Jan Carlzon, former president and CEO of the Scandinavian Airlines Group, frequently speaks about strategic leadership, leadership development and service management in customer-driven organisations. As a market oriented innovator, Jan Carlzon uses his experience as a corporate leader to educate decision-makers on the importance of strategic leadership and staff motivation. He is highly sought-after around the world by audiences eager to benefit from his considerable experience.

Jan Carlzon is former president and CEO of the Scandinavian Airlines Group. 1994 he co-founded the Scandinavian venture capital organization Ledstiernan. Through Ledstiernan Jan Carlzon was directly and indirectly involved in more than 20 emerging companies, the majority in the IT-sector. Carlzon has spelled out his management and staff motivation philosophies in the best-selling book, “Moments of Truth”, which has been translated into 20 languages. After all those years since Moments of Truth was published, it is still ranked as one of the best international business books ever written.

Jan Carlzon is probably best known as a turn-around specialist who has returned four companies to profitability. In 1996 Jan Carlzon, together with his partner Karl Stockman, acquired the fashion retail company Polarn & Pyret, as well as a number of other investments. Polarn & Pyret was later merged with another fashion company partly owned by the founding partners of Ledstiernan AB, later listed as Retail and Brands. After a reconstruction of RnB the profitability of the company as well as the market cap substantially increased.

In 1967, Jan Carlzon joined Vingresor, one of Europe’s largest tour operators and became CEO of the company in 1974. In less than one year he turned the troubled company back into profit. After taking the reins at the loss making Swedish domestic airline, Linjeflyg, in 1978, he returned the company to profit before moving to SAS as President and CEO in 1981. He rapidly turned SAS into a moneymaker and customer favourite when he took the helm and he was a pioneer with his radical views on free competition within the European airline industry.

The three turnarounds of the airlines were orchestrated during a period of eight years, and were all made by applying totally different strategies and business models related to the different situations of the three companies.

Between 2006-2010 Jan Carlzon was elected as Chairman of the Swedish federation of Business Owners, which is the largest non-political organization for business owners in Sweden. He is today chairman of Mentor Sweden.

The book The 100 Greatest Swedes, published 2009, Jan Carlzon was selected among the Swedish people that has had “the greatest influence on Swedish peoples lives, and also peoples lives around the world”. Of the listed, forty of them have made their contribution during the last 100 years as business leaders. 16 of the 100 are still alive and Jan Carlzon is one of them.

The opinion researchers Kairos Future made a broad study in March 2012. Jan Carlzon took the top position when more than 1700 managers were asked to spontaneously tell which leader that had inspired them the most in their career. He was uncontested in this category 48% even among young managers.

He has been the Chairman of the Swedish Tennis Association and member of the Board of the International Tennis Federation. He was also chairman of the British Swedish Chamber of Commerce. Carlzon holds honorary doctorate degrees of Law at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles and Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. He is a commander with Star of Royal Norwegian order of Merit and was awarded H.M. the King of Sweden’s Medal of the 12th dimension with the ribbon of the order of the seraphim.

Jan Carlzon was born in 1941 and is based in Stockholm, Sweden.

PUBLICATIONS:

BOOKS:

• Moments of Thruth /Riv pyramiderna Jan Carlzon Taschenbuch – 160 Seiten, 1989

AWARDS:

• H.M. the King of Sweden’s Medal of the 12th dimension

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