Tell us about your work experience and background?
I actually started as a truck driver and machine operator at a central warehouse at Tarkett1, where I got the opportunity to grow within the organization through a variety of functions such as production manager, customer service, responsible for parts in our customer support and last but not least in IT and business systems.
When Tarkett was going to change business system, I put my best foot forward and showed great interest in the project, which ended up in a recruitment to work with the business system SAP on a global basis. I was involved in implementing SAP in most countries (Luxembourg, England, Sweden, France, Australia and Brazil).
I was later recruited as business system manager at Roxtec2 in Karlskrona. I worked with several different countries, but in the IFS business system instead. I only had this position for about 6 months before they offered me the position as IT-Manager for the group.
My role was strong growth and strategic decisions for 7 years, at the same time in 2015-2017 I decided to start an education. I studied an MBA General Management from Edinburgh Business School.
When the studies were finished, I was offered to take a completely different role and move to Shanghai with my family, and we have lived there for the past 3 years. The role meant that I was responsible for Operations (manufacturing, logistics, customer service and purchasing) for Asia.
When it was time to go home from Shanghai, I felt it was time to do something totally new, and I applied for the job as IT-Manager for the Axelent Group.
What main tasks will be yours at Axelent?
Axelent is a company where a lot of things happens in a short period of time, so it's an exciting role I got, to say the least.
A large part of my focus will be on developing IT as a department and to ensure good availability of systems within the company. At the same time, we will work closely with users and the business to listen to needs that may exist where IT can make everyday life a little easier. This can be anything from evaluating processes or completely changing and implementing software to provide better support.
What drives you forward, what makes us at Axelent unique when it comes to IT and how do you define the success of Axelent's IT strategy in the long run?
I’m driven by seeing and being involved in changes that leads to something. "Something" can be anything from a personal reflection to helping the organization or individuals to achieve better results, work more efficiently and feel great being at work. To help others so that they have more time for what they think is fun and want to work with is something that I find joyful.
Which are your best qualities to achieve these goals?
I see myself as quite driven, and I like quick decisions to move forward. I do not give up on big challenges, I get triggered to solve them. Of course, I hope that my experiences from my former work experience will come in hand during the journey we are facing.
You have just started your journey on Axelent but what are your first impressions so far?
Axelent is a company with an accepting atmosphere, fast decision-making paths and the feeling that everyone is involved. It can certainly be recognized by many, but perhaps not all?
If you have been with the same company for a long time, you get blind and no longer know what you have. After working in several companies (and companies within the company) the spirit that exists at Axelent is something to really take care of.
1 Tarkett S.A., known until 2008 as Sommer-Allibert S.A., is a French multinational corporation specializing in the production of floor and wall coverings.
2 Roxtec is a company specializing in the development and manufacture of cable and pipe seals.
