Filip Johannesson
Describe your role and what it is that you do overall and on a day-to-day basis.
I am responsible for expanding the company's growth which includes setting up and leading our marketing and sales teams across markets, as well as leading the rollout of our international expansion. In addition to this, I sit in the management team and help drive company-wide initiatives like fundraising or new product developments. To my joy and excitement, my day-to-day activities vary extensively, some of them are (but not an exhaustive list): stand-ups with the local sales teams, customer visits, campaign brainstorming sessions with our creative agency, investor presentations for our fundraising, customer pitch meetings, and strategy workshops (e.g. how to enter the UK market).
What interested you about the field/company/role you are currently in?
Facing the climate disaster we stand in front of is our largest challenge yet and we need to drive change at an unprecedented rate. Hence, I wanted to work in a sector where I can help tackle this head-on and not sit on the sidelines as part of a corporate greenwash agenda. Nornorm felt like a perfect fit in this way, as it offers office furniture workplace solutions in a subscription-based and circular business model. I felt obliged to see how I can use the toolkit I learnt at SSE and McKinsey to help accelerate the work and impact of circular business models. In addition, I was drawn to the thrill of joining a start-up and a rapidly growing company where you have to juggle "doing the work" and taking a step back to think strategically. When growing at such a high speed every month feels like working at a different company.
Why did you choose to study your subject area at SSE?
I did my BSc at SSE and chose Accounting and Financial Management as my specialization because I wanted to develop the toolkit to lead companies. I am extremely happy with my choice as I now have the tools to both drive the financial aspects of funding and optimizing the business as well as the "soft" tools that are critical when leading diverse teams from different countries.
How did your time/education at SSE help guide you to the career journey you have embarked on?
I believe that SSE helps guide you to become a future leader, be it in the private or public sector. With this broad role description there are many routes one can take and I'm thankful that SSE opens up a multitude of them.The strong network SSE has with the corporate world really helped me explore many different options during my studies, whether it was from company presentations or live cases in our courses. SSE was a ’smörgåsbord’ where I tried several options to learn what was the best for me.
What path did you take from graduation to where you are now?
After finishing my bachelors I started out with a year of internships in management consulting and Private Equity. I then joined McKinsey & Company where I became a project leader and traveled and lived across the globe (including combining +5 USDbn company acquisitions and karaoke in Tokyo as well as surfing and leading digital transformations in Australia). After four years, I was at a crossroads on whether to continue on a career path to become an advisor or a business leader, where I chose to take the later.
Following your time studying, do you have any words of wisdom or advice you would like to share with our current students?
I'd like to pass along three pieces of advice:
1) Enjoy the moment and invest the majority of your time in your friends;
2) Do what you want to do post-graduation, don't take a job just because it's what everyone else does or because it has "the highest status". I've seen all too many SSE students change their jobs after 6-18 months because they realized it wasn't for them;
3) Following the last point, when graduation draws near, don't stress about the first step in your career. It's a first step, and It's easy to change if you don't get it right!
What are three words that sum up your time at SSE?
Fun, friends, fiesta.