Jörgen Dahlström joined Mercodia as new CEO as of the 1st of October of 2021. We spoke to him about his background in life science, but more importantly about his desire to drive Mercodia forward.
Jörgen Dahlström in brief
Nationality: Swedish
Year of birth: 1969
Education: MSc in Biochemistry, PhD in Medical Sciences, Immunology, and an MBA
Family status: Married, two children
Leisure time: I like cooking, this is my new way of doing “lab work”. Traveling with my family (visited more than 30 countries), spending time with family and friends. I also like British shoes, Italian clothes, French wines, and Scandinavian furniture.
You come from a CEO position at Svar Life Sciences, a company that you have been with for almost 7 years. What made you want to join Mercodia?
“Mercodia is a very exciting company, with several untapped opportunities to expand its business, both by market expansion, strategic partnerships, and innovation. I am excited and honored to take on the role to lead the company into the future. Further, Mercodia is founded around a strong family culture that has been shaped over the 30 years of the company’s existence. Thus, it could become a delicate task to develop the company, while keeping important values and the #mercodiafamily feeling. However, I believe that the Mercodia culture is an asset when bringing the company to the next level. Together we will create a very strong company, prepared to face future challenges, and exploit future opportunities.”
You have had a long career in different companies in the life science field. What do you do to keep feeling inspired?
“I get inspired and motivated every day by never stop learning and always being curious to develop and explore new innovations and opportunities.”
With you as the new CEO, Mercodia takes a step into the future. What are your visions for the company, short term, and long term?
“I want to unleash the full power of Mercodia’s capacity to become an important player in the life science industry globally. In the short run, this means that we will double our revenue and increase our profit to a level where we can start to invest even more in bringing innovation to the market. The longer-term goal is to become a company with a turnover of at least one billion Swedish kronor and expand the portfolio of products and services beyond what Mercodia is offering today. Further, I want us to be viewed as the natural partner for start-ups and smaller companies who seek a business partner that can help develop and commercialize their products and services. In this is a way Mercodia and the partners can drive and commercialize innovation faster and together create a stronger position for providing solutions improving the health and clinical outcome of patients.”
Being a leader can sometimes be stressful, what are your best tips to cope with stress?
“My advice would be to view every problem as an opportunity and focus your energy on things that you can influence. Further, I constantly remind myself why I am in the business in the first place, – finding ways to help improve the health of patients. Taken together those things motivate me and help me manage the stress. I enjoy life every single day!”
Uppsala has been your (and Mercodia’s) hometown for many years now, what do you love the most about the city?
“Uppsala has most of what I want from a “hometown”, it has a very international environment despite its smaller footprint, “the 15 minutes city” and it is very close to nature. Uppsala is also perfectly located near Arlanda, an international airport, which connects to the rest of the world. My family and I love to stroll around in the woods around Uppsala and in particular the area around “Fjällnora”. We often bring a picnic basket filled with goodies, to enjoy in the nature!”
Thank you, Jörgen!
