Healthcare · Life sciences · Technology
Apriori Group
Investment and interim leadership for healthcare, life sciences and technology companies in the Nordics and beyond.
Our purpose
Value that lasts, for owners, teams and society
What is Apriori? It is Kant’s idea that every human being has a worth we must respect. Truth and respect for people have never been more important.
The world is accelerating in every way. Inspired by Hartmut Rosa, we answer with resonance: deep listening, full engagement and being present in the world, because that is how sustainable progress is made.
We create value for shareholders, for the teams who build the company and for society, guided by core values that do not bend.
Logical conclusions from certain facts.
Long-term
We think in decades, not quarters.
Critical and reflected
We test every conclusion against the facts and our own values.
Resonant
We listen deeply and engage fully.
What you get
Capital, leadership and board expertise in one partner
For owners, boards and founders of healthcare, medtech and life-science companies facing growth, turnaround or transformation.
Invest
Active ownership in medtech, digital health and life sciences, with capital and hands-on operational support.
Lead
Interim CEO and executive leadership for turnaround, scale-up and the step from founder-led to professional.
Advise
Board roles and advisory: strategy, fundraising, governance and international expansion.
Track record
Results from leading and governing companies
- 2×Group revenue at MedEasy, 2021–2025
- +24%Bottom line across four Nordic countries at Biomet
- 100M+NOK raised, 50/50 private and public, to build Hy5 from the ground up
- +94%Revenue growth at Norwegian Air Shuttle, NOK 22bn to 43bn, 2015–2019
Portfolio
Companies where Apriori Group is an owner
GreinDX
Diagnostics
Board member since 2021
Early-stage liquid biopsy platform for personalized cancer care.
MedEasy
Health education
CEO 2021–2025
Scandinavia’s largest video textbook in health, with 98,000 active users.
Styret.com
Proptech
Board member 2016–2019
Digital platform for housing associations: meetings, documents and compliance.
Biral
Lubricants
Board member since 2012
Family-owned Norwegian lubricant producer, established in 1946.
Realised investments
Companies where Apriori Group has exited
Biomet
2004–2015
Nordic leadership under PE ownership.
Exited
Norwegian
2015–2020
Board and Audit Committee through growth and recapitalization.
Exited
Snappit / Weorder
2016–2020
Chair and board member. Acquired by Quickorder.
Exited
Joint Biomed
2015–2017
Interim CEO and board member.
Exited
Reference customers
Organizations Apriori Group has worked with
Cases
The kinds of projects Apriori Group takes on
Select a case to see the company, the role and the results.
Scale-upFrom founder-led start-up to professional Nordic platformMedEasy · CEO 2021–2025
Recruited to professionalize a founder-led business and balance rapid commercial growth with organizational maturity. Today a portfolio company.
- Business
- Scandinavia’s largest health video textbook
- Users
- 98,000 active · 97.01% average user score
- Usage
- 8.67M videos watched · 817,000 feedback
- Learning
- 41 million multiple choice questions solved
- 2×Group revenue doubled during the tenure
- 2×+Product portfolio more than doubled across health subjects
- SE · DKSwedish and Danish subsidiaries and a new management team
TurnaroundNordic turnaround of the market leader under PE ownershipBiomet · Regional Vice President, Northern Europe, 2011–2015
Full P&L across Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Biomet was the market-leading orthopaedic company in the Nordics.
- Founded
- 1977, Warsaw, Indiana, USA
- Position
- Market leader in orthopaedics in the Nordics
- Listing
- Originally traded on NASDAQ
- Owners
- Blackstone, KKR, Goldman Sachs, TPG
- +24%Bottom line increase through restructuring and commercial focus
- 4 to 1Standalone country operations merged into one Nordic organization
- GrowthA two-year double-digit sales decline turned into positive growth
Commercial growthReviving growth and profitability in a national marketBiomet Norway · Managing Director, 2008–2011
Full P&L as Managing Director, then promoted to Regional Vice President. Led the Norwegian business through the 2007 take-private of its parent.
- Founded
- 1977, Warsaw, Indiana, USA
- Listing
- First traded on NASDAQ, delisted in 2007
- Buyout
- Completed September 2007 by a PE consortium
- Buyers
- Blackstone, KKR, Goldman Sachs, TPG
- 18% · 8%Sales growth in consecutive years after two flat years
- 2×EBITDA doubled during the tenure
- 2007Parent delisted from NASDAQ and sold to a PE consortium
Venture buildingFrom concept to commercializationHy5 · Co-founder and CEO, 2015–2021
Developed the world’s first hydraulic, 3D printed hand prosthetic and led every function, from fundraising and manufacturing to regulatory approval and market entry.
