Percy Barnevik (born 1941) is a Swedish business executive, probably best known as the former CEO of ASEA (1980-1987) and Asea Brown Boveri (1988-1996) in Zurich. For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... ASEA (Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget) was a Swedish industry company. ... ABB, formerly Asea Brown Boveri, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, operating mainly in the power and automation technology areas. ...

He was born in Simrishamn in Skåne in Southern Sweden, as the youngest of three children. His parents operated a small printing company. Barnevik says his childhood experiences still influence his decision making process. Barnevik was educated at the Gothenburg School of Economics and Commercial Law (part of Göteborg University) and at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Simrishamn is a municipality and city in Scania in southernmost Sweden. ... The Flag of SkÃ¥ne (also known as Scania in English) is the southernmost historical province (landskap) and County (Län) of Sweden. ... The Gothenburg School of Economics The School of Business, Economics and Law at Göteborg University or Handelshögskolan vid Göteborgs universitet is a business school at the Gothenburg University in Gothenburg, Sweden. ... Gothenburg University, or Göteborgs universitet, is a university in Gothenburg, Sweden. ...

He started his professional career in the Swedish company Datema, but soon moved to Sandvik, because of the better career opportunities. In Sandvik, where between the years 1969 and 1970, he hired over 150 people, his employees say "he has some kind of magic in him - you just can't refuse his offer." He developed unique relationships with many of his colleagues which helped him to improve the communication. In 1975, he was promoted to the position of CEO of American office of Sandvik, Sandvik Steel. Within the next four years he tripled the revenues, grossing $250 million, and turned the company profitable. During his work in the United States, Sandvik started competing against the industry leaders, such as General Electric or U.S. Steel. Sandvik is a Swedish company founded in 1862 by Göran Fredrik Göransson at Sandviken. ... This article is about the American company. ... The United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States and Central Europe. ...

In 1979 he joined ASEA, a leading Swedish heavy industrial company based in Västerås. In 1987 he decided to merge with its Swiss competitor - Brown Boveri Ltd. It was the largest merger at that time. In Zurich he held the position of CEO of ASEA 1980-87, was CEO of Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) 1988-1996. VästerÃ¥s [vÉ›stÉ™roːs] is a city in central Sweden, located on the shore of Lake Mälaren in the province Västmanland, some 100 km west of Stockholm. ... Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the job of having the ultimate executive responsibility or authority within an organization or corporation. ... ABB, formerly Asea Brown Boveri, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, operating mainly in the power and automation technology areas. ...

Barnevik's reign as CEO of ABB was marked by a steady erosion of the ABB stock market price and staggering losses. When Barnevik stepped down as chairman of ABB, he left with a pension and benefit package of 148 Million Swiss Francs. ABB was close to bankruptcy, and angry investors demanded a review of this "golden handshake". Barnevik eventually paid back half of the money [1].

As the scandal unfolded, Barnevik was sacked from the board of Investor AB[2]. Investor AB is a Swedish investment company, founded in 1916 and still controlled by the Wallenberg family. ...

Since 1996, Barnevik serves as director on the General Motors Board of Directors [3]. General Motors Corporation, also known as GM, is the worlds second largest auto company by sales revenue as of the first half of 2007 [1] (behind Toyota Motor Corporation). ...

From 1999 to 2005, Barnevik served as Chairman and Director of AstraZeneca [4]. AstraZeneca PLC (LSE: AZN, NYSE: AZN), is a large Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company formed on 6 April 1999 by the merger of Swedish Astra AB and British Zeneca Group. ...

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