The Swedish Australian Chamber of Commerce Board
The Chamber’s Board consists of 9 elected members. They meet on a regular basis and are supported by Honorary Council Members, Executive Committee, Chapters and YP committees, Marketing and Events Committee, Membership Committee and the SACC Sustainability Committee. A close relationship exists between the Chamber, the Embassy of Sweden, Consulates and Business Sweden through the Team Sweden initiative.
SACC Board Members
Jan Gardberg
President
Having started at IKEA in 1983, Jan Gardberg has more than 30 years’ experience of leading and managing within the organisation across many areas from supply, design and range development to distribution and retailing, on both regional and global levels. Prior to his move to Australia, Jan was the Deputy Country Manager for IKEA Russia, responsible for the business sustainability strategy, eCommerce rollout, distribution integration, food business and retail operations for the 14 stores across the country. In his previous role as Country Manager for Australia and Country Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) Jan has been at the forefront of leading sustainability innovation within the business, including the introduction of electric delivery vehicles, as well as the national roll-out of the IKEA Buyback service that allows customers to sell their old IKEA furniture to the store, saving it from landfill. Jan is since October 2021 working in a new global role for the INGKA Group, based in Sydney. LinkedIn: Jan Gardberg
Penny George
Vice President, Partnership & Collaboration
Director of Corporate Affairs, AstraZeneca, Australia & New Zealand
Penny George is the Director of Corporate Affairs for Australia and New Zealand. In this role, Penny is responsible for the patient advocacy, communications and government affairs functions. As a person living with Type 1 Diabetes, Penny understands the importance of access to medicines and vaccines in order to live a healthy and productive life.Penny joined AstraZeneca in March 2022 following a decade of advocating for fast access to medicines and vaccines at Sanofi. Prior to her time in industry, Penny worked for a decade in politics serving as a Ministerial adviser in the NSW O’Farrell Government, political campaigns and was an elected Local Government Councillor. Penny holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing) and Bachelor of Arts (Communications) from the University of Wollongong. LinkedIn: Penny George
Mikael Dahlgren
Vice President & Secretary
Chief Financial Officer, Treotham Automation
Mikael has more than 20 years of finance and operational experience across a wide range of industry sectors and regions. He spent 13 years working for the Leica group of companies in Australia and across Europe in senior management positions. Mikael was also the Australasian Finance Director of Valeant Pharmaceuticals, where he managed numerous acquisitions placing Valeant at the forefront of the skincare market in Australia. More recently Mikael also worked three years for Origin Capital Group, a leading independent Australian corporate finance advisory group, where he advised a wide range of Australian and multinational private and public companies on Mergers and Acquisition matters. Mikael was the Financial Controller of Alfa Laval Oceania for 7 years until August 2022 and has recently taken up the position as the CFO at Treotham Automation. Professionally, Mikael is a qualified accountant (CPA), has an MBA from Macquarie Graduate School of Management and a BSc in Economics and Finance from Uppsala University. LinkedIn: Mikael Dahlgren
Kristina Melin
Treasurer
MBA, ASA, Commercial Finance & Logistic Planning Manager, Volvo Bus Australia
Kristina has an MBA in Accounting from the University of Technology Sydney. She was the Administration and Events Coordinator for SACC 2012-2015 and also worked with bookkeeping and administration at Business Sweden in 2013-2014. Before moving to Australia she was employed at Swedbank AB Publ in Sweden for several years, where her last position was Compliance Manager at Large Corporates and Institutions. Volvo Bus Australia is the market leader on the Australian market, delivering about 400 buses per year. The team is based in Sydney, and sales are represented in each state. The chassis are manufactured at the factory in Borås, Sweden and then shipped to Australia for body build, before delivery to the end customer. LinkedIn: Kristina Melin
Anders Mangen
Membership Committee Chair
