Why I joined Mozilla’s board of directors
I first started working with digitalization and the internet when I became CEO of Scandinavia Online in 1998. It was the leading online service in the Nordics and we were pioneers and idealists. I learnt a lot from that experience: the endless opportunities, the tricky business models and the extreme ups and downs in hypes and busts of evaluation. I also remember Mozilla during that time as a beacon of competence and idealism, as well as a champion for the open internet as a force for good.
Since those early days I have worked in the media industry, telecoms and interest organizations. Today I serve as CEO of Schibsted, the leading Nordic-based media company (which initially started Scandinavia Online back in the days). We own and operate around 70 digital consumer brands across media, online marketplaces, financial services, price comparison services and technology ventures. Within the global industry, we were known as one of the few traditional media companies that adapted to the digital world early on by disrupting our business model and gaining a position in the digital landscape early.
I am deeply engaged in public policy and I serve as president of the European Tech Alliance (EUTA), comprising the leading tech companies of Europe. We work to influence and improve the EU’s digital regulation and to ensure an optimal breeding ground for European digital entrepreneurship. This work is essential as our societies depend upon technology being a force for good, something that cannot be taken for granted, nor is it always the case.
I take great honor in serving on the board of Mozilla to help promote its vision and work to diversify and expand to new audiences and services. It is exciting to serve on the board of a US-based company with such strong roots and that has been an inspiration for me these past 25 years.
The process of meeting board members and management has strengthened my impression of a very capable and engaged team. To build on past successes is never easy, but in Mozilla’s case it is all the more important — not just for Mozilla, but for the health of the internet and thus our global community. I look very much forward to being part of, and contributing to, that tremendous endeavor.