Competence-Only Family Employment Rule

“I have a very firm belief that those who work in our companies should never ever think that jobs are filled on any basis other than competence. To make this credible, we in the family should never make a career in the companies. I am a strong opponent of the idea that owner children should have more or less guaranteed positions in the family’s businesses. I believe this not least for the sake of the owner children and their sense of identity. It can be a difficult life for them. In very small businesses, where there are only a few employees, the situation is different. There, it can work. But as soon as it involves a certain size, I am very skeptical. The Wallenbergs obviously feel the same way; they have not overpopulated the companies with relatives.”

“On this basis, my family and I have come to our own ownership model, which deviates from many others. We do not want to build a family dynasty where the ambition is for daddy's boy or girl to be trained in the family's company in operational positions to eventually become CEO. It can succeed, and we have good examples of that. Families like the Wallenbergs and Bonniers have managed the process for five or six generations by now. But it's more the exception than the rule. Many families have been forced away from large ownership concentrations when time and competition have run past them. This has often happened due to problems with a family member in an operational role. The wrong choice of people for key positions has been made.”