Cristina Mayville Stenbeck, born 27 September 1977 in New York City, United States, is a Swedish business woman and investor. She is a major shareholder and former executive chairman of Kinnevik AB, one of the largest investment companies in Sweden.[2][3]
Cristina Stenbeck | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 27 September 1977 New York City, New York, United States |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Occupation | Investor |
| Spouse | Alexander Fitzgibbons |
| Children | 5 children |
| Parent(s) | Jan Stenbeck Merrill MacLeod Stenbeck[1] |
Early life edit
Stenbeck was born in New York City as the eldest daughter of Jan Stenbeck (1942-2002), a Swedish industrialist and entrepreneur, and her American mother, Merrill MacLeod Stenbeck.[1] Her parents had three other children, Hugo, Sophie and Max Stenbeck.[2] Stenbeck is the granddaughter of Hugo Stenbeck (1890 – 1977), a Swedish industrialist and lawyer who was one of the co-founders of the family company, Kinnevik AB.
Stenbeck attended St. Andrew's School in Delaware (where she later served as a trustee),[4] and graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., with a Bachelor of Science in 2000 at age 22.[5][6][7]
Career edit
Stenbeck's business career began in 1997 after she joined the board of Invik & Co, a financial services company supporting the insurance, fund management and banking industry. Stenbeck became the vice chairman of Kinnevik AB in 2003, later becoming chairman in 2007.[8] In 2016 she stepped down as chairman of Kinnevik to concentrate on her investor role.[9]
For the next decade after 2003, Stenbeck made successful changes at Kinnevik AB, consolidating the ownership of the group, whilst simplifying the corporate structure. She also divested peripheral businesses in order to reduce leverage and increase transparency of the company.[7][10][11]
Her leadership has also seen the group's global network expand; the Kinnevik Group now operate in more than 80 countries in the communication, entertainment, media and e-commerce sectors, with well-known brands like Tigo, Tele2, Viasat, and Zalando forming part of the firm's reach.[12]
Tigo, Viasat and Zalando have since spun out of Kinevik AB and are independent of Kinevik AB.
In early 2014, she was appointed chairman of the board at the online fashion retail platform Zalando.[13] She also joined the board of Spotify. She served as the Chairperson on the Board of Zalando (2019-2023)[14] and as a non-executive director on the Board of Spotify for 6 years (2017-2023).[15]
Honors and awards edit
In April 2012, Stenbeck was awarded the Swedish Royal Patriotic Society Business Medal for outstanding entrepreneurship,[16] while in November 2012, she won the Golden Gavel for her leadership as chairman of a listed company.[17]
Personal life edit
Stenbeck has been married to the English businessman Alexander Fitzgibbons since September 2005. She has five children. She was named 2016 European Manager of the Year by European Business Press (EBP).[18]
References edit
- ^ a b "Saving the family empire". Fokus. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ^ a b "Cristina Stenbeck axlar pappas mantel". DN.se. 13 May 2003. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ^ "Cristina Stenbeck of Sweden's Kinnevik". Bloomberg. 24 June 2010. Archived from the original on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ^ "St. Andrew's Celebrates 81st Commencement". St. Andrew's School. 26 May 2014. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ "Heiress defies skeptics with tech savvy, fashion sense". CNBC. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
- ^ "Stenbeck Profile". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ^ a b "Cristina Stenbeck, Kinnevik – Winner of the 2012 Golden Gavel – Listed companies". GuldKlubban. 2012. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ^ "Beyond the family boardroom". Financial Times. 11 March 2012. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ^ Milne, Richard (3 November 2016). "Kinnevik's Cristina Stenbeck steps down as chairman". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
- ^ "A Swedish heiress confounds skeptics". New York Times. 31 October 2005. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ^ "KINNEVIK FÖRVÄRVAR EMESCO OCH STÄRKER ÄGANDET I MTG OCH TELE2" (PDF). Investment AB hugin.info. 23 April 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ^ "Facket ska granska svenskägda Millicoms sponsring av militärkupp". Fria.nu. 20 August 2009. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ^ "Zalando transforms into a Societas Europaea". Zalando. May 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ^ "Zalando gets new head of supervisory board". Zalando. 11 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
- ^ "SEC Filing" (PDF). SEC. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "Cristina Stenbeck får Näringslivsmedalj för framstående entreprenörskap". Cision.com. 25 April 2012. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ^ "Camfil Vice Chairman receives Swedish award". Camfil.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ^ "EBP European Manager of the Year awarded to Kinnevik's Steinbeck". 2 November 2022.