Mellby Gård
WINNER OF THE 2017 GOLDEN GAVEL – PRIVATE COMPANIES
The jury’s announcement
Following a long and successful career leading large, stock exchange listed companies, Rune Andersson has built up a family-owned conglomerate of businesses, ranging from agriculture to retail and manufacturing. He has been Chair of the Board since 2013, with members of the next generation of his family as CEO and members of the board.
Rune Andersson’s chairing of the company has brought greater professionalism to the work of the board, with clear divisions between the roles of owner, chair and chief executive officer and a uncompromising focus on the best interests of the company.
No decisions are taken “in the corridors” these days. Rune is an owner with a long-term and strongly financial perspective who leads the work of the board with a clear focus on business intelligence, strategy and profitability. With his social skills and ability to listen to people, he also creates a positive climate which enables the full competence of the entire board to be utilised effectively.
Chairing one’s own wholly-owned company, with members of one’s own family in senior positions, and ensuring that the board functions as an independent decision-making body as stipulated by the Swedish Companies Act requires a high level of professionalism and the ability to distinguish between different roles in the running of the company. Rune Andersson’s fulfilment of these requirements can serve as an example and model for corporate governance of large non-listed, owner-led companies.
Fact file
Rune Andersson
Chair of the Board of Mellby Gård.
Educational background
Master of Business Administration, Chalmers Institute of Technology
Other current directorships
Chair of the Board of Eribo AB, Örmo Skogar AB, Cale Holding AB and Excalibur Asset Management AB. Board member of Optik Smart Eyes AB, Lund Fashion AB and Roxtec Holding AB.
About the company
Company name
Mellby Gård AB
Domicile
Malmö, Sweden
Mellby Gård owns and manages a broad range of businesses. Mellby Gård AB is a parent company and a conglomerate mainly consisting of 12 subsidiary groups and 5 associated company groups whose operations are conducted in various markets, industries and geographies, including retail, manufacturing, agriculture, construction and separate part that includes investment and securities management.
The portfolio consists of subsidiaries and associated companies. Subsidiaries include Roxtec, which develops and markets sealing solutions for cable and pipe applications; Smarteyes International, which is a chain of opticians focused on fashion and design operating in Sweden, Germany and Denmark; and Flash, a chain of women’s fashion stores, comprising 78 stores in Sweden, Finland and Denmark. The associated companies include KappAhl, which is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in Stockholm and of which Mellby Gård owns approximately 20.51 per cent, and Student Consulting, which is the Nordic region’s leading resourcing and competence consultancy for young people, of which Mellby Gård owns 32 per cent.
| Key figures | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| Turnover (MSEK) | 4 640 | 4 617 | 5 496 | 5 684 |
| Profit after financial items (MSEK) | 562 | 793 | 1 210 | 1 019 |
| Number of employees | 1 544 | 1 703 | 2 026 | 2 313 |
