Katarina Thorslund, who steered Sweden’s Alecta through one of its most turbulent times last summer, is to retire from the occupational pensions giant in March, the SEK1.3trn (€115bn) firm announced this morning.
Thorslund is currently deputy chief executive officer of Alecta, and its head of customer relations. She is also chair of the real estate subsidiary Alecta Fastigheter.
Peder Hasslev, CEO of Alecta, said: “Katarina has an incredibly broad and deep knowledge of Alecta’s operations, the pension system and the world of collective-bargaining parties.”
“Her long experience has been very important for Alecta, and for me as the new CEO during a challenging period,” he said.
Alecta said it has begun the process of recruiting a replacement for Thorslund.
Thorslund took over as acting CEO of Alecta when Magnus Billing was fired in April 2023 in the wake of massive losses the Swedish pensions institution sustained on investments in three niche US banks.
She then stepped back from that temporary role as the new permanent CEO Hasslev started work last September.
“In addition to all her competence, she has stood for continuity and stability in a way that has been invaluable,” Hasslev said.
“She will be missed by me and many others, but at the same time I have great respect for her choosing to retire and enjoy that stage in life,” he added.
Thorslund said in Alecta’s announcement today: “I have had some very nice years at Alecta, with exciting challenges and fantastic colleagues, and am now looking forward to a new exciting chapter in life.”
She has worked at Alecta, including under its pre-2001 name Svenska Personal-Pensionskassan (SPP), for a total of around 35 years.
She started her career at SPP in 1986 as an actuary at group manager level, then moved to Swedish insurance and pensions group Folksam in 1999, where she was chief actuary, before returning to Alecta in 2003.
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