Lennart Ohlsson

"In 1977, he gave up – it was only in India that something resembling the Rausing plan had succeeded, but on a local level. Ruben decided to leave Rome and instead settle in Switzerland. However, the decision was easier to make than to implement in practice. The Swiss authorities considered him too old and would be a burden to the country if he were granted a residence permit. Ruben felt wronged by the Swiss opposition, as he believed they should understand how much money he had. After a tough fight, he managed to obtain his residence permit and moved to Lausanne where Tetra Pak’s and the family’s financial managers worked under the economist Lennart Ohlsson. Although Ruben still longed to return to Sweden, he found it easier to live in Lausanne than in Italy. In Lausanne, he could socialize with the Swedes stationed there and take an active part in managing the family fortune which had grown significantly after they started seriously selling the aseptic Briken. Money, both commissions from Cordotex and profits from the various Tetra companies, literally poured into the foundations."

"When Finn, due to his high level of ambition and initial self-overestimation, tried to outmaneuver the skilled financial director Lennart Ohlsson to take over the position himself, Hans had had enough. Ohlsson’s closest man, the Swiss Felix Seiler, immediately announced that if Finn took over, he intended to leave with immediate effect. Based on Hans’ experiences as CEO and the leadership style he had developed, he was aware that an owning family to an innovative global conglomerate is utterly dependent on various key personnel. Hans fired Finn, but did it without first speaking with Gad, which did not exactly facilitate their relationship. Between 1990 and 1993, Finn instead worked as a controller in the company Atlas Copco."

"On Tuesday, January 22, 1991, eight people from Tetra Pak gathered at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm: Bertil Hagman with his wife, Jörgen Haglind, director of communications, Bengt Eckerwall, head of research in Lausanne, Lennart Ohlsson, head of finance in Lausanne, the secretaries Rosemarie Werner and Kristina Kessel, and the trusted chauffeur Bengt Jensen. All the rooms were reserved under their names and not the company’s. Three of the rooms were converted into offices. The blackout was total; hotel staff were forbidden to clean at regular times and to prevent leaks, all transportation to and from the hotel was handled by Bengt Jensen. The Tetra people even had their own telephone and fax lines installed to minimize the risk of eavesdropping."