- Business
- Norwegian medtech, co-founded 2015
- Product
- Hydraulic, 3D printed hand prosthetic
- Site
- Own manufacturing at Raufoss, Norway
- Status
- Restructured in 2022
- NOK 100M+Capital raised, split 50/50 between private and public funding
- 3 regionsRegulatory approvals and sales in Europe, the US and Australia
- RaufossOwn manufacturing facility established in Norway
Public company governanceBoard leadership through growth and recapitalizationNorwegian · Board Director and Audit Committee member, 2015–2020
Through rapid growth, a pivot to profitability, strategic interest from industry players and a full recapitalization.
- Founded
- 1993 · Fornebu · Oslo Børs: NAS
- Business
- Low-cost airline, long-haul transatlantic
- Scale
- 36.2M passengers, 156 aircraft (2019)
- Status
- Board role ended 2020 · restructured 2021
- +94%Revenue growth, from NOK 22bn to 43bn between 2015 and 2019
- NOK 12.7bnDebt and lease obligations converted to equity in 2020
- PivotFrom growth to profitability: NOK 3bn rights issue, asset sales
Financial servicesGovernance from start-up to listed bankBank Norwegian · Supervisory Board member, 2008–2017
Member of the Supervisory Board of Bank Norwegian and Norwegian Finance Holding, overseeing a digital-first bank from its early years to the IPO.
- Founded
- 2007 · Fornebu, Norway
- Business
- Digital bank: loans, cards and savings
- Scale
- 1.7M customers in six markets (2021)
- Path
- Listed 2016 · acquired by Nordax 2021
- 9 yearsFrom start-up through the 2016 listing on Oslo Børs
- OversightAppointing board members and independent oversight of management
- ComplianceRegulatory compliance and protection of stakeholder interests
Merger and integrationMerging two organizations into one social enterpriseForskerfabrikken · Chair since 2022
Scientist Factory and Forskerfabrikken became one company with one strategy, management team, financial system and culture.
- Founded
- 2002, Norway
- Business
- Science courses, camps and learning tools
- Reach
- More than half a million children
- Model
- Social enterprise, reinvests its surplus
- 2 to 1Companies merged under one strategy, management team and brand
- StrongerImproved liquidity and profitability, with reduced external debt
- 500k+Children inspired by courses, camps and experiments since 2002
Board rolesGovernance for technology and health scale-upsFive of more than 20 board roles
| Company | Sector | Contribution | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defigo | Proptech · video intercom | US and Europe expansion, fundraising | 2019–2022 |
| Snappit / Weorder | Mobile ordering · payments | Chair through rebrand and acquisition | 2016–2020 |
| Styret.com | Proptech · housing SaaS | Strategy, fundraising, product | 2016–2019 |
| Dynamisk Helse | Healthcare training | Strategy, fundraising, growth | 2021–2023 |
| GreinDX | Cancer diagnostics | Governance, commercialization planning | 2021–now |
These are a few of the board roles I have held. In total I have served on more than 20 boards.
Governance and public serviceLong-term governance beyond the growth storyBiral · Melanor · Norway Health Tech · Vestre Aker
Biral
Board member since 2012
Family-owned lubricant producer, established in 1946. Long-term planning and generational continuity.
Melanor
Board member, 2010–2016
Turned a purchasing forum into a full industry association for medical and welfare technology.
Norway Health Tech
Election committee, 2020–2024
Nominated board candidates for Norway’s leading health innovation cluster.
Vestre Aker, Oslo
Borough council, 2015–2019
Publicly elected, and a member of the health and social committee.
Principal
Christian Fredrik Stray
Owner, investor and consultant at Apriori Group, with 20+ years as CEO and board director across healthcare, medtech, aviation, education and technology.
Combines hands-on operational leadership with a strategic board perspective, and has held a publicly elected seat on the Vestre Aker borough council in Oslo.
- Education
Executive MBA, ESCP Europe · B.Sc. Biomedical Engineering, Wright State University
- Executive programs
Notre Dame Mendoza, CBS Executive and Carlson School of Management
- Languages
English · Norwegian · Danish · Swedish · German
Contact
Let’s talk about your next transformation
Available for CEO, board and advisory roles, and for investments in healthcare, medtech and life sciences companies that need transformation, growth or turnaround leadership.
Christian Fredrik Stray
Apriori Group
- Phone
- +47 99706109
- linkedin.com/in/cfstray
- Based in
- Oslo, Norway