President and CEO of Swedish Match AB since June 2008. Joined Swedish Match in 1996. Member of Group Management Team since 2004. Born 1970, MBA.
Lars Dahlgren is a young executive at a company he describes as "sufficiently large to be of interest but small enough for the work to be manageable." As CFO of Swedish Match, he is a member of senior management and oversees day-to-day operations of Group Finance & IT at the Corporate head office in Stockholm.
"It is extremely fun to work with products that I can actually smell and feel myself! I´m a snus user and when I test a new product, I can almost immediately form an opinion as to whether it´s going to work or not. I like that," explains Lars.
21 Dec, 2007
How did you come into contact with Swedish Match?
"After graduating from the Stockholm School of Economics, I worked as a financial analyst and quickly realized that I wanted to work in industry and expand my skills before I formed too many opinions as to how companies managed themselves," he says.
You've been there over a decade now, isn't the learning period over soon?
"The fact that I've been here as long as I have says more about the company than about me as an individual," he says. "There has always existed, and continues to exist, interesting tasks and challenges with which to grow. I´ve never felt a need to change my career plans or switch jobs to develop. There has been a natural flow within the organization that has kept me moving forward," he says enthusiastically.
Can you describe what a typical workweek looks like for you?
"A large part involves ensuring that the daily activities of the financial department are functioning. Then there is a bit of travel to check in with our Division Presidents on how their operations are progressing and of course all the work with annual accounts, Board meetings and communication with the various parties in the stock market. There´s no shortage of activities," laughs Lars.
Can you describe your role within senior management?
"First of all, I can say that we have a very cohesive atmosphere within senior management, with respect for one another as individuals, and representative of various skills. This means that we have very fruitful meetings in which we´re able to play off one another, discussing various issues as they relate to the business. Personally, I am hard driving. I question things and enjoy taking discussions in new directions to view things from a different perspective than is customary," explains Lars.
Do you take much notice of the public debate about tobacco?
"Obviously it has an impact, but I believe that we are very trustworthy when it comes to factual matters and that we have significant information regarding Swedish snus and its health effects, something that is important in a debate often marked by strong emotions," he says. "However, senior management is primarily focused on conducting business," says Lars.
If you were to highlight something that Swedish Match is good at, what would it be?
"Oh, there are so many things!," exclaims Lars. "We´re very good at promoting a business-oriented culture, we are talented marketers, we´re able to find new opportunities and quickly switch course in changing markets, and we are no doubt very good at taking care of our employees and fostering their potential. We see that reflected in the fact that personnel turnover is low," he says.
What could Swedish Match do better?
"Naturally, there is always room for improvement, even in those areas we are already good at. One thing that seems extra important is that we do a better job at promoting Swedish snus outside of Sweden´s borders. Markets such as the US and Russia await us!"
What do you believe the hallmarks of good leadership are?
"First and foremost are honesty, clarity and recognizing people´s achievements. But also to be able to read one´s employees, to better understand how they should be treated in order to feel good and perform well on the job. Some people glow with pride when officially acknowledged by me, others are very uncomfortable with such attention. I´m interested in people and I love to see how they learn and improve themselves. That is the teacher within me coming out - if I hadnt become a CFO I might have been a high school teacher!"
"Also, a leader needs to take the time to meet and talk with employees. I, for example, never work from home during office hours but am in the office as much as possible. Rather than sending an e-mail, I´ll go in and sit down for awhile with the person I need to discuss something with," says Lars.
What motivates you personally in your work?
"It has to be fun to go to work! I enjoy solving problems and it is of course a bonus when things are going well for the company. Being able to participate in major, overall issues, having to deal with the challenges that go along with an international company, having variety in my duties, getting challenges both big and small. I can no doubt say that I am inspired by my job and that it is not always easy to conclude my workday in a timely fashion - something I share with my employees. I oversee a young department where we work a lot - perhaps too much at times. That´s something I´m aware of," he says.
What is the biggest challenge facing Swedish Match during the coming year?
"Once again, to establish markets for Swedish snus outside of Sweden. The US is potentially a very large market, and we are slowly but surely improving our positions in Russia, which is a difficult but enormously exciting new part of the world for us to be selling Swedish snus in," concludes Lars Dahlgren.