Marcus Wallenberg

The Wallenberg sphere operates in about 180 countries and its holdings generate a total of $260bn of annual revenue. But Marcus Wallenberg, chairman of the family holding company, says that working for the benefit of his native Sweden is still so important.

As companies grapple with some of the biggest upheavals since the industrial revolution, today’s business owners face multiple challenges, from how to transition seamlessly towards sustainability to ensuring that their companies harness the full potential of digitization.

But they also have to satisfy an increasingly complex tapestry of stakeholders while ensuring that their governance structures remain transparent and agile enough to respond to a backdrop of growing economic and geopolitical uncertainty.

In a conversation with IMD President Jean-François Manzoni, Wallenberg explains the importance taking the long view to facilitate innovation, while balancing that with an acute focus on the present.