The man behind the carton

HEJ SBC Member!

Who are you?

My name is Mats Andersson, Projects Sales Director at Tetra Pak Greater Middle East & Africa. I am from a small town in south Sweden which I left almost 20 years ago when I joined Tetra Pak. I like hunting, sailing, reading books and listening to music when I am not spending time with my family or colleagues at work. Back in Sweden I have a small farm which offers a nice contrast to the sometimes hectic lifestyle in Dubai. As a person I am outgoing and full of energy, I love challenges but can be impatient.

What made you join Tetra Pak, which has been part of your life for 19 years?

I joined Tetra Pak as a commissioning engineer, a position that offered traveling to interesting places and a great level of freedom to carry out the job. I also knew it’s a large family business which could offer great development opportunities and an international career, if you work hard. That was then, and still is, very appealing attributes in my view.

Mats Andersson, Projects Sales Director at Tetra Pak Greater Middle East & Africa.

What are some of the highlights you have been part of at Tetra Pak?

I have been blessed with many interesting and rewarding events during my time at Tetra Pak, but one journey that stands out was when I came to Iran back in 2004. We have been present there since the 1950’s but started to see a big growth by 2003. I had just completed my first mission in Pakistan and was offered to move to Iran to set up a local technical organisation, supporting our customers operations and our sales team to further grow the business. We started almost from scratch, recruiting sales and service engineers while operating with a very entrepreneurial mindset and always being close to our customers. We sold a new project every week and we grew the organisation to become one of the best performing teams in our company. I ended up spending close to 7 years in Iran and many of the junior staff hired during this time today holds senior positions within our company across the world. There are few people of my generation that gets the chance of experiencing such journey and looking back at this time, I realise how it has shaped me both as a person and in my professional capacity.

You have worked in many countries in the Middle East. What would you recommend to someone who’s newly graduated and would like to follow a similar geographical path to you?

Middle East and Africa offers great business potential and many countries in the region are great places to visit or live in. My personal experience is only positive, I have always felt welcome, been well cared for and I have learnt a lot about things I couldn’t imagine when I first joined Tetra Pak. For sure the region holds challenges which are different to those in Sweden our other parts of the world. But I believe we are made to overcome challenges and bridge gaps and by doing so this region can be very rewarding, both professionally and socially. The need and desire for innovation and digital transformation combined with a feeling of pride and optimism for the future is prominent in our region and offers an excellent basis for Swedish companies to do business and I would encourage young professionals to consider Middle East and Africa when seeking international career challenges and opportunities!

If you hadn’t chosen to take your career with Tetra Pak then what do you think you had been doing today? Any dreams you have?

I was doing my military service in the late 1990s before joining Tetra Pak and its likely I would have continued on that track. Its very different from what I ended up doing with Tetra Pak, but also involves interaction with people from different backgrounds and international opportunities. I am however happy the way things turned out and I have no regrets when looking in the rear-view mirror!

Looking forward, we are committing to further grow and develop our business in this region, dormant markets shall be activated and new challenges managed, so I expect to stick around for another couple of years if all goes to plan. However, the farm back in Sweden is waiting for me and at some point in time I will go back and enjoy the shifting seasons, the silence and the feeling of being one with nature. That’s my dream!    

Thank you Mats for sharing your story. We hope that one day your dream comes true.

Mats Andersson: LinkedIn
Tetra Pak: https://www.tetrapak.com/

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