Assa Abloy

"The founder is in his 70s, and the eldest daughter, Sofia Schörling Högberg, has not yet turned forty. The process has been ongoing for a few years, but it was brought to the forefront in October 2016 when Melker Schörling unexpectedly announced he would be ending all his assignments as chairman in conjunction with the general meetings. He has been affected by gradually deteriorating health. Carl-Henric Svanberg was elected in May 2017 as a new board member of MSAB. Schörling and Svanberg have been colleagues and friends for a long time. Svanberg has previously served on the MSAB board and is also a shareholder in the investment company. Svanberg has extensive experience in Swedish industry, including as CEO of Assa Abloy and Ericsson, and as chairman of BP and AB Volvo. Mikael Ekdahl has been appointed chairman of Melker Schörling AB after many years as vice chairman. It cannot be easy to take over after a masterful investor who is called a magician in terms of creating growth and value. Melker Schörling remains on the board as a member."

"A series of successful acquisitions, investments, and spin-offs—not least parts of Securitas that became new listed companies, such as Assa Abloy and Loomis, and Hexapol, which was spun off from Hexagon—made Schörling a major owner in an increasing number of listed companies."

"Melker Schörling has fundamentally worked in the same way in MSAB as he did at the beginning of his career as CEO and major owner of Securitas and owner of Assa Abloy. Through his own company, he has invested in Swedish-owned quality companies that have had the potential to develop and grow internationally. He wants to have significant influence in the companies in which he invests. When the company grows and makes money with global risk distribution, it is not only good for the company but also for the owner. If value is created in the company, it also creates value for the shareholders. And capital in the form of dividends."

"It took a few years before Securitas was ready to step outside Sweden, due to the fact that the operations were not sufficiently focused on security, the services not sufficiently defined, and the management not well synchronized but rather uneven in terms of competence for, among other things, foreign expansion. It also took quite some time before Assa Abloy, our global lock company, was in shape for internationalization, as well as the lighting company Fagerhult and the consulting company Sweco in infrastructure and urban planning."