AltoPartners: Our People - Practice Group & Industry Expert: Per-Allan Karlsson

Q&A with Per-Allan Karlsson: Board Member Search and Board Assessments – A Swedish Perspective

Per-Allan Karlsson, Partner, Board Member and Chairman for Executive Search Novare, AltoPartners alliance partner in Sweden has over 20 years of experience as an executive search and management development consultant. Per-Allan’s main areas of focus include President/CEO recruitments, board member placements and assessments of management groups and boards.

Per-Allan shares his insights into the current state of board member search activity and the ever-increasing importance of conducting board and management group assessments.

What does Board Diversity mean in Sweden/Nordic countries in general?

In general, diversity means having a good mix of gender, with the target at 40% female board members. We are not there yet but on a good track. In Norway, this is already a requirement according to law.

What are the secrets to your/Novare’s success when it comes to the quality and quantity of board recruitment assignments and board assessments that you do?

We have had a long term focus on building the relations with the right people. It is not more complicated than that. This starts with doing excellent search work. Quality and quantity of board members comes from all other interviews. You need to know people. Not only know of them. You need to have a personal opinion and relationship. Your candidates are in different boards or will soon be there and it is important to maintain close networks with them. One piece of advice I can give is to be supportive to Chairmen, they are quite alone and you can become a valuable advisor and confidante to them.

What defines a successful, well-functioning board?

In Sweden, and across the Nordic countries, we typically have independent boards, where the CEO reports to the board of the company. A well-functioning board will work as a team, representing different areas, geographies etc necessary to support the CEO and the strategic agenda. I would say the most important part for the board to play is to make sure the company has the best possible CEO in place and then support him/ her in carrying out the corporate agenda. I am also a firm believer that a board will benefit from being diverse in its composition because that diversity brings with it interesting and new ways of thinking, insights into different industries and markets as well as the ability to be innovative in thinking through new ways to support the CEO’s strategic agenda; all of which can aid the company to remain relevant and have the ability to adapt and change.

To read the full Q&A, click here.

About Per-Allan Karlsson

Per-Allan joined Novare in 2009. Before joining Novare, he worked for ten years at Heidrick & Struggles as CEO of the company’s Swedish company and European manager for the IT/Telecom and Professional Services industries. Per-Allan has more than 20 years of experience as an executive search and management development consultant. He has a broad background in IT, sales and management. Per-Allan’s main areas of focus include President/CEO recruitments, board member recruitments and assessments of management groups and boards.