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Swedish Q&As translated into English
This is a transcript of the questions asked in Swedish at the press conference.
To Carl-Henric Svanberg:
Question: How are you leaving the Ericsson ship? Is it sinking or does it have a full wind in its sails?
Answer: When I started [at Ericsson], we were making our way out of a crisis and, like everyone else in the industry, we were quite seriously affected. At the time, there were 12 active companies building networks and providing telecom services. Today, we are stronger than ever before. We are the leading telecom company in the world. On the other hand, we cannot take this position for granted. We are constantly facing new challenges. But Ericsson is well-prepared to take these on.
I think I can say that the future of telecom will be even more exciting than its history has been. Telecom means more to our society than ever before.
Question: Michael Treschow is the Chairman of the Board at Unilever and you are soon to be Chairman of BP. Does this mean that Swedish directors are in hot demand internationally?
Answer: Other people certainly seem to think so!
To Hans Vestberg:
Question: Why are you taking on the position as CEO of Ericsson?
Answer: Having worked for the company and been part of this fantastic environment, it feels only natural to take on this leading position. I have worked in many areas of the company and represented Ericsson in many countries, and, as well as feeling like a natural thing to do, it is also very exciting and challenging. I’ve got an immense respect for this huge role, but I never hesitated for a moment about taking it on”.
Question: How will you steer the Ericsson ship?
Answer: I’ve worked with Carl-Henric for the last seven years and we have agreed on most strategies, and so Ericsson will continue on the same path as before. However, it’s important to remember that things change quickly in this industry. Just think about all the decisions that have been made in the last seven years, and there is no doubt that a lot more decisions will need to be made in the years ahead.
The focus will very much be on keeping our leadership position.
Question: Is it an advantage having someone with a background in finance leading a big company like this?
Answer: I don’t think it makes much of a difference. I’ve worked with sales, logistics and services, so my educational background in economics doesn’t really matter. The technology leadership is the most important thing for Ericsson and it will continue to be so.
To Carl-Henric Svanberg:
Question: Why are you leaving Sweden’s most important leadership position? Are you stepping away from the spotlight?
Answer: First and foremost, it’s been a real privileged to lead Ericsson. It’s maybe the most demanding job that one can take on, but it’s extremely enjoyable. At the same time, everything must come to an end and I cannot combine my new position at BP with my role at Ericsson. We were gearing up for a leadership shift anyway, and I think the best man got the job.
Question: Will you earn more at BP?
Answer: We are not talking about BP today. Today, we are focusing solely on Ericsson.
Question: But is it a good idea for you to continue to sit on Ericsson’s Board of Directors? Won’t that affect how Hans Vestberg runs the show?
Answer: I’ll leave that up to others to decide. It’s important for a company like Ericsson to gather the collective knowledge of the industry and that of other industries. Ericsson is the telecom company in Sweden and I hope I can continue to contribute in some way. But things change quickly in this industry, so you’ll soon find that Hans is leading this company using his own compass while the rest of us try to provide the best advice possible. At the end of the day, it is the shareholders who decide who sits on the Board of Directors.
Question: Have you achieved everything you have wanted to achieve at Ericsson?
Answer: To achieve everything you want to achieve would be the same as trying to empty the Atlantic Ocean with a bucket. Ericsson has immense development possibilities and things constantly need to keep moving. I’m proud of my time as CEO at Ericsson because I think we have had strong growth. We have done a lot of good things and, of course, made some bad decisions too.
Question: What do you consider to be your best decision?
Answer: There are some decisions that have been very important, such as our decision to go for the leadership in mobile broadband by, firstly, expanding GSM and then developing LTE. That has been a crucial initiative. Also important was the decision to start our service organization and appoint Hans to head it. It is an area within Ericsson that has grown to the size of Atlas Copco in just six to seven years. That’s amazing and, today, it is a very important part of our offering.
Question: And what about your worst decision?
Answer: Every day has been filled with good and bad decisions. I don’t think we have made any major bad decisions. But of course, there’s always room for improvement.
Question: How would you like to be remembered?