After completing Engineering studies and a Bachelor degree of Science in Business Administration and Economics, Anders moved to Australia in 1980. He has extensive experience in Management of companies with focus on business development, strategic planning and sales/marketing of industrial products and services in multicultural business environments. His career includes management positions in multinational companies such as SKF, Leica Geosystems and Actuant. Anders recently retired from Enerpac, Regional Director Asia Pacific, where he managed Enerpac business in Asia Pacific (sales companies in Singapore, Korea, Japan and Australia/NZ) and held a position on the Enerpac Global Management Team for the US based company. He is also a board member of the Swedish Council of NSW and President of Nordlingarna. Anders is married to Louise and they have two daughters. LinkedIn: Anders Mangen
Carin Varverud Härdin
Sustainability Committee
Vice President, Marketing & Communications, Volvo Group Australia
Carin joined the Volvo Group in 2002 followed by a long tenure within Volvo Trucks until August 2019 when she relocated with her Husband and two children to Brisbane, Australia to take up her current position within Volvo Group Australia. In this role Carin is responsible for Brand, Marketing and Communications for the three brands: Volvo Trucks, Mack Trucks and UD Trucks, as well as internal and external communications for Volvo Group Australia. Carin has held several managerial positions within the Volvo Group, has a strong global network and is passionate about bringing out the best of people and team work to deliver results. Carin holds a degree in Media & Communications from Gothenburg University. LinkedIn: Carin Varverud Härdin
Isabel Wagner
Marketing & Events Committee, Sustainability Committee
Communications Manager, Australia & New Zealand, Hitachi Energy
Isabel is a highly experienced marketing and communications manager with a proven track record of driving business growth and sustainable change. With over 20 years of experience in the field, she has built long-term relationships with customers, partners, and industry stakeholders. In 2019, Isabel joined Alfa Laval as Communications Manager for Oceania with an additional remit for South East Asia since 2021. As a seasoned executive with extensive leadership experience in the Oceania senior management setting, one of Isabel’s key priorities is shaping sustainability initiatives that ensure Alfa Laval remains at the forefront of sustainable development. Isabel’s knowledge and advocacy in sustainability is also recognized beyond Alfa Laval. She serves as a representative for the company on the Chamber’s Sustainability Committee, where she helps to shape sustainable business practices and growth opportunities for Swedish companies. Additionally, she recently completed a program designed by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Isabel holds a Master’s degree in International Communications from the University of Leeds (UK). LinkedIn: Isabel Wagner
Carl Wallberg
Membership Committee, Partnership & Collaboration Sweden
Head of Consumer Marketing at Electrolux
Carl joined Electrolux Group headquarters in Stockholm as Head of Customer Marketing for the Nordic countries in 2019. His role was to join a journey of digital transformation and give the consumers the option to purchase directly from our various brand sites. Carl was leading a team and driving all digital touchpoint interactions within the consumer journey both from a branding and performance standpoint, whilst being visible to our consumers in an inspiring and engaging way wherever they are on the CX journey. In 2022-2023 he got the opportunity to work at the Electrolux Australian office for 6 months helping the Australian business to develop a D2C strategy and also continuing his role with headquarters. Prior to Electrolux he worked at a start-up called Happy Plugs with consumer electronics. Here he helped build up their social media presence and strengthen their e-commerce business globally. After that Carl started a position at the global headquarters of Gant. At Gant, he expanded both his business and digital marketing skills and was given the opportunity to drive the paid full funnel media scope. Carl built a small team and implemented the building blocks for Gants global digital strategy. LinkedIn: Carl Wallberg
The SACC and Chapters
Camilla Jennings
General Manager
Swedish Australian Chamber of Commerce
Camilla is managing the overall SACC business, activities, projects and events. She is a marketing and communications specialist, with over 25 years experience within meetings and event management and the travel and tourism industry. Before moving to Australia she worked over 10 years for Visit Sweden in London as the director of the UK and Ireland. During her time in London she initiated and managed joint projects and events together with the Embassy of Sweden, Swedish Chamber of Commerce UK and Business Sweden. She has a bachelor degree in marketing from the University of Lund, Sweden and a meetings management degree from the US. Camilla was appointed President of the Swedish Council of NSW in 2020 and was the former President of the Swedish School in Sydney between 2015-2019. LinkedIn: Camilla Jennings
