OLOF PERSSON APPOINTED NEW VOLVO CEO

17.03.2011 / Stockholm - Dubai - Cairo /

With effect from September 1st 2011, the Board of Directors of AB Volvo has decided to appoint Olof Persson (46) - currently President of Volvo Construction Equipment - as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of the Volvo Group when Leif Johansson, as announced previously, retires.

As of May 1st, Olof Persson will become Executive Vice President and deputy CEO and work in parallel with Leif Johansson.

“During his time at Volvo Aero and Volvo Construction Equipment, Olof Persson has gained the right experience and demonstrated the characteristics that make him highly suited to take over as President of AB Volvo and CEO of the Volvo Group and replace Leif Johansson who has strategically transformed and grown the Volvo Group while maintaining the core values of the company,” says Louis Schweitzer, Chairman of the Volvo Board.

“Naturally, it is both an honour and a challenge to be provided with the opportunity to lead Sweden’s largest company,” says Olof Persson. “Volvo is a company with tremendously knowledgeable and committed employees, with a unique culture and with many strong and exciting brands and I am truly looking forward to the task.”

The Board of Directors of AB Volvo has reviewed a large number of both internal and external candidates for some time with a view to identifying a replacement for Leif Johansson. Olof Persson was chosen due, among other factors, to his experience in managing large global organizations and to his successes as president of two of the Volvo Group’s subsidiaries.

“Olof Persson has performed remarkably well, first as President of Volvo Aero and then of Volvo Construction Equipment,” says Louis Schweitzer. “During his time at Volvo Construction Equipment in the midst of the financial crisis, he succeeded in restructuring the company and making it one of the most successful in its industry, in terms of both profitability and size – this was no small achievement.”

As of May 1st, Olof Persson will become Executive Vice President of AB Volvo as well as Deputy CEO during the period until the end of August. Olof Persson’s successor as President of Volvo Construction Equipment will be announced in the near future.