For someone used to starting and building companies from scratch, a CEO role at Danir might seem like an unusual choice – after all, Danir is hardly a startup. But considering that most of the group’s holdings were founded and built from the ground up, the choice of an experienced startup expert like Fredrik Hedlund makes perfect sense.
He has launched everything from tech firms and consultancy businesses to digital ventures and production facilities. Some have been runaway successes; others, valuable lessons learned through failure. That breadth of experience is exactly what makes him such a strong addition to Danir.
“You might think it’s more exciting to be part of a startup than to join a large, established company. But for me, it’s more about the mindset. There must be a constant drive to evolve – and that’s what I’ve found here,” Fredrik explains about his new role at Danir.
Danir is a group built on holdings where entrepreneurship plays a central role. The companies are founded by people who know their markets inside out. It’s not an environment that benefits from top-down management or rigid processes. Instead, it’s about freedom with responsibility and a shared ambition to build sustainable businesses for the long term. Fredrik describes his mission as being more of an enabler than a commander. His job, as he sees it, is to remove obstacles, not create new rules. And the Danir spirit and culture are not unfamiliar to him – he first discovered them on a trip to Tokyo.
When Fredrik left Sony Mobile in 2012, after many years, he had been part of one of the mobile industry’s most intense growth periods. It was a time of rapid technological change, when feature phones were being replaced by smartphones. Despite its successes, Sony Mobile never quite managed to take off. When the downsizing in Lund became a reality and nearly 600 engineers were made redundant, a question arose: could something new be built out of all that competence?
By then Fredrik had moved on, becoming a partner at the management consultancy Applied Value when Sony called him up. The then CEO, Kunimasa Suzuki, asked him to return and lead the project of reshaping the operation. Together with a team of executives, he began hand-picking talent. They took over test labs and development resources and began building a new unit focused on the Internet of Things and connected products.
“We knew that developing mobile phones is one of the most complex challenges there is. If you can handle that, you can handle almost anything,” says Fredrik about the capacity of the new unit they built in Lund.
The initial plan was to sell the unit to a larger global consultancy or product company. Fredrik negotiated with several players, but the process was slow. Eventually, doubts grew at Sony about whether a deal could ever be reached. That was when Dan Olofsson and Bert Nordberg, whom Fredrik had got to know during his Sony days, entered the picture. Dan had recently taken Sigma back from the stock exchange, and together they saw the opportunity to create a new Sigma company.
“Dan and I flew to Tokyo and negotiated a solution with Sony. It turned into a deal that all parties were happy with. Sony avoided closure, and we got the chance to build something real,” Fredrik recalls of his first contact with Danir.
“Sigma Connectivity grew rapidly, from nothing to over a billion SEK in revenue today. But what I’m most proud of is that we created something people genuinely want to be part of,” he says.
When Fredrik talks about leadership, he often returns to the importance of building a culture where people can grow. For him, success rarely comes down to strategy documents and Excel sheets; it’s about creating environments where people thrive and can do their best work.
“I believe in trusting people. That’s when real things happen,” he explains.
And he speaks from experience. Several of the companies he has co-founded have gone through the classic growth phases, where everything feels possible until chaos suddenly sets in. That’s when questions of culture truly come to the fore. Should a company grow by stripping away everything that once made it fun? Or is it possible to scale up while keeping the heart and soul intact? For Fredrik, the answer is clear: it can be done, but it requires conscious choices.
“You have to decide not to become a company that only talks numbers. The people behind the numbers are always the most important,” he says.
Now, as he steps into Danir, he looks forward to continuing to build, but in a new way. It’s no longer about inventing entirely new business ideas but about creating the right conditions for the group to develop while safeguarding its unique culture.
“Culture is crucial, and you must be willing to fail sometimes, otherwise you learn nothing. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes along the way, and I’m grateful for them today,” says Fredrik humbly.
After his years at Sigma Connectivity, Fredrik moved on to Northvolt, joining right from the start in 2017. Back then, the company consisted of just a dozen people, a PowerPoint presentation, and an Excel sheet.
“We thought, okay, how do we make this happen? The journey from idea to reality was challenging but incredibly instructive. It was one of the most intense periods of my career. Very few have done what we did, with the conditions we had, or rather didn’t have. And no one can take away from us what we built. We broke many barriers in the industry and learned an enormous amount along the way,” he recalls of the challenges far up north.
I’ve made my fair share of mistakes along the way, and I’m grateful for them today.
– Fredrik Hedlund
Beyond professional lessons, the experience also gave him and his family new perspectives and surroundings. Fredrik, who has a wife, three children and three grandchildren, has spent the past four years living with part of his family in northern Sweden – something that suited him perfectly.
“I love being outdoors. To be able to take the mountain bike from right outside the door and ride up the mountain or push the kayak into the river and paddle – it’s been fantastic,” he says about their life in Skellefteå.
The move north, with nature and wilderness right on the doorstep, also rekindled his interest in hunting.
“I started hunting 25 years ago, but work got in the way for a while. Up here I found my way back to it, especially mountain hunting, which is something truly special,” he says of his rediscovered passion.
Music is another important part of his life. While he no longer plays himself, he loves music in all its forms – with hard rock and metal especially close to his heart.
“Our four days at Sweden Rock every year are non-negotiable. My son and I have done it together every summer since he was eight,” he says of his musical side.
Fredrik describes himself as a highly social person who values community, both with family and with friends.
“My wife and I love social life. We’ve built a fantastic environment here with many great friends. But we’re also looking forward to moving back to Lund, to build new relationships and rekindle old ones,” Fredrik concludes.