John Rieusset
Melbourne VIC Chapter Chair and Digitalisation Committee Chair
John is an innovative and internationally experienced management, strategy and marketing professional with more than 20 years within the technology sector, in large multinationals, fast-paced start-ups and family-owned businesses. Deep domain knowledge within the manufacturing, renewables, mining, rail and building and construction industries. John’s most recent position was the Country Digital Lead and Sector Lead – Food and Beverage at ABB Australia. ABB (www.abb.com) is a Swedish-Swiss global engineering and technology company. John’s scope of responsibility included leading multidisciplinary teams in the supply of motion, robotics, automation and electrification technologies into the food and beverage manufacturing industry. He also lead the ABB Australia Digital Council. John has extensive experience working in various commercial, technical and leadership positions, within the technology industry throughout Europe, Asia and Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Technology (Industrial Design) Honours from Monash University, a Master of Applied Commerce (Marketing) from the University of Melbourne and a Postgraduate Diploma in Strategy and Innovation from the University of Oxford. LinkedIn: John Rieusset
Joseph Olsson
Perth WA Chapter Chair
General Manager – Ground Engaging Tools & Buckets at Sandvik
Joseph started his role at Sandvik in 2021 as General Manager – Ground Engaging Tools & Buckets. He came to Australia with Swedish steel maker SSAB, where he was Business Line Manager for a new venture within SSAB developing and launching new innovative products for the key mining markets. Prior to that, he was heading sales, strategy and business development at G&G Mining Fabrication, a subsidiary of SSAB. During his years in Australia, he has supported miners and mining contractors in improving the productivity of their mobile and fixed mining equipment through innovative designs and material upgrades. In addition, building on his experience as an M&A manager at SSAB in Sweden, he hunts for and oversees transactions to support growth in the Asia-Pacific region. Before joining SSAB and then Sandvik, he worked as a management consultant in a broad range of companies and industries. LinkedIn: Joseph Olsson
Marie McIntyre
Brisbane QLD Chapter Chair
MBA, GAICD, Director & General Manager at Blumark Pty Ltd
Marie moved from Sweden to Brisbane in 2007 and is the Director and founder of Blumark Pty Ltd, case management and process improvement specialist. She has an MBA from the University of Queensland Business School, a Master of Marketing from the University of Newcastle and is an AgilePM Practitioner. Marie is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. As Blumark’s General Manager, she’s responsible for all operation related tasks as well as project delivery. Before moving to Australia and starting Blumark she had a varied career in Sweden, ranging from managing a science centre, hotel CEO and sales manager for Choice Hotels Sweden. She’s passionate about teamwork, strategic planning as well as project execution. LinkedIn: Marie McIntyre
Jasmine Wiklander
SACC Young Professional Board, Chair
Senior Recruitment Consultant – Renewable Energy| Sydney
Honorary Board Members
HE Pontus Melander
Ambassador of Sweden to Australia New Zealand and the South Sea Islands
Mr. Pontus Melander is since October 10, 2022, Ambassador of Sweden to Australia. Before coming to Australia, he served as Deputy Head of the Security Department at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Between 2017 and 2019, he served as Sweden’s Ambassador to Iraq. Previously, he was Ambassador at large at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Ambassador at Swedish Armed Forces between 2008 and 2010. Over the years, Mr. Melander has held various positions abroad, including at the Embassy of Sweden to Canada, the Embassy of Sweden to the United States and the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the European Union in Brussels. At the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, he has held positions as Ambassador and Energy Coordinator and Ambassador and Chief Coordinator for Export Support to the Defense Industry. In addition, he has worked at the Office of the European Correspondent, Department for European Affairs and the Trade Department. Mr. Melander received his Master of Science in Politics, Economy and International Law at the University of Lund 1989. He has also received higher management training in the Swedish Armed Forces and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Mr. Melander is married and has four children.
