Former Axfood CEO Klas Balkow is joining Axel Johnson’s Board of Directors following his election at the Annual General Meeting. With a solid background in retail and the food industry, including many years as CEO of Axfood, Klas Balkow will be a strong addition to the board.
The year 2024 can be summed up as a year of stable results in challenging markets. Sales amounted to SEK 144 (126.7) million and profitAX* to SEK 4.1 (4.4) billion. Our two largest group companies, Axfood and Axel Johnson International, managed to maintain their profit levels from their all-time high results of 2023.
The board of Axel Johnson has decided that Caroline Berg will continue as permanent CEO of the company after having served as interim CEO since November 2024. At the same time, Marie Ehrling, who has been vice chair of the board since 2015, will take over the role of chair of the board.
Axel Johnson announced today that Thomas Ekman and the board have agreed that Thomas will step down from his position as CEO of the company. Board Chair, Caroline Berg, will take on the role of interim CEO starting today, while a recruitment process to find a new CEO begins. Thomas Ekman will remain with the company until December 31, 2024, to ensure a smooth transition.
Hanna Graflund Sleyman, previously CEO for Kicks Group, among other positions, has been appointed Executive Vice President for Emerging Technology at Axel Johnson, with the task to further strengthen the capabilities and development of emerging technologies within the group.
Pernilla Oldmark joins as EVP People and Culture at Axel Johnson in mid-March, with the task of continuing to ensure that the group's companies are leading in talent development and are a strong force for increased diversity and inclusion in Swedish business industry.
Axel Johnson's central business area for diversity and inclusion, Axelerate, begins the year by entering two new partnerships. One with the non-profit organization Beredskapslyftet and one with F1RST. Both of these partnerships are aimed at harnessing the power of business through various initiatives to promote inclusion and utilize human ambition and capability.
The year 2022 ended as a new record year for Axel Johnson. Axfood, Martin & Servera and the industrial group Axel Johnson International all recorded their best earnings to date. At the same time, large investments were made through acquisitions and investments in physical infrastructure. Axel Johnson’s revenues amounted to SEK 118.2 (94.7) billion and profitAX to SEK 4.4 (3.669) billion.
The Board of Directors of Axel Johnson has appointed Thomas Ekman as the new CEO, effective September 7, 2023. He is currently CEO of Dustin Group and will succeed Mia Brunell Livfors, who has been CEO of Axel Johnson since 2015. Following the transition, Mia Brunell Livfors will continue to be part of the Axel Johnson Group as a board member and advisor.
After 34 years as owner, Axel Johnson is now selling Åhléns to an ownership constellation led by Ayad Al-Saffar, with the ambition to further strengthen, develop and expand Åhléns in the future.
Björn Annwall, CFO of Volvo Cars, has been appointed to the board of Axel Johnson AB.
Axel Johnson’s fintech startup Humla develops financial services for the future of retail. Humla is now entering into a strategic partnership with Swedish bank SEB’s innovation studio SEBx to develop services based on the bank’s new platform for Banking as a Service.
2021 was the strongest year in Axel Johnson’s history. The industrial group Axel Johnson International and Axfood recorded record results, and major investments were made in the form of both acquisitions and physical infrastructure, particularly in highly automated warehouses. Axel Johnson’s turnover amounted to SEK 94.7 billion (86.9) and our profitAX to SEK 3,669 million (2,754).
Axel Johnson's group companies have signed agreements with the solar energy company Alight, which means that a total of three solar parks with a total annual production of more than 90 Gigawatt hours (GWh) will be built. This means more than a doubling compared with Sweden's currently established solar parks.
AxSol, the solar energy group of Axel Johnson, has led the current financing round in Epishine, a solar cell company which has developed a pioneering, patented process for printing organic solar cells with industry-leading low-light efficiency.
Axel Johnson becomes full owner of skin care company Skincity after acquiring the 18 percent ownership share from founders Mikael Kjellman and Annica Forsgren Kjellman.
Through Axsol, Axel Johnson invests in Svea Solar, the market leading B2C player in solar energy in the Swedish market.
Svea Solar was founded in 2013 by Erik Martinson and Björn Lind, before Nolan Gray joined in 2015. In 2018, the company had sales of 244 million, and in 2019 sales nearly doubled. Svea Solar has a unique position in the Swedish market, with nationwide geographical presence and
Hedvig, the Stockholm-based digital insurer has raised 100 million SEK in a Series A funding to bring their digital insurance service, with a radically different business model and people-first approach, to the masses.
The round was led by San-Francisco based Obvious Ventures which was founded by Twitter co-founder Ev Williams, James Joaquin and Vishal Vasishth and whose #worldpositive investme
Another good year for Axel Johnson
2018 was a good year for Axel Johnson. The Group’s total sales amounted to SEK 82,354 million (77,174), an increase of 7 percent. ProfitAX for the year amounted to SEK 3,021 million (3,020) on par with the previous year’s operating profit (SEK 3,020 million), however the previous year’s earnings included a capital gain of SEK 255 million following the sale of
David Salsbäck has been appointed new Director of Communications and Sustainability at Axel Johnson. His most recent position was as Director of Communications at Bonnier.
David Salsbäck has held several roles within Bonnier, where he has been the Director of Communications for the past five years. Prior to that, he worked at the global communications firm JKL.
“David has extensive experienc