We’re starting a new feature at SaabsUnited, People @Saab. We think it might be a good idea to know a bit more about the people behind the scenes. We’re starting out this series with a person not very well known to most people, but she is a very important person in Saab, Kristina Geers.
So who is Kristina? Well the official info from Saab tells us that she graduated from Gothenburg University and started her career at the legal department of Saab Automobile in 1997. Following stints as Assistant General Counsel at Saab Cars USA and Legal Counsel at GM Daewoo Europe, Mrs. Geers was appointed General Counsel of Saab Automobile in 2004, heading the legal department of Saab Automobile. Mrs. Geers is married, a mother of two and likes to travel and read.
As many of you might have guessed she is married to Eric Geers who is running the information department at Saab, he is Dutch and the rumor has it they met at work. Perhaps a story for RobinM: It was because of Saab? =)
At home they speak Swedish, although Eric teaches the kids to speak Dutch as well, speaking from personal experience being half-finnish it’s a good idea to know as many languages as possible =)
Very few interviews have been made with Kristina, TTela did one in early november of 2009 which was featured on SaabsUnited:
Everything came at once. A complex transfer of ownership, a long process to get a loan from the EIB and a reorganization of record size. 2009 for the longest time has been more about law than automobiles for Saab.
“There is not a year I would like to redo,” says Kristina Geers, the company’s general counsel who played a key role in all this.
It all began November 8 last year, when the first signs appeared that GM would get rid of Saab. At the beginning of 2009 there were three major challenges – cutting Saab from GM, finding a new owner and getting through a reorganization.
On the workload: “Each of them is a huge process, on top of the regular work,” she said. “We have 30-40 contracts that must be written between Saab and GM. Sure, we realized that there was a complexity, but it’s just taking it step by step.”
On the future: She does not plan to use the experiences of the Saab affair as a springboard to new jobs. “I like where I sit. And when we are separated from GM, I get a more independent role and therefore an opportunity to build our own international network. It will be very exciting.”
Kristina has several positions at Saab’s different companies:
- Board-member: SAAB Automobile AB
- Board-member: Saab Automobile Distribution AB
- Substitute for Jan-Åke Jonsson (board-member) in Saab Automobile Property AB
- Substitute for Jan-Åke Jonsson (board-member) in Saab Automobile Tools AB
It’s normal for persons in the top management to be involved in many different branches of a company but this involvement in so many of Saab’s different branches just shows her level of dedication to the company!
One thing that struck my mind as I’m reading about Kristina is that she is at the very top of a major international car-manufacturer and perhaps if she was interested she would make a very good CEO in Saab? She certainly has the legal skills needed, she’s a woman who has reached very high up in her career, been at Saab for a very long time so she certainly knows the company. She stuck with the company in both good and bad times…
A female CEO in a car-manufacturer would attract a lot of females to buy and drive a Saab, lets face the fact, about 50% of the worlds population are women and not one single woman is a similar position in the auto-industry. Sweden is the country which, more or less, the whole world looks upon for equal womens’ rights, Sweden has been an example for many other countries to live up to, so what other country than Sweden would be the perfect place to have the first female CEO of a major car company… just a thought! =)
