Given the limited size of their domestic market, Swedish corporations have been remarkably successful at developing themselves into truly global corporations. The continuing growth of Swedish companies’ overseas subsidiaries in the latter part of the 20th century, and the corresponding stagnation in employment growth in their home market, have increased the global spread of the country’s largest corporations to an unprecedented level. By the mid-1990s, Swedish multinational corporations employed more people overseas than at home.
The logistical issues that surround the running of major multinational networks from such a narrow domestic base have provided an organisational challenge for these companies’ management. One of those taking a lead role in one of Sweden’s most globalised corporations is Eva Persson, senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary to the board of AB Volvo. Persson, who has held the general counsel role since 1997, is responsible for the legal function of a company with eight business divisions, each headquartered in a different region, including Mack Truck in the US, Renault Trucks in Lyon and Volvo in Gothenberg.
