Interview with Lovisa Hamrin

Can you describe your current roles? What are you predominantly focused on currently?

Formally, my current roles are Chair and owner of Herenco, Chair of The Hamrin Foundation, board member of Nolato (publ), and member of the advisory boards of Jönköping International Business School, the Art Initiative at the Stockholm School of Economics, and Entreprenörskapsforum, which is connected to Örebro University.

Over the past two to three years, I have been all in on our Foundation to set the strategy and ensure we have the critical people onboard so we can deliver on our purpose. With great stewardship from our CEO, Hanna Ståhl, I am now shifting focus back to Herenco, a SEK 4 billion industrial company that I own entirely myself. Together with our board and leadership team, we have set ambitious goals for the next five to seven years. It has never been as fun as it is now.

What is the most exciting or rewarding part of your work?

I love meeting people from different disciplines and backgrounds. The interaction we have with people in academia and the arts brings me a great deal of positive energy.

Another part that I really love is doing business, which I have not prioritized in recent years. The reward comes from the doing itself: creating solutions and meeting the needs of our customers, whether that is a CEO, an employee, a company we want to acquire, or someone buying our products and services. And of course, closing good deals is always satisfying.

The final part, which I have also spent a great deal of time on, is developing a shared vision of where Herenco could be in 10 to 15 years. The timing feels perfect now. The Foundation is running on its own engine. Herenco has strong leadership in place, and we have discussed and set short- and mid-term goals. But exactly how and what we will become is still taking shape. That is the most thrilling part – the journey itself.

What were your dreams when you started at SSE?

My overriding dream was, and still is, freedom and independence: being able to create and shape the future for myself. The Stockholm School of Economics seemed like the best place to pursue that aspiration.

What drives your commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration through The Hamrin Foundation, and how do you see these efforts shaping future generations?

I think the FREE Educational Mission at the Stockholm School of Economics is one of the wisest approaches I have seen, and perhaps one of the best answers to this question. You cannot run a business on Excel alone, and business without facts and figures can be fantastic at best and a catastrophe at worst. You need all the colors of life to act wisely.

What is your favorite memory from SSE?

One favorite memory is a 30-minute digital meeting with Lars Strannegård in the summer of 2021, and how a small meeting with no expectations could lead to something extraordinary. It also gave me the opportunity to see all the great work that has been done over the past 10 years, and how important that work already is – and will continue to be – for the future.

From my student years, my favorite memory is a statistics course with Lars Eric Öller. Rumor had it that a glass of wine used to be part of the course, and it turned out to be true. A small group of students spent a wonderful evening talking about life and music.

In what ways do you still feel connected to SSE?

I feel fully reconnected and love discovering new initiatives, seeing progress, and meeting great people – not least the students.

What is the best career advice you have received, or what career advice would you give to current SSE students?

Focus on your customer – whoever that may be – and let the FREE mission inspire how you work. You have one life, so try to live it as wisely as you can. At the end of the day, family and relationships are what matter most.

What three words would you choose to describe what got you to where you are today?

Work ethic, creativity, and luck.