Christina Kusoffsky Hillesöy, Göran Lundwall and Birgitta Wikmark Carlsson – new board members for SLU Holding
SLU Holding is now broadening its expertise on the Board of Directors with three new members, Christina Kusoffsky Hillesöy, Göran Lundwall and Birgitta Wikmark Carlsson. With broad experience from business, fund management and academia, all three are exciting additions to the board.
Christina Kusoffsky Hillesöy, tell us a little about yourself. “I am a sustainability manager at Länsförsäkringar and also serve on the board of the World Wildlife Fund. I am passionate about sustainability issues and since SLU Holdings’ investments stem from innovations in green industry, the board assignment felt especially interesting.”
What attracted you to serving on the board? “The link between innovations in academia and how to get these innovations out so that they benefit society is very exciting. Academia and business need each other. Research and innovation are crucial for the further development of society and in contributing to sustainable development in accordance with the UN’s global goals.”
What do you look forward to working with while serving on the board? “With my knowledge of sustainability and the relationship to business value, I hope SLU Holding will be able to create even more competitive start-ups. Innovative ideas will be an extremely important piece of the puzzle for us in solving climate change and the other environmental and social sustainability challenges we’re facing.”
Göran Lundwall – what is your background and why did you choose to accept the board assignment? “I have many years of experience in supporting and developing growth companies in my role as president and CEO of Almi Företagspartner.” The link between research and entrepreneurship is important and through SLU Holdings’ affiliation with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, I think there are exciting, sustainable business opportunities to work with.”
What do you hope to contribute to the board’s work? “Experience of strategy and development issues is always an important part of board work. Providing the conditions for creating sustainable competitive companies is inspiring.”
Birgitta Wikmark Carlsson, you are a representative from SLU but have mainly had a career outside the university world. “That's right. My background is pretty varied. I’ve been the assistant university director at SLU for three years, but before that I was a nutrition advisor at the Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation and was in management at the Swedish Food Agenct for a number of years. Before that I worked for several years with the development of IT companies, and for a few years I was self-employed and an organisational consultant. Before I became a civil servant, I had a number of board assignments – as chairman for Drivhuset and Matador Kommunikation as well as a board member for ALMI Uppsala, for example."
Why did you agree to serve on the board? “In my current role, I have had a great deal to do with SLU Holding, including being involved with the Green Innovation Park, and I have tremendous respect for the skills they have and what they achieve. I see great opportunities in making SLU Holding even more renowned within SLU and in that it can help attract even more students and researchers. SLU is known for many good things that have to do with sustainability. Entrepreneurship and innovation linked to this constitute an unbeatable combination that few can match.I hope to contribute the experiences from my varied background with business development, leadership and organisational development.”
SLU Holding welcomes our new board members and our new chairperson, Lena Söderström. At the same time, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our outgoing board members who resigned at the annual general meeting. Ann-Christin Norrström has during her time as a member and chairperson for SLU Holding’s board of directors strongly contributed to the development of the organisation, and Erik Fahlbeck has in his role served as a very important link between SLU Holding and SLU.
