Saab Chairman Addresses Nobel Week CEO Round Table
Saab Chairman and Swedish Industrialist Marcus Wallenberg in an address to the Sweden-India Memorial CEO Round Table hosted in November 2013 talked about how the Wallenberg family through five generations has moved from their origins as bankers to becoming a diversified industrial group. He pointed out that the Wallenberg family has ensured that much of their ownership is through foundations that give back to society through grants that fund research in a number of disciplines, from the natural sciences, medicine to the humanities.
Head of Market Area India, Lars-Olof Lindgren and Head of Aeronautics, Lennart Sindahl, participated from Saab in the CEO Round Table being organized for the 7th consecutive year, by the Swedish Ambassador to India.
The CEO round table is a highlight of the annual Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week which is an integrated event to promote Sweden, under the overarching theme of innovation.
At the CEO Round Table industrial leaders, politicians, academic experts and other decision makers from the two countries meet to exchange views on an innovation-related theme and discuss challenges and opportunities in the Indian business environment.
The theme for the 2013 Round Table was “Innovations for Sustainable Business” and focused on innovations and strategies to sustain in commercial terms as well as finding sustainable ways of doing business, with respect for all stakeholders – employees, community and environment. The round table discussion was moderated by Mr. Arun Maira, who is Member at the Planning Commission (Government of India).
Speaking at the event, Mr Daniel Johansson, Vice-Minister for Information Society, Energy and Environmental Technologies at the Swedish Ministry for Enterprise, Energy and Communications, said that he sees large potential for growth of the Indo-Swedish trade and opportunities for Swedish companies in India as well as for Indian companies in Sweden.
One of the areas he mentioned, where Sweden is a strong global player is the cleantech field, where areas like bio energy, district heating and cooling as well as water and waste issues are particular areas of strength. According to Mr Johansson, all organisations need to work with sustainability issues. “I believe that the first and most obvious reason for businesses to work with these issues is long-term profitability.”