Birgitta Stymne Göransson has extensive experience from both Swedish and international business sectors. Today, she serves on the boards of companies such as Bentley Endovascular Group, RevolutionRace, Bure Equity, Industrifonden, Asker Healthcare Group, Berling Media, and Pandora. We spoke with her about her journey from a trainee at Gambro to becoming one of Sweden’s most experienced board professionals, and her thoughts on the future challenges boards will face.
Career Journey – From Biotechnology to the Boardroom
“My first board assignment came over 30 years ago, a bit by chance,” Birgitta recalls. “It was during the IT boom around the turn of the millennium, and I was working as a management consultant. The assignment was with a northern Swedish internet company. I had no previous board experience, but it became an important learning opportunity.”
She originally trained as a chemical engineer with a focus on biotechnology. After graduation, she became a trainee at Gambro, an entrepreneurial company that gave her international experience: “I enjoyed working in marketing and eventually became an application specialist. But after a while, I felt I lacked financial training, so I took a leave of absence and worked in the U.S. for four years, two of which I spent studying at Harvard.”
Upon returning to Sweden, she was drawn to McKinsey. “That was an easy decision. I was there for 5 years, and it was a pivotal time. I gained a broad network within Swedish business and learned how to analyse problems and opportunities in-depth. My driving force has always been curiosity,” she says. “I never set out to become a ‘professional board member,’ it just happened. Experience in a CEO role is invaluable – I understand both the executive and board perspectives.”
Challenges Facing Boards Today
When Birgitta describes the major challenges of board work, she highlights two key themes: the increasing regulatory burden, especially for listed companies. “It’s good to have order and structure, but sometimes it becomes too much and can shift focus away from the core business. The other big challenge is the rapid pace of change in the world around us. Multi-year plans are practically impossible today – agility is a must.”
The Future of Board Work
Looking ahead, Birgitta believes in a continued need for digital and AI-related expertise, but she emphasises that specialists alone aren’t enough. “You must be grounded, have both breadth and depth. Successful boards are those that can handle complexity and see things from multiple perspectives. Moreover, succession planning is becoming increasingly important. In the past, people stayed with the same company for 20 years, but now there’s greater mobility.”
Gender Equality and Diversity in the Boardroom
When Birgitta began her career, female board members were rare. She explains: “Today it’s much better, but still unevenly distributed across industries. There are more women in MedTech, life sciences, and retail, but telecom and software are lagging. But competence must always come first – women shouldn’t be brought in just for the sake of quotas. Gender balance is relatively well tracked these days. But what’s often overlooked is internationalising the board. Swedish companies are global, so their boards should reflect that too. Bring in two people from other countries – not just one. That makes a difference.”
On Executive Interim Management
“I know many who work as interims and see it as an important piece in the talent puzzle. For some roles, you simply can’t have long vacancies, and sometimes you need someone to drive a specific project. Interim Management is an effective way to quickly secure the right expertise.”