The annual leadership conference: Chefdagen 2024

Marie-Louise Cleeren
Nov 7, 2024
2 min read

Cissi Elwin & Calle Fleur, Chefakademin. Photo: Mimmis Cleeren

Earlier this week our CEO, Mimmis Cleeren, attended a leadership conference called Chefdagen 2024, held at Nya Cirkus in Stockholm. SUNMICO sometimes takes on Interim Management assignments for B2B marketing and communications functions, so competence development in leadership topics is just as important for us as staying on top of the latest in B2B marketing.

Organized by Chefakademin and the trade magazine Chef for the 25th year in a row, this was a very well-organized whole-day event with interesting on-stage presentations and fireside chats on various leadership topics, gathering some 350 Swedish CxOs and managers from a cross-section of private and public organizations in the audience.

Some of the topics discussed at the conference:

The importance of building a strong company culture based on common values: ”A good company culture does not show when the company is performing at its best, but when it is going through difficulties,” said Emilie Stordalen, Strawberry.

"Brave leadership": the ability to take calculated risks and daring to swim against the current. "Only dead fish go with the current," said Ayad al-Saffar, CEO and owner of Swedish department store Åhléns AB.

What it takes to restore confidence in a big commercial bank after a crisis: Transparency and direction. Jens Henriksson, who was appointed new CEO of Swedbank after the huge money laundering scandal in 2019, challenges his employees to speak up and has set a clear direction for the future of the bank.

The importance of balancing the long and the short: “It’s important to focus on the long-term vision and goals even when you are challenged to demonstrate short-term results,” said Gunnar Strömmer, Sweden's Minister of Justice (M), who gave the example of fighting organized crime.

Bold decisions, sticking to your convictions and working for an inclusive workplace: Stories and lessons learned from former CEOs and some of Sweden’s heavyweights in business – Leif Johansson (Volvo Group, Ericsson, Astra Zeneca), Carl-Henric Svanberg (Ericsson, BP, Volvo Group, Sweden's newly formed AI Commission) and Helene Barnekow (Telia, Microsoft Sweden).

The US election and possible outcome for Swedish economy and business

Debate about the pros and cons of a 4-day work week (Anna-Carin Alderin, initiator of the pilot study 4 Day Week Sweden, and Mattias Dahl, Svenskt Näringsliv)

How to tackle recruitment bias and help young adults from underprivileged socio-economic areas land their first jobs: Many want to contribute to society but 80% of applicants get screened out because they don’t have a Swedish name. ”We can’t solve the problems of the future by applying yesterday’s solutions,” said Guuled Mohamed, founder of Young.Talents.Sweden.

Important leadership skills of the future

Caroline Lornudd, Chefakademin, concluded the day by summarizing nine important leadership skills of the future: