Tell us a little bit about your work at the Stockholm University School of Business.
- I am the Teaching Group Convenor in Finance, which makes me responsible for quality and continuity in the range of courses that we offer within this field. I am responsible for staff performance, which involves meeting and supporting colleagues within finance, recruiting new staff, and keeping myself updated with everything that is going on within the subject field. I teach Real Estate Management, Corporate Finance, and a new course where we integrate External Accounting with Corporate Finance. Other than this, I am involved in our EMBA program and I am responsible for assembling the faculty’s Advisory Board.
What is an Advisory Board, and what does it do?
- In short, the Advisory Board aims at increasing and creating further collaboration between the faculty and the corporate and business world as well as the public sector. The aim is to come up with ideas that strengthen the faculty’s ability to be competitive in the future. My task also involves recruiting key people from the corporate, industry and business world. Together with the Head of Department and other members of the board, I also discuss what matters the Advisory Board should work with in the future. We have been really involved in creating the Economists Career Centre and we are now aiming at continuing to integrate businesses and corporations in a partnership program which aims at strengthening the bond between academia and the business world.
Find out more about the Advisory Board (in Swedish)
What is it like working as a lecturer and teaching at the university?
It is a varied and dynamic job as I have the benefit of teaching both young students as well as those who already have been working a couple of years in the business and corporate world. Teaching in two languages, English and Swedish, as well as the fact that the job is global, makes it very dynamic.
- I have been working as a university lecturer since I defended my thesis some 10 years ago. My dissertation focused on values in real estate and the crises at the end of the 90s and I developed the course in real estate economy, focusing on methods of valuation. It is an added bonus to be able to teach the subjects that I myself am doing research on. For a few years I have been researching corporate control and business steering, focusing on how international investors act as shareholders within the Swedish companies that are listed on the stock exchange.
What does business administration mean to you?
- Business administration translates into the economy of enterprise, whether this involves finding the best methods to optimize marketing, selling products or services, or being knowledgeable in how the company should be organized, financed and valued. In order to do this, you must to be good at communicating. Firstly, the business leader must be able to convey the company’s vision to all its employees, allowing each employee to comprehend how their particular work adds value to the company’s profitability and success. Customers of today demand a lot from the goods and services that they purchase and thus companies not only should plan on increasing long term profits but should also focus on highlighting how the company is being run to high ethical and environmental standards.
What is the most enjoyable aspect about your work and what are your strong points?
- It is always an exciting challenge to lecture students, whether there are 200 or 20 students in the auditorium. Each time a lecture is held, something new and unpredictable occurs, even though the course may have been held for several years. There is always room for improvement before the beginning of each course in order to make them come alive and hold a higher standard.
- My strong point is that I am curious and view each potential change as a challenge and a possibility to further evolve myself! I enjoy being on the stage and talking to a lot of people and therefore I am comfortable holding lectures or leading seminars. The most fun part is the variation in the work itself, as I described above. The variation is found amongst the students, the different languages found and the global aspect. Of course, having a certain “flow” in my research certainly encourages me. The sense of fulfillment when a piece falls into place or when the writing almost comes automatically is extremely satisfying.