Halla Tómasdóttir & Kristin Pétursdóttir

Updated March 2009

Win-lose scenarios, short-term gains and high‑risk behaviors have traditionally dominated the financial sector. Seeking an alternative, former bank executive Kristin Pétursdóttir joined forces with Halla Tómasdóttir, previously the managing director of Iceland’s Chamber of Commerce, to found Audur Capital, a financial services company. Their mission: to incorporate women-friendly values into the world of finance by offering their clients a long-term perspective and a win-win approach.

Why did you decide to start your own financial services company?

Halla: Kristin and I first met years ago through a female network I set up while organizing a women’s entrepreneurship initiative at Reykjavik University. When we met again in 2007, we found that our experiences in the corporate world were very similar. We both felt we were working according to other people’s values, which were not always in agreement with our own. We also saw an incredible business opportunity that everyone seemed to be ignoring: women as a powerful economic force.

What makes Audur Capital unique?

Kristin: Our approach is what makes a difference. Ultimately, it’s how we provide financial services, rather than the services we offer, that makes us unique.

Halla: Investment banking ignores anything that can’t be put in a spreadsheet, but it’s not just the rational side of a business that generates profits. We value the emotional side of an organization: its people, culture and principles.

Who do your financial products target?

Kristin: We’re mainly focused on helping women. Although the number of businesses owned by women has grown, they still only receive a small part of the investment capital available. To fill this gap, we set up a private equity fund, AuDur I, targeted at women-owned or women-run businesses.
We’re also interested in socially responsible businesses. In December 2008, we launched our second investment fund, BJORK, in cooperation with the musician Björk Guðmundsdóttir.
We’re still in the fundraising phase at the moment, but the plan is that this venture capital fund will invest in sustainable businesses.

How has the financial crisis affected you?

Halla: We’re in a good position. Since we don’t sell our own financial products and we aren‘t connected with big banks, we have an independent perspective. As a result, none of our clients incurred direct losses during the crash, and our business actually almost tripled in the following months. While other financial services firms have slowly lost their clients’ confidence; we’ve managed to build trust.

What is your goal?

Halla: Ultimately, to create a world that’s more balanced in terms of gender and the distribution of opportunities, wealth and education. For us, it’s not enough that our business thrives: we need to help women around the world be successful.

You’ve built an extraordinary business based on women-friendly values. Can you explain what these values are?

• Independence: our company has no connections to big banks and has diverse owners.
• Risk-awareness: many people say that women are risk-averse, but we disagree. We are risk‑aware, which means understanding the risks we take.
• Profit with principles: we care how we make our profits. Rather than focusing on quick gain, we aim for long-term sustainability. • Straight talking: we are honest about the good and bad aspects of situations and options.
• Emotional capital: when you only invest money, not much happens. It’s people who make things really happen. We want to be an investor that motivates, supports and connects with the people we invest in.

You mentioned helping women around the world be successful. How do you see yourselves as role models for other women?

Kristin: We’ve founded a company that promotes women-friendly values in a business world created by men. Our inspiration has been Iceland’s Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, the world’s first female president. She broke a big barrier, which deeply influenced us.

What is your reaction to being selected as finalists?

Halla: We are extremely honored. Being chosen as finalists will allow us to meet people who can help us turn our company into a global organization. We don’t want to be everywhere and everything to everybody, but we want to empower change.