 Meet Michael Treschow, Ericsson.
As the Chairman of Ericsson, Unilever, and the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise,
Michael Treschow is one of the most influential people in Swedish business today.
On the 6th September he spoke at a Chamber Members’ Luncheon UK. Its subject was "Why has the Swedish economy been less affected by the crisis than the rest of the European economies?."
Michael Treschow was born in 1943, the son of a Major in the Swedish Army. He grew up in Helsingborg, in southern Sweden, and earned a Master of Science Degree from the Institute of Technology in Lund, not far from his hometown. He started his career at Atlas Copco, where he eventually became Chief Executive Officer and President. Out of his 22 years with the company he spent three years in the United States as Area Manager. He also spent one year in France responsible for the set up of Bahco Ventilation’s operation. Later, he served as CEO of Electrolux and in 2002 he became Chairman of Ericsson. This was followed by his election at the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, a lobbying organisation for Sweden’s larger companies.
Three years ago, Michael Treschow became the Non-Executive Chairman of Unilever. Today he is also a Board member of ABB Ltd., and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. For his contribution to Swedish trade issues, Michael Treschow received the King’s Medal of the Twelfth Dimension with the Ribbon of the Order of the Seraphims in June 2000. Michael Treschow also received Spanish, French, and Belgian awards for strengthening their respective trade relations with Sweden.
Why is Sweden performing better than
the rest of the European countries in these
turbulent economic times?
“In the last year Sweden has seen a 4 per cent GDP growth, very few countries around the world can brag about similar figures in this postcrisis environment. In order to explain why, we need to understand where we came from and look back at what happened in Sweden twenty years ago. During the crisis that hit Sweden in the 1990’s, the economy collapsed, interest rates reached a level of 500 per cent, a huge devaluation of the currency was undertaken, and the country was left with an enormous budget deficit. The banks were more or less out of business and the government had to take care of what happened. I must give credit to the politicians of that time for how they managed the situation. They established an independent central bank, which is still in existence. They also did a good
job on governing by introducing a spending ceiling for three years. They introduced a new pension reform, which can never be underfunded. Finally they de-regulated the bank sector. If Sweden had not suffered the 1990’s crisis so brutally, and learnt the lessons we did, we would have probably ended up together with the Club Med countries* in this crisis.”
What does all this mean to business?
“Looking ahead, the Swedish business community appears to have a bright future. Companies have managed to handle the crisis
efficiently by adjusting the cost structures, so now, when volumes return, we can only imagine what will happen. But still, we shall
not forget to fight for competitiveness in the global market.“
What should Swedish companies do to
move forward?
“Besides doing everything they have been doing in the past, staying competitive is the prime ambition. But also you see increasingly that there is an element of a carbon free footprint. Every company starts thinking about manoeuvring in this new environment to try to use technologies to reduce our environmental impact. Another thing that you see is that corporations are increasingly involved in social responsibility. Every company will have the opportunity to use their resources to help in
areas where there is so much to do. At Unilever we use the expression “doing well by doing good”, which means conflict is not necessary.”
What is your advice to young people entering
the labour market in these unstable times?
“To stick to what you think is fun. Even if the labour market can be tough, there is always a demand for people. Be proactive and turn to the companies where you would like to work. If you for example find corporate social responsibility interesting, try to find companies involved in that area.”
Are there any defining moments in your
career that you would like to share?
“Regularly I have had to swim in cold water. I have encountered something difficult and challenging continuously. By way of example, very early in my career I was sent to France to start up a company without speaking French. I had to negotiate with the French Electricity Board and that was a challenging and a character building experience. More recently, managing the crisis that struck Ericsson in 2002 where we did not know whether we were going to make it. What I learnt was you should always be grateful for the crises you have gone through and the lessons you, hopefully, have learnt from these.”
*Refers to the Mediterranean countries Greece, Italy and Spain. Text by: Elin Hellström
Photo by: Fredrik Hagenius
Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the United Kingdom
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