President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Börje Ekholm is responsible for the daily operation of the business. Written instructions establish the division of responsibilities between the President and the Board. The President’s responsibilities include ongoing investments and divestments, personnel, finance and accounting issues, regular contacts with the company’s stakeholders such as public authorities and the financial market and ensuring that the Board receives the information it needs to make well-founded decisions. The President reports to the Board. He is also a member of the  Investor Board and attends all Board meetings except for when his performance is under evaluation and when the Board meets the auditor without the presence of the Management Group.

The President has appointed a Management Group that has day-to-day responsibility for different parts of Investor’s business. The Management Group consists of the President, Johan Forssell, Lennart Johansson, Stephen Campe, Johan Bygge and Petra Hedengran. Each member of the Management Group is responsible for one or several of the business units: Core Investments, Operating Investments, Investor Growth Capital, Active Portfolio Management, Operations and Legal, Corporate Governance and Compliance.

The Management Group meets once a week to decide and follow up on business activities, current projects and other issues, and to discuss the personnel and the organization. In addition to these weekly meetings, the Management Group holds meetings focused on the company’s strategy and risk assessment four to five times a year. During 2009, the Management Group analyzed specific transactions related to the business operations, but also spent time discussing the current economic situation in order to preserve the company’s financial flexibility. Risk assessment received more of a focus by the Management Group during the year, including an analysis of the effects of EU directives.

The Management Group also presented and rolled out a revised version of the company’s ethical guidelines. The Management Group continuously evaluates the talent within the organization given the company’s strategy, goals and challenges. In addition, the Management Group also continued to develop cooperation opportunities across business areas during 2009.

The Core Investments business area, headed by Johan Forssell, employs investment managers and analysts that are responsible for one or more of the Core Investments. The analysts continuously research each holding and its respective sector and competitors to identify valuecreating initiatives and their return potential. An effort to intensify cooperation with Operating Investments’ investment managers via the creation of business teams was implemented during the year.

Lennart Johansson is the head of Operating Investments. The work of Operating Investments’ investment managers draws on the expertise of other relevant areas within the organization on a project-basis. Investor is normally represented on the Board of Operating Investments’ holdings, by its investments managers, and takes a leading role in developing these businesses.

Stephen Campe is responsible for Investor Growth Capital. Each office of Investor Growth Capital in Asia, Europe and the United States employ investment managers that are knowledgeable in their local markets and sectors. Investor Growth Capital is normally represented on the Boards of its holdings by its investment managers. The deal flow follows a standardized process for decision-making and implementation, documentation, evaluation and follow-up.

Decisions on commitments of EQT funds are taken by the Board. The President and the CFO are responsible for day-to-day activities and the follow-up of commitments in EQT funds. Decisions on other financial investments are taken by the President or by a person appointed by the President.

Johan Bygge, Investor’s CFO, is responsible for Active Portfolio Management and Operations. Active Portfolio Management is controlled by mandates and limits set by the Board. The department comprises both traders and analysts. Activities are supervised and monitored daily by the Risk Control function. Active Portfolio Management’s mandate and limits were subject to evaluation during the year. The Operations unit includes the Business Controlling, Group Accounting, Corporate Communications, IT, Business Information, Human Resources, Risk Control, Tax, Treasury and Securities Administration.

Each function’s responsibilities and processes are governed by established policies and instructions. In order to efficiently support the business operations, the organizational structure of Operations is modified as needed to adapt to changes within each business area. Operations has its own Management Group that meets weekly and consists of representatives from each department.

Petra Hedengran is responsible for the Legal, Corporate Governance and Compliance functions. The Legal function is responsible for legal matters within the company. The Corporate Governance unit is partly engaged in actively handling corporate governance issues for Investor and its holdings and partly in monitoring changes in corporate governance legislation and regulations. Work on corporate governance issues includes developing procedures for the nomination process and the analysis and monitoring of shareholders’ rights.

During the year, the function discussed issues related to EU supervision with regard to the legislation for financial institutions. In addition, revisions to the Code and the impact of the pending implementation of EU Directives on the Swedish Companies Act and the Annual Accounts Act were assessed.

The Compliance function strives to provide an effective process for identifying changes in legislation and regulations and to raise awareness of legal risks. The Compliance function strives to ensure that the company complies with legislation and contractual conditions and counteracts the development, and minimizes the extent, of undesired events and their consequences. The Compliance function maintains internal regulatory systems to this end. In addition to its focus on continued education, the ongoing development of an IT-based support system and follow-up of compliance with limits, the Compliance function conducted a comprehensive review of the Group’s internal regulations during the year and strengthened its cooperation with the Risk Control Function on matters relating to risk assessment.

Information updated 2010-03-18 16:17:46