Answer: I just want to see Ericsson continue to do well and I’m sure it will.
To Carl-Henric Svanberg:
Question: How are you leaving the Ericsson ship? Is it sinking or does it have a full wind in its sails?
Answer: When I started [at Ericsson], we were making our way out of a crisis and, like everyone else in the industry, we were quite seriously affected. At the time, there were 12 active companies building networks and providing telecom services. Today, we are stronger than ever before. We are the leading telecom company in the world. On the other hand, we cannot take this position for granted. We are constantly facing new challenges. But Ericsson is well-prepared to take these on.
I think I can say that the future of telecom will be even more exciting than its history has been. Telecom means more to our society than ever before.
Question: Michael Treschow is the Chairman of the Board at Unilever and you are soon to be Chairman of BP. Does this mean that Swedish directors are in hot demand internationally?
Answer: Other people certainly seem to think so!
To Hans Vestberg:
Question: Why are you taking on the position as CEO of Ericsson?
Answer: Having worked for the company and been part of this fantastic environment, it feels only natural to take on this leading position. I have worked in many areas of the company and represented Ericsson in many countries, and, as well as feeling like a natural thing to do, it is also very exciting and challenging. I’ve got an immense respect for this huge role, but I never hesitated for a moment about taking it on”.
Question: How will you steer the Ericsson ship?
Answer: I’ve worked with Carl-Henric for the last seven years and we have agreed on most strategies, and so Ericsson will continue on the same path as before. However, it’s important to remember that things change quickly in this industry. Just think about all the decisions that have been made in the last seven years, and there is no doubt that a lot more decisions will need to be made in the years ahead.
The focus will very much be on keeping our leadership position.
Question: Is it an advantage having someone with a background in finance leading a big company like this?
Answer: I don’t think it makes much of a difference. I’ve worked with sales, logistics and services, so my educational background in economics doesn’t really matter. The technology leadership is the most important thing for Ericsson and it will continue to be so.
To Carl-Henric Svanberg:
Question: Why are you leaving Sweden’s most important leadership position? Are you stepping away from the spotlight?
Answer: First and foremost, it’s been a real privileged to lead Ericsson. It’s maybe the most demanding job that one can take on, but it’s extremely enjoyable. At the same time, everything must come to an end and I cannot combine my new position at BP with my role at Ericsson. We were gearing up for a leadership shift anyway, and I think the best man got the job.
Question: Will you earn more at BP?
Answer: We are not talking about BP today. Today, we are focusing solely on Ericsson.
Question: But is it a good idea for you to continue to sit on Ericsson’s Board of Directors? Won’t that affect how Hans Vestberg runs the show?
Answer: I’ll leave that up to others to decide. It’s important for a company like Ericsson to gather the collective knowledge of the industry and that of other industries. Ericsson is the telecom company in Sweden and I hope I can continue to contribute in some way. But things change quickly in this industry, so you’ll soon find that Hans is leading this company using his own compass while the rest of us try to provide the best advice possible. At the end of the day, it is the shareholders who decide who sits on the Board of Directors.
Question: Have you achieved everything you have wanted to achieve at Ericsson?
Answer: To achieve everything you want to achieve would be the same as trying to empty the Atlantic Ocean with a bucket. Ericsson has immense development possibilities and things constantly need to keep moving. I’m proud of my time as CEO at Ericsson because I think we have had strong growth. We have done a lot of good things and, of course, made some bad decisions too.
Question: What do you consider to be your best decision?
Answer: There are some decisions that have been very important, such as our decision to go for the leadership in mobile broadband by, firstly, expanding GSM and then developing LTE. That has been a crucial initiative. Also important was the decision to start our service organization and appoint Hans to head it. It is an area within Ericsson that has grown to the size of Atlas Copco in just six to seven years. That’s amazing and, today, it is a very important part of our offering.
Question: And what about your worst decision?
Answer: Every day has been filled with good and bad decisions. I don’t think we have made any major bad decisions. But of course, there’s always room for improvement.
Question: How would you like to be remembered?
Answer: I just want to see Ericsson continue to do well and I’m sure it will.