James Letherbarrow
Honorary Consul General of Sweden (NSW)
James is an extensively experienced and goal-oriented CFO and Operations professional with more than 20 years of experience in finance and operational management. He has worked within the Media, Digital, Telecommunications and Banking sectors. James is currently the CFO & Director of Operations at Enigma Communication. Enigma is an Advertising, Media, Public Relations and Branding Agency which is in the business of delivering clients an unfair share by solving business issues creatively and intelligently. With longstanding family ties to Sweden, James resides in Sydney and has been the Honorary Consul General of Sweden (NSW) since January 2018. LinkedIn: James Letherbarrow
Martin Ekberg
Country Manager Australia and New Zealand, Business Sweden
During the last two decades, Martin has been assisting Swedish multinationals achieving organic and inorganic growth. He is an experienced advisor in the field of international business development focusing on growth strategies, M&A, and transformational programs across a wide variety of industries. Before joining Business Sweden Martin was part of Accenture Europe’s Strategy and M&A service line. LinkedIn: Martin Ekberg
Jason Collins
Chief Executive Officer, European Australian Business Council Chair, European Business Organisations Worldwide (EBO)
Jason Collins was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the European Australian Business Council (EABC) in 2007. As CEO, Jason leads a team responsible for the delivery of the Council’s business advocacy and policy programmes, membership and institutional relations with government agencies, chambers, industry groups, and other stakeholders. He is also the Chair of European Business Organisations (EBO Worldwide), a peak association headquartered in Brussels of European chambers of commerce and business councils in over fifty countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Indo-Pacific, and in Europe. He also serves as the Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Belgium in Sydney. Jason is a non-executive director and chair of the governance, nomination & remuneration committee of Business Events Sydney; a member of Screen Producers Australia’s export advisory council; Chair of the Australia Youth Trust; and a former Chair of the Australasian Sponsorship Marketing Association. He also serves on the advisory boards of various Australian and Europe-based government, research centres and industry bodies, including the UTS Business School Dean’s Industry Advisory Board, and is a regular commentator on trade and investment issues at business events and in the media. Linkedin: Jason Collins
Liv Berg
Honorary Solicitor of the Swedish Australian Chamber of Commerce
Senior Legal Counsel for Baby Bunting
Liv is a Senior Legal Counsel for Baby Bunting where she passionately assists the business with all legal matters. Liv provides critical legal support across the business, including with an increasing number of strategic initiatives as well as on day-to-day issues and ASX and head office related matters. Prior to joining Baby Bunting, Liv was working as a Director in the PwC Deals practice with a focus on the development of the firm’s integrated X-Los offering in the Australian transactions market working especially with PwC’s private equity clients. Liv’s background is in corporate law, having particular expertise in private and public M&A transactions and joint ventures. During her time at PwC Legal and before that Baker McKenzie, she has advised a number of private and public companies and private equity clients on Australian and offshore acquisitions and divestments as well as joint ventures, equity capital markets transactions, restructures and general commercial work. LinkedIn: Liv Berg
Petra Andrén
Chief Executive Officer, Sting Advisory
Petra is a global business executive, innovation leader, experienced board member and tech investor with >25 years experience traversing international markets and advanced technology sectors. Petra has deep expertise in navigating the complexities of taking IP-rich technologies to market, supporting and scaling high growth technology ventures, and building high impact innovation ecosystems. Having held executive roles driving innovation for global corporations, research org, start-ups, VC and government, Petra brings a unique skill set to the innovation space. Most recently, Petra lead the Greater Cities Commission’s work on Innovation Districts and clusters across NSW, accelerating the move towards a knowledge based economy. Prior to that, Petra managed the Life sciences investments for Minderoo & Tattarang, Australia’s largest private investment group, developing an investment mandate for a new $250m funding vehicle. She was also the CEO and creator of Australia’s first deep tech incubator, Cicada Innovations. LinkedIn: Petra Andrén
Rickard Gardell
Pacific Equity Partners – Managing Director – Buyout and Secure Assets, Capital Solutions, Gateway, Founding Partner
Rickard is a founder of Pacific Equity Partners and a member of the firm’s Operating Committee. Prior to founding PEP, Rickard was a Director of Bain & Company and had 14 years of consulting experience in Europe, Asia and Australasia. Rickard received a Bachelor of Science from the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) (1981-84) where he was awarded Carl Liljevalchs Scholar and IMP Scholar. As IMP scholar, he attended the MBA program at McGill University for half of his last year.
