Sille Pettai
Estonian investment executive who served as CEO and fund manager of SmartCap from 2016 until stepping down in June 2026, growing the state-owned investor from EUR25M to EUR500M in assets and launching its dedicated Defence Fund (fund:smartcap-defence-fund) in January 2025.
Sille Pettai spent roughly a decade in Estonian asset management, at Hansa Investment Funds and then Swedbank Investment Funds after Swedbank acquired Hansa, working in high-yield private debt and crisis-era risk management before shifting to low-risk asset management. She joined SmartCap, Estonia's state-owned fund manager (a Foundation KredEx subsidiary), in 2016 to help restructure it toward a fund-of-funds model, becoming its CEO and fund manager. Under her leadership SmartCap grew from roughly EUR25M to EUR500M in assets under management and from one fund to three, including the SmartCap Defence Fund launched in January 2025 (which co-led Farsight Vision's EUR7.2M seed round and backed Frankenburg Technologies' EUR30M Series A). On 17 March 2026 she announced she would step down as CEO by end of June 2026, with no successor yet named.
Overview
- Role
- Former CEO & Fund Manager, SmartCap
- Based in
- Tallinn, Estonia
- Prior experience
- Hansa Investment Funds, Swedbank Investment Funds, Estonian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EstVCA)
- ee.linkedin.com/in/sille-pettai
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Frequently asked
- Who is Sille Pettai?
- Sille Pettai spent roughly a decade in Estonian asset management, at Hansa Investment Funds and then Swedbank Investment Funds after Swedbank acquired Hansa, working in high-yield private debt and crisis-era risk management before shifting to low-risk asset management. She joined SmartCap, Estonia's state-owned fund manager (a Foundation KredEx subsidiary), in 2016 to help restructure it toward a fund-of-funds model, becoming its CEO and fund manager. Under her leadership SmartCap grew from roughly EUR25M to EUR500M in assets under management and from one fund to three, including the SmartCap Defence Fund launched in January 2025 (which co-led Farsight Vision's EUR7.2M seed round and backed Frankenburg Technologies' EUR30M Series A). On 17 March 2026 she announced she would step down as CEO by end of June 2026, with no successor yet named.
- What is Sille Pettai's role?
- Sille Pettai is Former CEO & Fund Manager, SmartCap, based in Tallinn, Estonia.
- Where did Sille Pettai work before?
- Sille Pettai's prior roles include Hansa Investment Funds, Swedbank Investment Funds, Estonian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EstVCA).
Tags
Sources & citations4
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- 1
Sille Pettai, CEO and fund manager of SmartCap, will step down from her role at the end of June 2026; no successor named at time of announcement.
SmartCap: Sille Pettai to Step Down as CEO of SmartCapVerified2026-03-17 - 2
Under Pettai's near-decade tenure, SmartCap grew from EUR25M to EUR500M in assets, two to nearly twenty employees, and one to three investment vehicles; she started her career at Hansa Investment Funds then Swedbank Investment Funds, working in high-yield private debt and crisis-era portfolio risk management before joining SmartCap in 2016.
Resilience Media: Sille Pettai steps down from CEO role at SmartCapReported2026-03-18 - 3
Sille Pettai has broad experience in investment management positions, having previously worked at Swedbank Investment Funds and the Estonian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, and serves as CEO and fund manager at SmartCap.
ARCTIC15: Sille Pettai speaker profileReported2026-08-11 - 4
Sille Pettai LinkedIn profile listing her as CEO of SmartCap.
LinkedIn: Sille PettaiReported2026-08-11