Founder of EQT-backed electric boat startup steps down as CEO

Candela, the company that develops and builds electric hydrofoil vessels, is undergoing a CEO change.

Founder Gustav Hasselskog, who has led the company for over eleven years, is stepping down from the role and will be replaced by Sofia Graflund.

Graflund is currently the chief strategy officer at Candela and has previously held senior roles at battery company Northvolt and electric hybrid company Heart Aerospace, as well as worked at private equity giant EQT Ventures.

"It is a great honour to lead the team that in practice invented electric hydrofoil technology," says Sofia Graflund about her new role.

Hasselskog not leaving the company. He will take the role of executive chairman with a focus on customers, partners, investors, and decision-makers.

The change will take effect at the company's the annual general meeting on 23 June, according to a press briefing.

Scale-up phase

The shift comes at a time when Candela is moving beyond the initial startup phase. The company now has vessels in commercial passenger traffic, serial production of several product lines, and over 65 orders for its 30-passenger electric "P-12" ferry.

"With many of the key technical and product-related uncertainties resolved, the company is now entering a phase where operational execution and systematic scaling become increasingly important," writes Gustav Hasselskog in a press statement.

In a major interview with Impact Loop, Gustav Hasselskog has discussed Candela's scaling up.

The company recently raised around €30m in a new round led by the World Bank's IFC. The money will be used to build a new factory in Poland for serial production of the company's flying electric ferries.

Candela has raised €129m since its founding in 2014. SEB Private Equity, EQT, and French Groupe Beneteau are some major players on the cap table.