Born 1943, MBA. Board member since 1999. Chairman of the Audit Committee and member of the Compensation Committee.
Tolerant attitudes on our Board
Tolerance, constructive discussions and mutual respect. That is the summary made by Meg Tivéus, one of the Directors who has spent most time on the Board. She is an acknowledged pragmatist, with extensive experience of both operational work and corporate governance. Matters involving corporate expansion are close to her heart and she emphasizes the United States as an important market to make progress in.
9 May, 2007
On the question whether she is satisfied, she answers: "Being satisfied sounds almost like resting on one's laurels. But of course I'm satisfied that the company has fared so well and that the shareholders have received a healthy return on their investments. This is the result of strategic efforts to concentrate operations in a difficult market, because tobacco is hardly an easy product to market. But the successes are also down to the efforts of management, which has been extremely skillful in conducting and streamlining the company's operations."
Impressive CV
No one can doubt Meg Tivéus's track record. As a former top executive and now as a person who devotes a lot of time to corporate governance, she has an excellent profile in the field of fast-moving consumer products and consumer services. Her professional experience includes being divisional manager at Åhléns, one of Sweden's largest retail chains, Executive Vice President of Sweden Post and President of Svenska Spel, a state-owned gaming company. Her directorships include membership of the Boards of Cloetta Fazer, Billerud, Danderyd Hospital, Nordea Funds and Boss Media.
But is experience of running traditional enterprises all that counts for Board membership?
"This varies from company to company. The Board members must have relevant knowledge and experience. Representing a variety of personalities is also important, to ensure that all matters are illuminated from many perspectives. The competences represented by Swedish Match's Board are excellent, since they reflect product and market knowledge and international and financial expertise."
Supermodels coach
Tivéus also notes a currently favorable trend in the form of new faces on Swedish Boards of Directors, represented by younger people who have not yet reached the heights of their careers. She has personally committed herself to coaching more women for assuming leading positions in Swedish enterprises, including supermodel Emma Wiklund, who was recently elected to the Board of the Swedish clothing chain Lindex.
During Meg Tivéus's period on the Swedish Match Board, the governance of companies has advanced quickly, as a result of an increased focus on control and the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance. Many people say this is a negative trend. What is your opinion?
"At Swedish Match, we all agree that strong internal control is important. As a result of our previous listing on NASDAQ, we have to report to the SEC and satisfy the requirements of American legislation, so we have to meet extremely stringent regulations. However, I think that the Swedish Code is good. It has lifted corporate governance to a higher level in many companies. On the other hand, it is quite clear that the rules are too detailed for certain types of companies, particularly smaller ones. And at Swedish Match, we're working to be exempted from the most extreme control regulations resulting from US legislation."
Expansion important
In her work on Boards of Directors, Meg Tivéus is renowned for being an outright pragmatist. She eagerly pursues strategic matters concerning expansion and can understand some of the criticism concerning the com p any's stagnating sales. However, in response to the question of whether an expansion into closely related product groups has been considered, she replies that it is extremely difficult to achieve this while maintaining the high profitability shown by Swedish Match today. She also believes that the shareholders look favorably upon companies with concentrated operations.
"But I'm working for expansion and I believe that the gigantic American market has a lot to offer. We have a 10 percent share of the US market for moist snuff, a share that must absolutely not deteriorate. It's essential that we have a critical mass above that level in order to be a force to reckon with in the distribution channels. We are working to make additional advances. Moreover, our cigars already occupy excellent positions, and have the potential to become even stronger in the United States and in Europe and Asia."
What challenges do you think the Board will face in the years immediately ahead?
Five challenges
"In brief, I believe we should assign priority to fi ve areas. Firstly, we must uphold the market shares for snus in Sweden and develop them in the neighboring countries. Secondly, we must focus even more intently on expansion in the United States. Thirdly, we must strengthen the grip of cigars in the major markets in Continental Europe. Fourthly, we must intensify our expansion via acquisitions. And fi fthly, we must defend our key figures. If we achieve all these aims, Swedish Match will continue to be an attractive investment for our shareholders."
And, of course, shareholders play a special role in Swedish Match, which has an exceptionally high share of foreign funds. How does Meg Tivéus, who has worked for state-owned, municipal, listed and family-owned companies, view the interaction with this type of shareholder?
Getting better all the time
"Different owners have different requirements, depending on the particular phase of development and market position of the company. Based on my experience, the important factor is that the Board of Directors continuously challenges the company's president, to provide the stimulation to make even further progress and to continuously improve. Another aim must be to consistently support the major strategic matters while refraining from detailed control. It is also essential for the President to engage in constructive dialog with the Chairman of the Board and to have access to the experience of the individual Board members when required. All of these features work well at Swedish Match. Generally speaking, one could say that the demands of Swedish Match's owners are clear-cut, as reflected in the operational and financial strategies chosen by the Board."
Finally, we wonder whether Meg Tivéus would like to say a few words that capture the atmosphere on the Swedish Match Board.
"Tolerant. The discussions we have are constructive and characterized by mutual respect. This results in good decisions."