Meet Patrick Le Fèvre

I knew fairly early in life what I wanted to do. At the age of 11, I came across amateur radio and discovered the amazing world of communication – a discovery that would one day, lead to me joining Ericsson. Around the same time, I also developed a life-long interest in environmental issues.

In the early 1980s I joined a French company that developed microelectronics modules for the defense and telecommunications industries. In 1986 Ericsson worked with this company, sharing parts of its portfolio, and I became the single point of contact between the two organizations.

I was very impressed by Ericsson’s commitment to clean design and preserving the environment, and in 1996 I was offered the chance to join the company’s Power Modules division in Sweden.

My work involves a lot of travel, meeting customers and business partners all around the world. It can be a challenge to balance home and work life, but thanks to videoconferencing, I can work more effectively, and travel is limited to essential meetings.

The world is changing faster than any analyst predicted 10 or even five years ago. This change is presenting amazing opportunities for Ericsson and its employees to positively influence the transformation of modern society.

I would say we are only at the beginning of this transformation. There are new competitors, faster communications, changing business models and rapid development in many countries. But at the same time, there is an increasing digital divide: the gap between those who have access to telecommunications, and those who do not.

Bringing telecommunications to those without access is very challenging, but working at Ericsson is a great opportunity to positively influence people’s lives.

Looking forward, I believe that the role played by the major telecom players will become increasingly important in developing new technologies and helping communities to deploy such technologies for good.

The ICT industry is estimated to be responsible for about 2 percent of global carbon emissions. The sector is committed to reducing this figure further and to have significant influence in helping those industries that make up the remaining 98 percent of emissions to lower their carbon footprints.