Regina Summer
Founder & Director of R.S Advisory
Regina Summer has more than 24 years of experience working in the Swedish innovation eco-system from both an academic, a business and a government agency perspective. This has resulted in an extraordinary network in Sweden and internationally. Her previous position was Chief Strategy Officer International Collaborations at Vinnova and prior to that she was the head of unit Green growth and innovation at the Swedish Agency for regional and economic growth. She is also the founder of Sweden Innovation Days and the coordinator of Sweden’s innovation day during COP26 and COP27 and responsible for Sweden’s Innovation week during EXPO2020 in Dubai. Today she is the founder of R.S Advisory specialized in international collaboration, trade & investment and innovation partnerships. LinkedIn: Regina Summer
Dr Nicole T Garofano
Head of Circular Economy Development for Planet Ark Environmental Foundation
Dr Nicole Garofano is the Head of Circular Economy Development for Planet Ark. In her role, Nicole is leading the ongoing strategic development of the Australian Circular Economy (ACE) Hub. For more than 15 years, Nicole has worked in environmental education and action with a focus on waste management and more recently, circular economy. She has designed and managed community-based initiatives to increase sorting, collection and processing of a range of packaging materials, including plastic. Nicole has a PhD from research focused on the plastic food and beverage packaging value chain, identifying both local and global innovation to improve chain activities and outcomes. She is an Associate of the Australian Institute of Packaging. LinkedIn: Dr Nicole T Garofano
Kieran Schneemann
Special Government Affairs Counsel
Kieran has a unique range of relevant work experience over 30 years, working at senior levels of Government, initially in the Federal Public Service and then as Chief of Staff to senior Cabinet Ministers, in the Federal Government. His experience has been augmented by senior executive positions in strategic consulting, Medicines Australia, Pharmacy Guild and Multinational Pharmaceutical Companies. His most recent position at AstraZeneca is Director of Government Affairs and Sustainability Lead. He was also a member of the Executive Management Team. Kieran’s experience spans across government and corporate affairs, strategy, campaigns, market access, communications, patient advocacy, business development and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Kieran has also direct experience in the Charity and Not for Profit Sectors serving on the Boards of Canteen and the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance. LinkedIn: Kieran Schneemann
Professor Glenn Wightwick
Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Enterprise at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
Professor Glenn Wightwick is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Enterprise at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) where he has responsibility for the university’s entrepreneurship, enterprise learning, industry engagement and precinct strategy. Prior to this, he was Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research for 3.5 years. He spent 27 years working at IBM in Australia, the USA and China in a variety of technical and leadership roles in systems engineering, development and research. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, a Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW and a Senior Fellow of the IEEE. He is Co-Chair of 2SER, a community radio station jointly owned by UTS and Macquarie University and is on the board of the Sydney Quantum Academy and SCECGS Redlands. LinkedIn: Glenn Wightwick
Teresia Fors, MBA GAICD
Marketing and Communications Director
Länstrafiken Norrbotten AB, Sweden
Teresia joined SACC as a Director of the Board in August 2011 and stayed as a SACC Board Director, Vice President and Brisbnane QLD Chapter Chair until 2024. With an MBA from the University of Technology of Sydney, a degree in Language Studies from Stockholm University, Diploma in Business Communication from IHM Business School, Fors is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Fors was a founding member of the Advisory Group for the Promotion of Sweden in Australia (2005) and also serves as Councillor for the Swedish Church in Sydney. Fors was appointed as Councillor of the Australian National Maritime Museum between 2016 and 2019. Native Swedish, born in Lapland her professional appointments include leadership positions at Imagine Cruising (MD/AU), Volvo Group Australia (VP/AU), Viking Cruises (MD/AU) and whilst in Sweden she worked for Stockholm Visitors Board, the Swedish Foreign Ministry as well as in advertising. LinkedIn: Teresia Fors
Camilla Bullock
Chief Executive Officer, Emerging Payments Association APAC
Camilla is the Co-Founder and Director at the Emerging Payments Association Asia, the only Pan APAC branch organisation for users and providers of payments technology. Camilla is also the lead, and the Co-Founder behind the global project Meet-Her She Knows Payments which is a movement to narrow the gender thought leadership gap existing in the payments industry. LinkedIn: Camilla Bullock
Ajit Singh, FCPA, FIPA, CMA
Vice President – Group Tax, APAC & VP Company Control Asia Oceania at Volvo Group
Ajit was born and educated in Fiji, with an Accounting and Economics degree. Ajit immigrated to Australia in 1989, and has held various senior finance and related positions in a variety of industries. In 2002 Ajit joined Volvo Group in Australia Pty Ltd, managing various corporate functions, including tax, transfer pricing, legal & compliance, statutory compliance and corporate governance. Ajit Singh currently holds the position of Vice President, Accounting & Company Control, Asia Oceania within the Volvo Group. He is also a Director of Volvo Group Australia and Volvo Treasury Australia Pty Ltd. Ajit is married with two children and lives in Brisbane. LinkedIn: Ajit Singh
