Leading Nordic Biotechnology Executives to Gather at the Stockholm School of Economics
Biotechnology has the potential to become one of the industrial cornerstones in the Nordic countries the coming decades. On June 30th, the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) in cooperation with SwedenBIO, the Swedish biotechnology industry organization, will host a symposium titled Issues Shaping Nordic Competitiveness in Biotechnology. The objective is to bring together leading executives and decision makers from biotechnology firms, the investment community, academia, and government to discuss how the Nordic Region may ensure its future competitiveness in the global biotechnology arena.
“Biotechnology has, at least if you count the policy announcements, become a very crowded field with almost every respectable country or region launching its own effort. The Nordic Region is better positioned than many others to be among the few locations that will succeed in the race for becoming global hot-spots in this industry. But high investments in R&D alone will not be enough – it will require a consistent strategy to further develop the unique combination of assets and skills that this region can offer to biotech companies,” says Dr. Christian Ketels, Head of Professor Michael Porter’s Research Team at Harvard Business School and one keynote speaker at the symposium.
“Competitiveness in biotechnology is, to a large extent, dependent upon a region’s ability to foster innovation through the dynamic interface between companies, universities, investors, and government actors,” says Mats Pettersson, CEO of Biovitrum AB and one of the symposium’s panelists. “This symposium is an excellent opportunity to brainstorm around what we can do to promote the continuous creation of new ideas, technologies, and processes,” continues Hans Nyctelius, CEO of SwedenBIO and symposium co-organizer.
In addition to keynote speakers Mads Övlisen, Chairman Novo Nordisk, and Professor Ketels, Harvard Business School, the symposium offers an impressive panelist line-up: Nigel Darby, VP, GE Healthcare; Laura Howard, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley (UK); Ulf Landegren, Professor, Uppsala University; Johan Christenson, Partner, HealthCap; Björn Nilsson, SVP, Biacore International AB; Peter Sellei, VP, Investor AB; and Ylva Williams, Director, ISA (Invest in Sweden Agency).
This symposium was initiated by the SSE MBA Class of 2005 and Assistant Professor Robin Teigland as part of the program’s MBA LiveSM component. “Excellent leadership is critical to any region’s competitiveness, and as one of the leading Nordic business schools, it is our responsibility to both train tomorrow’s leaders as well as to provide a forum to discuss issues of current regional economic importance,” says Professor Örjan Sölvell, Dean of the new full-time SSE MBA program.
Kontaktinformation
To register for this free symposium, please contact Helena Kvist-Åslund, Helena.aslund@hhs.se, +46 (8) 736 9598. For application and other information on SSE MBA, please contact Gunnar Stenvall, gunnar.stenvall@hhs.se, +46 (8) 736-9798, www.sse.edu/mba. The next SSE MBA Program start is August 2005.
