Entrepreneur

I am a member of the Club of Rome, a fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Science and a fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Science. I call myself a philosopher in the original sense of the word: someone who loves knowledge and tries to see the big picture. I try to bridge many academic fields without, of course, being an expert in any of them; I search for the connections that form the evolving whole. You find an example of my thinking in the articles here and here; or in my books The Market Myth, The Nordic Secret or The World We Create.

From an historical and material perspective, the majority of humanity is doing better than ever, but at what cost? And can it go on? Urgent climate issues, economic instability and a widespread lack of security and meaning is spreading across the globe. Society is fostering loneliness, anxiety, depression, and terrorism, while distracting us from finding deeper forms of value and purpose.

My philosophical take on the world is that it is not enough to simply try to ‘solve problems’. Given the complexity of inter-related problems that all have elements relating to human thought and emotion, we need to evolve and adapt – that’s the challenge within the challenge. I believe we need to cultivate human capacities – for instance mental complexity, systems thinking, empathy - through which we can honour ecological constraints while also creating societies that enable us to thrive and live a meaningful and prosperous lives.

These are the reasons that I have launched the various initiatives that help people grow, such as the Ekskäret Foundation, and the youth organisation Protus among many others. I challenge myself every day in my effort to help promote these changes faster. I am a co-founders of the Fri Tanke Förlag, a publishing house dedicated to promoting challenging and ground-breaking literature which crosses the borders between science, politics, philosophy and existential issues.

I grew up on a farm outside Borås in Western Sweden and spent most of my adult life in cities, first in Stockholm, then in Geneva and now in London where I live today. Despite a modest background, I decided to pursue academic studies in mathematics and theoretical physics. I loved trying to understand the world from a theoretical and empirical perspective and would gladly have dedicated my life to science, but I wanted to change it too, and I became an entrepreneur.

In the first part of my professional life I worked in information technology, investment banking and property development, and started several companies and organisations. I founded Investment Banking Partners AB and was chairman of EFG Investment Bank. I am proud of what I have accomplished in business and it was an exhilarating journey, but it also changed me. I have come to see the world in a different way.

The main change was becoming more acutely conscious of what my own personal drivers are, and more conscious of the motivations and passions that I wanted to define the second half of my life. I am still animated by the entrepreneurial spirit, but feel drawn to understanding the relationship between our inner worlds and the major social and ecological challenges of our time. After many years in business I now work with social entrepreneurs and thought leaders, supporting initiatives pursuing the greater good that are grounded in research from natural and social sciences.

These activities, along with my three grown up children, give my life meaning and purpose. I feel blessed, but also focussed. My sense is that the world is at a precarious juncture and the combined challenge of understanding the world and acting effectively has never been more exacting, important and fascinating. I am resolved to do what I can to help build momentum for positive change in the world.

With my background as a theoretical physicist I have great confidence in science and follow cutting-edge research in a range of disciplines with a particular interest in cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology and sociology. My impression is that we have the knowledge we need to find meaningful paths through the challenges of today's complex society and overwhelming flow of information. But sadly, very little of this research reaches beyond academic circles and therefore is rarely used to help us develop a better world.

There are myriad insights in ecology, education, economics and wellbeing through which we can create better functioning societies, where everybody could thrive and lead prosperous and meaningful lives. For our children's future as well as ours, I want to help initiatives that are at the forefront of the conscious development of societies. We need to be mindful of emergence and complexity - there is only so much we can do - but let's find the courage to take an intentional stance towards the world we create together.