The executive behind Smartvatten’s product strategy and acquisitions takes over on 1 November. Petter Quinsgaard returns to the chairman role.
Espoo, 28 October 2026
Karl Jepsson becomes CEO of Smartvatten on 1 November 2026. Since 2022 he has shaped the company’s product strategy and led its acquisitions. Now he takes responsibility for the whole business. Petter Quinsgaard, CEO since August 2024, returns to his role as chairman of the board.
Karl joined Smartvatten in 2022 after about thirteen years at Xylem, where he worked with strategy, M&A and digital services in the water business. He has been part of Smartvatten’s top management for several years, most recently as Chief Product and Strategy Officer. Acquisitions have been part of how Smartvatten grows since Norvestor became majority owner in 2021, with three completed so far.
“Water is under growing pressure, and the world will need to use the water it already has far more efficiently. I have spent my career at the intersection of water and technology, and I look forward to leading Smartvatten into its next phase: building further on how we combine data from meters and sensors across the water cycle with AI, turning it into insights that help our customers avoid losses and make better use of every litre,” says Karl Jepsson, incoming CEO of Smartvatten.
“I stepped into the CEO role from the chairman seat as an interim, and stayed longer than we intended. Handing over to someone who already knows our customers, our platform and the water industry is the right way to do it,” says Petter Quinsgaard, chairman of the board of Smartvatten.
“Karl knows Smartvatten, its customers and the water market, and he has led the company’s M&A work as part of its buy-and-build journey. He has the full support of the board and of Norvestor. We are glad Petter continues as chairman,” says Per-Ola Baalerud, Partner at Norvestor.
Customers and partners meet the same company, the same platform and the same people, now with a new CEO. No drastic changes are planned, and existing contacts stay the same.
Karl Jepsson, CEO from 1 November 2026, Smartvatten | karl.jepsson@smartvatten.com
Petter Quinsgaard, Chairman of the board, Smartvatten | petter.quinsgaard@smartvatten.com
Smartvatten is a leading European SaaS platform for full-cycle water intelligence, helping real estate owners and water utilities turn water data into action. Property owners use the Smartvatten HUB platform to keep track of main meters (Prime), see consumption unit by unit (Node) and catch leaks when they start (Sense). Water utilities use Smartvatten NEURO to analyse their distribution and wastewater networks and act on what the data shows. Smartvatten is headquartered in Espoo, Finland, certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 27001, and majority owned by Norvestor. smartvatten.com
