRM and pan-European social networking operator Rate Solutions [1]).
Martinson chairs the supervisory boards of Reksoft, TVCorp and MicroLink Lietuva. He is also a member of the boards of InvisibleCRM, Rate Solutions, Tallinn Stock Exchange (OMX Tallinn), pan-CEE online recruiter CV Keskus and location-based solutions provider company Regio.
In the past, he has been a member of the boards of MicroLink, Baltic News Service, Oskando (a telematics company), SAF Tehnika, Delfi, GNT (IT distributor), Akropol (a security company), Ekspress Grupp (the largest Estonian media group), Hill&Knowlton Baltics (PR agency), Columbus IT Partner Estonia (ERP integrator), Estonian ICT association ITL, Look@World Foundation and the Estonian Academy of Arts.
He advises the Prime Minister of Estonia in Science and Development Council.
Martinson was nominated for the Businessman of the Year in 2000 and got the Best Decision Award in 2004 for successfully executing the strategy of MicroLink.
Martinson is the member of Rotary International (Tallinn Old Town Rotary Club). He is also chairman of Gustav Adolf Foundation - a non-profit organization to support Gustav Adolf Gümnaasium in Tallinn. He is the member of French Order of Honour.
