New head of the Legal, Planning and Economic Affairs Office
Sven Carlsson has been appointed as new head of the Legal, Planning and Economic Affairs Office. He comes from the position of CFO at SLU, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
Sven Carlsson has been CFO at SLU for just over five years and has previously worked at the Swedish Maritime Administration with strategy and planning issues and before that in the private sector in North America and Europe. He holds a master of science in business and economics from the Stockholm School of Economics and from Harvard University in the United States.
Sven Carlsson will start at KI on 3 March and succeeds Gunnar Gustafsson Wiss, who will retire this summer.
“Sven Carlsson's broad experience of successful organisational development in large government agencies is an asset to KI, not least for our ongoing work with KI's prioritised focus areas within the framework of Strategy 2030. I look forward to starting to work with Sven, and at the same time I would like to thank Gunnar Gustafsson Wiss for his great efforts as head of division,” says KI University Director Veronika Sundström.
Sven Carlsson emphasizes KI as a special university for several reasons. Among other things, for the opportunity to contribute to the development of the health area.
“Given the demographic development we have in Sweden and the Western world, the focus will increasingly be on health, and here I would like to be involved and contribute what I can. The Nobel Prize is also something very special,” says Sven Carlsson.
He is looking forward to building and developing the new Legal, Planning and Economic Affairs Office with its management team and employees.
“There is an enormous amount of expertise among the employees and now it's about capturing the synergies that exist to deliver even better support to the organisation. To succeed in this, we will build on trust in each other and in the core business in order to support, plan, guide, follow up and, in some cases, also control the organisation,” he says.
Insights below the surface on good leadership
KI's incoming head of the Legal, Planning and Economic Affairs Office has gained some important experience about leadership under the surface of the sea and in unexpected company.
“When I was young, I was interested in shark diving. It's very special to slide into a deep blue water to meet a predator in its natural environment. It’s said that the tiger shark you see never attacks. Therefore, it is important to dive with others and watch each other's blind spots. I feel that this can be applied in working life. Whatever you face – do it head-on and in collaboration with others. If we take care of each other, everyone's chances of success increase,” concludes Sven Carlsson.