Leif Johansson (born 30 August 1951) is a Swedish businessman. He was President and CEO of the

Volvo Group The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

from 1997 to 2011 and Chairman of

Ericsson (lit. "Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson"), commonly known as Ericsson, is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells infrastructure, software, and services in inform ...

from 2011 until 2017 and is currently Chairman of AstraZeneca plc. In 2012, the '' Fokus Magazine'' ranked him as Sweden's 6th most powerful person.

Background

Johansson was born on August 30, 1951, in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

. His father was Lennart Johansson, for many years President of the SKF Group (1971-1985). He and his wife Eva have five children.

Education

*1958-1971 primary education, Gothenburg *1968 Chatsworth High School, Chatsworth,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

*1971 matriculation, natural sciences, Kjellbergska Gymnasiet, Gothenburg *1972

Sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the e ...

*1977

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, ...

Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology ( sv, Chalmers tekniska högskola, often shortened to Chalmers) is a Swedish university located in Gothenburg that conducts research and education in technology and natural sciences at a high international le ...

Career

Johansson has worked in Swedish industry for most of his professional life. He assumed his first position as Managing Director in 1978 (age of 27), at

Husqvarna Motorcycles Husqvarna Motorcycles GmbH (; marketed as Husqvarna) is a Swedish-origin Austrian company which designs, engineers, manufactures and distributes motocross, enduro, supermoto and street motorcycles. The company began producing motorcycles in 1 ...

. In 1982 he became President of Facit, an office machines manufacturer, followed by ten years with white-goods manufacturer

Electrolux Electrolux AB () is a Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool. Electrolux products sell under a variety ...

where he eventually advanced to the position of CEO. In 1997 Johansson was appointed President and CEO of Volvo in Gothenburg, a position he held until 2011. 1974-76 project consultant, Indevo
1977 product developer and assistant to the President, Centro-Maskin
1979 President of

1981 Divisional Manager Office Machines, Facit Sweden
1982 President of Facit
1984 Divisional Manager, AB

, Appliances
1987 President of AB Electrolux, Appliances
1988 Vice President, AB Electrolux
1991 President of AB Electrolux
1994 CEO, Electrolux
1997 President and CEO,

2011 Chairman,

Other Assignments

Chairman of the Board: AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
Member of the Board:

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company The Bristol Myers Squibb Company (BMS) is an American multinational pharmaceutical company. Headquartered in New York City, BMS is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and consistently ranks on the ''Fortune'' 500 list of the l ...

Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget Svenska Cellulosa AB (SCA, English: ''Swedish Cellulose Ltd.'') is a Swedish forest industry company with headquarters in Sundsvall. SCA is the largest private forest owner in Europe. It owns 2.6 million hectares of forest in northern Swed ...

(SCA),

Confederation of Swedish Enterprise The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise or Swedish Enterprise ( sv, Svenskt Näringsliv) is a major employers' organization for private sector and business sector companies in Sweden. It has 49 member associations representing 60,000 member comp ...

Member of

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences or ''Kungliga Ingenjörsvetenskapsakademien'' (IVA), founded on 24 October 1919 by King Gustaf V, is one of the royal academies in Sweden. The academy is an independent organisation, which prom ...

(IVA)
Chairman ERT

European Round Table of Industrialists The European Round Table of Industrialists, abbreviated ERT, is an advocacy group in the European Union consisting of some 50 European industrial leaders working to strengthen competitiveness in Europe. The group works at both national and Europea ...

Awards

*1977 Marcus Wallenberg ASEA Award *2001

H. M. The King's Medal H. M. ( His Majesty) The King's Medal ( sv, H.M. Konungens medalj), earlier known as the Court Medal ( sv, Hovmedaljen), is a Swedish honour that may be bestowed upon Swedish and foreign citizens. The medal was created in 1814 and is awarded in di ...

12th size in the Ribbon of the

Royal Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim ( sv, Kungliga Serafimerorden; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the P ...

*2005 The

Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London at 89 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, near Epsom in Surrey. Both provide accommodation and a range ...

's Gold Memorial Medal *2005 Knight of the National Order of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...

, France *2006 Honorary Doctor at the

Blekinge Institute of Technology The Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH; sv, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola) is a public, state funded Swedish institute of technology in Blekinge with 5,900 students (part-time, full-time) and offers about 30 educational programmes in 11 departme ...

*2007 Honorary Doctor of Medicine at the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 st ...

*2009 The Mekanprisma Award *2013 Officer of the Legion of Honour

Volvo Group

The

is one of the world's largest suppliers of commercial vehicles with products such as trucks, buses, construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications, and aircraft engine components. The

also offers its customers financial services. Today the Group has customers in more than 180 countries worldwide, mainly in Europe, Asia and North America. The Group has about 100,000 employees and production facilities in 19 countries. Decisions adopted under Johansson's leadership:
1998 Acquisition of

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

's excavator operation, South Korea
1999 Sale of

Volvo Cars Volvo Cars ( sv, Volvo personvagnar, styled VOLVO in the company's logo) is a Swedish multinational manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Torslanda, Gothenburg. The company manufactures SUVs, station wagons, and sedans. The company ...

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

2001 Acquisition of

Renault Trucks Renault Trucks is a French commercial truck manufacturer with corporate headquarters at Saint-Priest near Lyon. Originally part of Renault, it has been a subsidiary of the Volvo Group since 2001. From its beginnings in 1978 to 2002, the comp ...

, France, and

Mack Trucks Mack Trucks, Inc., is an American truck manufacturing company and a former manufacturer of buses and trolley buses. Founded in 1900 as the Mack Brothers Company, it manufactured its first truck in 1905 and adopted its present name in 1922. Mack ...

, USA
2006 Acquisition of Nissan Diesel, Japan
2007 Acquisition of

Ingersoll Rand Ingersoll Rand is an American multinational company that provides flow creation and industrial products. The company was formed in February 2020 through the spinoff of the industrial segment of Ingersoll-Randplc (now known as Trane Technologies) ...

's road construction machinery division, USA
2008 Agreement on joint venture company with

Eicher Motors Eicher Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive company that manufactures motorcycles and commercial vehicles, headquartered in New Delhi. Eicher is the parent company of Royal Enfield, a manufacturer of middleweight motorcycles. ...

, India

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johansson, Leif 1951 births Living people Swedish chief executives in the automobile industry 20th-century Swedish engineers Volvo people Chalmers University of Technology alumni Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur 20th-century Swedish businesspeople Swedish Air Force personnel AstraZeneca people