Olof Faxander
| Olof Faxander | |
|---|---|
| Born | Olof Bertil Faxander 19 May 1970 New Jersey, United States |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Education | Royal Institute of Technology (KTH); Stockholm University |
| Occupation | Business executive |
| Employer | Nordic Capital |
| Title | Operating Partner, Nordic Capital |
| Known for | Chief executive officer of SSAB (2006 to 2011) and Sandvik (2011 to 2015) |
Olof Bertil Faxander (born 19 May 1970) is a Swedish businessman who served as chief executive officer of the specialty steel producer SSAB from 2006 to 2011 and of the industrial engineering group Sandvik from 2011 to 2015. Since January 2016, Faxander has worked as an Operating Partner at the private equity firm Nordic Capital, with responsibility for driving development at portfolio companies during their period of ownership.
Faxander is credited with having transformed SSAB from a domestically focused steelmaker into an international specialty steel producer, and he was named Leader of the Year by the Swedish business weekly Affärsvärlden in 2010 in recognition of that work.
Early life and education
Faxander was born on 19 May 1970 in New Jersey, in the United States, and grew up in Djursholm, near Stockholm, Sweden. He graduated from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm with an engineering degree, described in one account as a master's degree in materials science completed in 1996 and in another as a mining engineering qualification dated 1995. He also holds a degree in economics from Stockholm University, taken in 1996.
Career
Early career
Before taking on chief executive roles, Faxander held leading positions at the steel companies Outokumpu, AvestaPolarit and Avesta Sheffield.
SSAB, 2006 to 2011
Faxander became chief executive officer of SSAB, the Swedish specialty steel company, in 2006. During his tenure, SSAB expanded significantly and acquired the Canadian steel company IPSCO, an acquisition that changed SSAB from a local Swedish producer into a global player in the specialty steel sector. In 2010, Faxander was named Leader of the Year by Affärsvärlden for his achievements as SSAB's chief executive, and he was also given a high ranking in a leadership review conducted by the magazine Chef. Faxander left SSAB in 2011.
Sandvik, 2011 to 2015
On 1 February 2011, Faxander was appointed chief executive officer of the industrial group Sandvik. His years at Sandvik were marked by significant restructuring and modernisation: a generational change took place in the company's top leadership, and group management was internationalised and moved from Sandviken to Stockholm. Faxander was succeeded as Sandvik's chief executive by Björn Rosengren, who joined from Wärtsilä, in 2015.
Chairman of Industriarbetsgivarna, 2012
In 2012, Faxander, as chairman of the board, led the merger of four Swedish employer federations into a single organisation, Industriarbetsgivarna. He continued as chairman through the national collective bargaining process that followed later that year.
Nordic Capital, since 2016
Faxander joined the private equity firm Nordic Capital in January 2016 as an Operating Partner, a role in which he is responsible for driving development at the firm's portfolio companies during their period of ownership.== Assessment == Faxander's tenure at SSAB is credited, in Swedish business coverage, with turning a domestically focused steelmaker into an international specialty steel producer through the IPSCO acquisition, an achievement recognised by his 2010 Leader of the Year award and by a strong leadership ranking in Chef. His subsequent years at Sandvik are described in similar terms, as a period of modernisation that included internationalising the company's leadership and relocating group management from Sandviken to Stockholm. The available material presents these achievements largely in positive terms and records no specific criticism of Faxander's leadership at either company.