SNAPSHOT: Catrin Gustavsson

Södra Cell has a new President. Catrin Gustavsson, previously President of Södra Innovation, took up her position on September 1st, replacing Magnus Björkman who will enjoy a few months on sabbatical leave before taking up a new strategic role within Södra. Henric Brage takes on the role as interim President of Södra Innovation.

Catrin joined Södra in 2014 as a Technical Process Manager at Värö at a time when the mill was doubling its production capacity during a major three-year rebuild. She moved on to Innovation in 2017 where she has been involved in a wide range of products for both new and existing markets.

Her career in the industry spans 25 years with positions at Billerud Korsnäs, Stora Enso and Kvaerner Pulping (now part of Valmet) before Södra.

Reflections

In my previous roles, I travelled extensively in Asia and South America which was useful insight into those production regions that we now compete with. I’m hoping that my broad experience, leadership skills and technical expertise in kraft pulping will mean that I can make a meaningful contribution in terms of our long-term thinking and future competitiveness.

“We are already very competitive today. My job now is to ensure that we stay that way. We need vision to harness the potential of AI, for example, but also to recruit the best talent in the business, since it is still people who will secure our position as a market leader in the years to come. We are up against the big producers of South America and Asia who often have lower production costs per tonne of pulp, so we need to seek new ways of making the most of our resources, from product and process efficiency to hiring and developing the best staff.

“Many of the challenges ahead are bigger than any individual company, not least where sustainability is concerned. I’m looking forward to meeting as many customers and other links in the value chain as possible so we can discuss ways of working together to reach our sustainability goals and make a real difference to a greener future.”