Azita Shariaty Khalil Abad (born 14 January 1968) is a Swedish business executive. Since 2014, she has headed the Swedish branch of the French catering and support services multinational Sodexo where she oversees operations for the Nordic countries. [1] In February 2015, the Swedish weekly business magazine Veckans Affärer named her the most powerful business woman in Sweden. [2]
Born in Iran, Shariati flew to Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1988 to visit her boyfriend, Farzin Mirsaidi, a political refugee. She decided to stay, married her boyfriend (a municipal administrator in Sigtuna), and learned to speak Swedish. She studied food economics at the University of Gothenburg and took courses in statistics, leadership and marketing at the university's business school. [3]
When her husband received a new appointment in Nynäshamn, the couple moved with their son to the Stockholm area. [4] In 1998, she came into contact with Sodexo where she was first employed as a roving restaurant manager, replacing absentee managers. She rose quickly up the company's hierarchical tree, becoming district manager, regional manager, sales director, business area manager, manager for Sweden and finally managing director of Sodexo in Sweden and administrative director in Denmark. [3]
In 2010, as Sodexo's country manager for Sweden, she launched a programme on gender equality, aiming for 50% of senior positions to be occupied by women. At the time, only 14% were women. By 2015, women represented 50% of the company's overall management and 46% of senior management. [2] In an interview with Veckans Affärer, she explained she now wanted to concentrate on other areas of equality and inclusion, especially increasing job satisfaction so as to make Sodexo one of Sweden's best employers. She also intended to extend the company's interests, perhaps doubling the number of employees. She saw new opportunities in the company's cleaning operations which, for example, could be combined with more concern for patient care in hospitals. Another area she intended to impact was the reduction of food waste. [2]
In August 2015, Azita Shariati was also listed as one of the top 20 women in business in northern Europe by the Nordic Business Report which described her as "a passionate advocate of gender balance and multiculturalism". [5]
In June 2019 she accepted the position as Group CEO of AniCura, one of Europe's leading providers of veterinary care for companion animals. AniCura is a division of the US-based company Mars Petcare.
Märta Margaretha af Ugglas is a Swedish former Moderate Party politician. She was Minister for Foreign Affairs between 1991 and 1994.
Veckans Affärer was a Swedish business magazine published on a weekly basis in Stockholm, dealing in all business-related matters both within and outside Sweden. It was in circulation between 1965 and 2019.
Dan Olof Olofsson is a Swedish entrepreneur, business leader and philanthropist.
Gothenburg Roller Derby (GBGRD) is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Gothenburg in Sweden. Founded in 2009, the league consists of one travel team- Aqwarriors - and close to 100 members, and is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).
Elisabet Höglund is a Swedish author and political journalist, working in Swedish television and radio as a reporter. She started her career at SVT, later becoming a freelance journalist. She has written a number of books including an autobiography, and has organised many exhibitions of her own paintings; she is also a former road bicycle racer. She competed in Let's Dance during 2009 on TV4, teaming up with professional dancer Tobias Karlsson. Höglund and Karlsson placed fourth in the competition.
Aida Hadžialić is a Bosnian-born Swedish politician and a member of the Social Democrats. She served as Minister for Upper Secondary School, Adult Education and Training from 3 October 2014 until her resignation on 15 August 2016. Prior to joining the government she served as deputy mayor 2010–2014 in Halmstad, Halland.
Bonnie Roupé is a Swedish-born international businesswoman and social entrepreneur, best known as the founder of Bonzun, a health company providing pregnant women and parents with unbiased, evidence-based medical information.
Bonzun is a Swedish-based company, with backing from both the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Bonzun helps pregnant women get access to information previously not available online. Their main focus is pregnancy information to the Chinese people.
Azita Raji was an Iranian-born American diplomat, banker, and philanthropist. She was nominated by President Barack Obama in October 2014 to serve as the United States ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden, and confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate in February 2016. She presented her credentials to King Carl XVI Gustaf on March 15, 2016, and completed her tour of duty on January 20, 2017.
Helena Helmersson is a Swedish business executive. Since 2010, she has been head of sustainability at the Swedish retail clothing company H&M, and since 2020 she has been its CEO.
Stina Ehrensvärd is a Swedish-American entrepreneur, innovator and industrial designer. She is the founder and CEO of Yubico and co-inventor of the YubiKey authentication device.
Charlotte Strömberg is a Swedish corporate leader. She has been CEO for the Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated and is chairman of the board for the real estate company Castellum. Strömberg is a civilekonom.
Gunilla Asker is SvP Marketing for ICA Sweden. In 2013, she was named one of the 125 most powerful businesswomen in Sweden.
AniCura AB is a European family of animal hospitals and clinics focused on primary and specialized veterinary care for companion animals. AniCura AB has operations in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Portugal, Andorra and Russia. The company comprise 450 animal hospitals and clinics that are visited by 3.6 million pets every year, mainly cats and dogs. The total number of employees is approximately 11,000 of whom 4,000 are veterinarians and half have some form of specialist qualification, either national or international specialisation.
Jane Christine Walerud Boreta is a Sweden-based entrepreneur and investor. She has been involved in over 15 startups since the early 2000s, including Klarna, Bluetail, Tobii Technology, Teclo Networks, and GraphMaTech. She is member of The Swedish Government Innovation Council.
Anna Wikland is a Swedish business executive.
Helena Maria Stjernholm née Carlsson is a Swedish business executive who since September 2015 has been CEO of Industrivärden, a major Swedish investment firm. She previously spent 17 years with IK Investment Partners where she latterly had responsibility for their Stockholm office.
Caroline Walerud is a Swedish entrepreneur and one of the co-founders of Volumental, a company that developed a cloud-based, 3D-scanning technology to create models to customize products and services.
Anna Malmhake is a Swedish business executive specialised in FMCG and consumer technology. She is a graduate of Stockholm University, and holds a bachelor's degree in social science, business and law.
Madeleine Olsson Eriksson is a Swedish gynecologist, businesswoman, and philanthropist.
