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Our holdings
should be a bit better
tomorrow than they are today
Mellby Gård has three deputy CEOs: Thomas Gustafsson, Sven Knutsson and Mikael
Helmerson. Their primary job is to work as representatives of Mellby Gård and manage
the Group’s holdings so as to allow them to develop as effectively as possible.
Thomas Gustafsson’s relationship with Mellby Gård goes back
a long way. It all began in 2001, when Mellby Gård took over
Brämhults Juice where he was appointed CEO by Mellby Gård.
He then became President and CEO of Duni, where Mellby Gård is a
major shareholder, and Thomas has worked at the Mellby Gård head
office since 2018.
Sven Knutsson was appointed CEO of Mellby Gård Innovation och
Tillväxt AB in 2015 and was subsequently appointed Deputy CEO in 2021.
Mikael Helmerson was appointed Deputy CEO in March 2021 after
eight years working as the CEO of Roxtec, another company owned by
Mellby Gård.
TWO REPRESENTATIVES ON THE BOARDS OF THE
HOLDINGS
Mellby Gård’s corporate governance includes aiming to include two
representatives on the boards of its major holdings, preferably the
chairmanship and one other position. Thomas is currently chairman of
Duni, a listed company, as well as Kappahl and Oscar Jacobsson, and
he’s also a member of the Aros Kapital board. Sven is the chairman of
Klarahill and Söderberg & Haak and a board member for Hedson, Duni,
Kappahl and Open Air Group. Mikael is the chairman of Feralco and sits
on the boards of Roxtec, Hedson and StudentConsulting.
“All in all, you could say we have four parts to play,” says Thomas.
“We’re primarily responsible for the owner’s management of the holdings,
and we also manage the companies’ boards and management teams.
“Representing the owners at the various holdings means we have to
make sure the companies develop as effectively as possible and are
driven forward,” says Sven. “This is something we achieve by means
of regular, sometimes daily, discussions with the companies and
representing the owners on the boards.
“The other two roles involve assessing the proposals for acquisition
that we receive. We receive ten or so proposals every month on average,”
continues Thomas. “We have to ensure the organic growth of the
companies in the first instance, but we also have to make sure that any
acquisition opportunities are dealt with. This includes ensuring that the
companies have an updated acquisition agenda, which we reconcile
regularly with the owners.”
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“When we’re considering or receive proposals for acquisitions in order
to start a new vertical at Mellby Gård, this is a much bigger, strategic
decision that we discuss with the entire management team and the
owners as well,” says Mikael. “This means an additional commitment
for us on a central level, and as we decide to embark upon something
that’s new for us where we need to build up new expertise.”
MAKING UP THE MELLBY GÅRD MANAGEMENT TEAM
Thomas, Sven and Mikael are all members of the Mellby Gård
management team, together with CEO Johan Andersson.
“We meet once a month and take a general look through the
development of the holdings. We might look at a few of them in greater
detail if we have anything in particular we’d like to discuss,” says Mikael.
“We also discuss general matters that affect multiple subsidiaries and
that we could all benefit from. We’ve done a lot of talking about the
pandemic over the last two years, and about its repercussions for
markets and companies.
“Sustainability is something we often include on our agenda, and
it’s an issue that’s gone on becoming more and more important,” says
Thomas. “Sustainability was ‘nice to have’ a decade ago, then five years
ago is was a ‘need to have’. Now it’s an existential issue. If a company
has no idea how to withstand the transition, its very existence is at risk.
“Our job is to define targets that help companies to focus more
accurately and enhance their expertise on a shared issue of this kind,
and to ensure that the companies have the right skills in place to deal
with it. As regards sustainability, a number of subsidiaries have recently
recruited new sustainability managers who are well trained so as to
place additional emphasis on the matter.
“It’s important to maintain a balance between formal and informal
aspects,” says Sven. “Board meetings are formal, but the internal
meetings attended by the four of us are more creative and less formal.
We have an agenda, but we like to focus on coming up with new
concepts and solutions. It’s not often we discuss details, or get bogged
down in our old mistakes. We just get on with remedying them as
quickly as we can. There’s a very small rear view mirror, but a very big
windscreen!”