Originally published in Svenska Dagbladet by Björn Jeffery, November 21, 2025
The most anticipated CEO departure on the Swedish stock market has begun. With Georgi Ganev leaving Kinnevik, the company is left with a large cash pile, a questionable portfolio, and a long list of question marks. Now Cristina Stenbeck must show her hand.
The warning signs began to appear as early as August 2024. Kinnevik had completed the sale of Tele2, one of the investment company’s few stable, large holdings. The result was a large bag of money — 13 billion kronor in total. CEO Georgi Ganev described the deal at the time as having been done in the spirit of Jan Stenbeck.
The foundation of the old Kinnevik was gone. Less clear was what would replace it. When 6.4 billion kronor was distributed to shareholders instead of being deployed into new companies, the obvious question arose: why does an investment company exist if it does not want to make investments?
It is easy to single out Ganev in a situation like this. As CEO for the past eight years, he bears ultimate responsibility for the business. But the reality is likely more complex than that.
One level up, Ganev has been working with a mixed board. Cross-investments were made between Kinnevik and board member Harald Mix’s own initiatives at Vargas. The distance between investing over 1 billion kronor in an attempt to produce green steel in Boden and managing Norwegian food deliveries could hardly be greater. Ganev made the investments — but the board approved them.
The board also had an obvious vacancy: the company’s owner. Not until May of this year did Cristina Stenbeck return as chair of Kinnevik’s board. Now, six months later, Ganev is leaving. That is no coincidence.
But bringing the company to this long-awaited position of clarity took too long. Kinnevik drifted when governance was not strong enough. What did the owners say during this period? Which proposed investments were voted down by the board? We do not know today. But one thing is clear: Ganev was not alone in steering Kinnevik to this position. But he has had to be the public face of it, on his own.
As he now steps down, it is therefore time for others to step forward. Cristina Stenbeck, gavel in hand, needs to show her cards. What does she want? What kind of company should Kinnevik be in 2026 and beyond?
The upcoming CEO recruitment is therefore absolutely central. The list of people who would want to sit as top executive at one of Sweden’s most legendary listed companies is long. Interest is not lacking. The challenge is therefore less about finding candidates and more about finding someone who wants the same thing as the owners — and who can both articulate the vision to the market and deliver results on the ground.
The situation for the incoming chief is in many ways ideal. The discount to net asset value sits at around 40 percent, meaning confidence in existing holdings is low. You start from the bottom — and from there, there is reasonably only one way to move. The cash pile is well-stocked following the Tele2 sale. What was not distributed to shareholders is available for new investments. A new CEO can, without nostalgia, clean up the portfolio and sharpen the focus. Becoming the new CEO of Kinnevik would be an extraordinarily difficult job — but the conditions are favourable.
But a CEO alone cannot, as noted, turn this ship around by themselves. The owners must speak out clearly about what they want and expect. The board must believe in the strategy and dare to follow through when hundreds of millions in new investments are required. That is easier said than done.
Kinnevik is now initiating what will become Sweden’s most closely watched recruitment process. Everyone knows the legacy of Jan Stenbeck. These are big shoes to fill for the next person to take over. But more important still is being clear about the direction in which those shoes are supposed to walk.
