- "It went well. It's a bit bewildering to be on the radio one day, on TV the next and then to comment in national newspapers on the third. The mind works at top speed, and this really was a flying start."
He began at Volvo Cars in 1986, and after a number of years in Sweden he and his family moved to Maastricht in Belgium to work for Volvo there. The family found this an exciting, edifying time, but after three years they wanted to return to Sweden so they would not be forgotten at home. But he was anyway, he tells us, laughing heartily.
In 1997 Fredrik joined Saab, and stayed around 3 years. He then started working within the consulting sector and joined Caran, latterly Semcon. After the Semcon acquisition Fredrik chose to move on, and he went to BAE Systems in Örnsköldsvik.
In the New Year he was asked to take over as CEO at FKG, and Fredrik new immediately that this was the perfect fit for him. There were two conditions: Christer Palm would remain as Board Chairman and Fredrik would work in parallel with Svenåke for one month.
What was the most important advice Svenåke gave you?
"Stay in the media's good books and be available for them anytime. This has proved to be an extremely important piece of advice considering the media hysteria I wound up in."
When the media hysteria surrounding Saab has abated, what will your chief focus be?
"I want to get out there and meet the members. Breakfast meetings or whatever suits them best. I want to meet them in their own surroundings and I want to make a start as soon as possible. I have already met with the board members at their places of work."
"Then we'll get to grips with the association newspaper. Change the layout and contents little. Find out what our readers would like to read about most and adapt to that."
What are the major challenges?
"Everything is one big challenge! Most importantly we must do our bit to make sure we keep four vehicle manufacturers in Sweden."
What's going to happen next?
"We have a Go Global project to Russia this fall. In all we've carried out 36 Go Global projects, so we have a lot of experience and positive examples we can present."
"It's also time for another structural analysis. They are performed annually in the late fall. We'll also carry out a profitability study to see how the industry is doing.
There are also plans to hold 8 or 9 seminars during the coming year. Among other things we'll hold a Financing Seminar which will include bankers, venture capitalists and a company that has made use of venture capital or other support, in order to show how things proceed in the real world.
A few facts about Fredrik Sidahl
56 years old; married to Tina, an anesthetist. They have a daughter, 20 years old.
Has lived in Varberg for 20 years.
Leisure pursuits: sailing (has a sailboat for sale), likes to ski (or snowboard for the last 10 years). Keen winter sportsman. Runs 3 to 4 times per week. Prefers to run alone.
Studied Mechanical Engineering at Chalmers.
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