Pehr G. Gyllenhammar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pehr Gustaf Gyllenhammar (born April 28, 1935, in Gothenburg) is Swedish businessman who was CEO and later Chairman of Volvo between 1970 and 1994. He is now the Chairman of investment company Kinnevik.
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[edit] Career
Gyllenhammar graduated from Lund University with a degree in law in 1959. He replaced his father, Pehr Gyllenhammar Sr., as CEO of insurance company Skandia in 1970. After only a few months he moved to Volvo where he became the CEO. Curiously enough, he replaced his father-in-law, who became chairman, in that position.
[edit] At Volvo
Gyllenhammar became one of the most famous businessmen in Sweden at Volvo. He mixed success with failure. He oversaw a wide-reaching diversification of Volvo's business, buying, among other things pharmaceutical company Pharmacia. What finally forced him to leave Volvo was a failed merger with French company Renault.
[edit] After Volvo
After Volvo, Gyllenhammar withdrew from Swedish public life and moved to London where he eventually became chairman of insurance company Aviva. He returned to Swedish business in 2004 as Chairman of Investment AB Kinnevik.
He serves as a director of the Reuters Founders Share Company since 1997 (now Chairman) and was awarded in 2003 an honorary doctorate by Gothenburg School of Economics and Commercial Law.
[edit] Political views
Gyllenhammar has in the past been an outspoken supporter of the Liberal People's Party. In his 1973 book I Believe in Sweden (Jag tror på Sverige) he was steadfast in his support for the Scandinavian model and argued for the kind social liberalism the Liberal People's Party used to support. Gyllenhammar served on the Party board and was widely considered as a future leader of the party. At times, he revealed an ambition to become Prime Minister of Sweden.
[edit] Personal information
Gyllenhammar is married to Christina Engellau (born 1936). They live in London and have three daughters and one son. One of the daughters has written a book about her childhood which is seen as a critical of Gyllenhammar's fatherhood.
