WINNERS AND LOSERS IN NORDIC BUSINESS

By Bibi Christensen

Deft timing

Torbjörn Törnqvist has deftly navigated Russia’s war in Ukraine and its impact on global energy markets. As founder and head of global commodities and energy trader Gunvor, the Swede has doubled his personal fortune in the past year according to wealth followers Forbes and Bloomberg. He bought out his old partner, sanctioned Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko, back in 2014.

Cheers to Carlsberg

Hopes are high that Jacob Aarup-Andersen will take good care of Danish brewing giant Carlsberg when he takes over the CEO office from Dutchman Cees ‘t Hart. The ambitious Dane, who previously headed global services giant ISS, will need to tackle geopolitical issues in China and Russia that have damaged Carlsberg’s image as a Danish national treasure.

Yeezy does it

Norway’s Bjørn Gulden will need to prove he has the golden touch to steer a turnaround at German sportwear company Adidas after taking over from Dane Kasper Rørsted. Gulden ran the rival Puma with great success for nearly a decade but faces a real headache in dealing with the disastrous end to the Yeezy partnership with controversial rapper Kanye West.

Banking trouble

Magnus Billing, head of Alecta, Sweden’s biggest pension fund, was sacked after admitting a “big failure” in writing off more than 2 billion USD in investments in three U.S. niche banks linked to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Further evidence of the domino effect of the current international banking crisis.

Precious

Danish influencer and jewellery queen Mai Manniche faces an uphill climb in convincing her many followers that her company JEWLSCPH actually does sell her own original designs and not copies from major Indian jewellery supplier DWS. This follows revealing articles in the Danish press suggesting her success story is not quite what it has been made out to be.