Investor AB

Investor AB

Investor is the leading owner of Nordic-based international companies, founded by the Wallenberg family a hundred years ago. It owns significant minority or majority interests in high quality companies.

Investor is a Patron of the European Corporate Governance Research Foundation (ECGRF) and as such, has Patron Membership status of the ECGI. For more information about ECGRF click here.

Corporate governance at Investor

Corporate governance practices refer to the decision-making systems through which owners, directly or indirectly, control a company. For Investor, which is an industrial holding company, the business model of active ownership is to create value in companies. For this, good corporate governance is fundamental. This applies to Investor’s own organization, as well as to the companies in which Investor is an owner.

Swedish Code of Corporate Governance
Swedish Code of Corporate Governance (“the Code”) is based on the “comply or explain” principle. According to the principle, a company that applies the Code may deviate from individual rules but is required to explain why. A company shall issue, in connection with the annual report, a special report on corporate governance issues. Investor's Corporate Governance Report has been prepared in accordance with the Code and the Swedish Annual Accounts Act.

The Swedish Corporate Governance Board
Investor's corporate governance practices are regulated by Swedish legislation, in particular the Swedish Companies Act, and the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm AB Rule Book for Issuers. Swedish industry's selfregulation practices are also highly relevant to Swedish corporate governance practices, as the Swedish Corporate Governance Board was established to protect and further develop the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance.

Corporate governance at Investor
Applicable external legislation, regulations and recommendations, as well as internal policies, instructions and the Articles of Association all form the basis of Investor’s corporate governance – from shareholders, the Board and President to company Management.

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is the company’s highest decision-making authority and serves as the forum through which Investor’s shareholders exercise their influence over the business.

The Nomination Committee is to promote the interests of all shareholders and is responsible for proposing decisions to the AGM on electoral and remuneration issues, such as a proposal for the composition of the Board.

The external auditor appointed by the AGM audits the Board and the President’s administration of the company.

On behalf of Investor’s owners, the Board oversees the Management of the company’s affairs. The Board is headed by the Chairman Jacob Wallenberg. The Board appoints the President, who is charged with carrying out the day-to-day management of the company in accordance with the Board’s instructions. The division of responsibilities between the Board and President is specified in Instructions and Rules of Procedures that are approved by the Board each year.

To increase the efficiency and depth of the Board’s work on certain issues, it has established three Committees: the Audit Committee, the Remuneration Committee and the Finance and Risk Committee.

Internal policies and instructions constitute important control documents in all parts of the company and clarify responsibilities and powers within areas such as information security, compliance and risk. The Management Group actively works to engage all employees in developing the corporate culture and living by the values expressed through it. 

Codes adopted