He came to SSE after he had finished his studies at Stockholm University. The board of Directors appointed Per-Jonas to President of the School in 1970, at the age of 36, with the specific tasks of saving SSE from being incorporated with Stockholm University as well as developing executive education at SSE. In 1968, SSE started IFL, the Swedish Institute of Management, with Per-Jonas as chief executive. IFL became a great success and could build and finance, with their own funds, the conference center Kämpasten, near Sigtuna. IFL today is the executive education arm of SSE.

After his tenure as President he continued for several years as head of IFL and as chairman of European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management (EIASM), in Brussels. Per-Jonas was instrumental in the internationalization of SSE. He started IIB, International Institute of Business, mainly financed by Ruben Rausing (founder of Tetra Pak). Per-Jonas joined SSE to the consortium of business schools running the international education program for management teachers, International Teachers Program, to which SSE has sent two to three of their faculty for many years. From the start of his presidency, he laid ground for SSE´s student exchange with international business schools. Per-Jonas was a member of the group that founded EIASM, European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management and part of the group that laid the foundation for EFMD, European Foundation for Management Development.

Per-Jonas was interested in building bridges between academic institutions. In 1974 the Swedish Institute of Management and the Swedish Academy of Engineering (IVA), founded MTC which today has a special focus on procurement research. Also, with IFL, SSE and several of the Swedish institutions of technology founded IMIT, the Institute of Innovation and Technology which aims at pursuing research in technical and industrial renewal.

In the 1980´s Per-Jonas was chairman of the AIK hockey section, when AIK twice became ice hockey champions. Something he was proud of.

Per-Jonas contributed vastly to SSE’s development and he is greatly missed.

Lars Strannegård 
President of SSE

Lars Bergman
Former President of SSE                      

Claes-Robert Julander
Former President of SSE