French-Swedish Business Summit 4th of December 2023

Program

14.00

Welcome by Gïta Paterson, President Swedish Chamber of Commerce in France

Opening remarks by HE Håkan Åkesson, Ambassador of Sweden to France

High-Level Keynotes

Roland Lescure, French Minister Delegate for Industry

Håkan Jevrell, State Secretary for Foreign Trade

14:30

Round table panel I

Setting the foundation of competitivness by innovation and collaboration

Historically, Europe was the birthplace of some of the 19th and 20th century’s most extraordinary innovations. Europe is still home to many science-led universities and world leading companies in various industrial sectors. However, globalization, political and societal changes have developed into a strenuous competitive situation for Europe with its democratic values and free trade endeavours. What are the principal European challenges for rebuilding competitivity? What are the strengths and weaknesses for building competitive European industries? What are the French-Swedish synergies for R&D and innovation in Europe? Do we have the necessary innovation and R&D clusters in Europe? How can France and Sweden accelerate European innovation collaborations in strategic fields such as aerospace, mobility, AI, cyber security and energy with examples of best practices and implementation of collaborations.

Moderator: Linda Nyberg

Panelists

Katarina Björklund, Vice-President - Head of EU & NATO Innovation SAAB

Marc Fontaine - CEO Helsing France

Jacob Stedman - CEO Blykalla

Dan Zethraeus - Founder and Chief Technology Officer Elonroad  

15.20

Coffee Break

15.45

Round table panel II

Talents, competences and skills for competitiveness

What are the needs of industries and businesses for building a competitive Europe in terms of talents and skills? What are the needs for new technology developments related to energy resource developments, AI, deep tech, security etc ? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the European educational systems? How can we increase the talent pool by re-skilling and up-skilling our workforce ? What measurements are needed for an adequate educational training and an intensified co-operation between academia and the industry? How can we advance integration and retention based on the Swedish-French social values ?

Moderator: Linda Nyberg

Panelists

Thierry Coulhon - Acting Chairman of the Board, Institut Polytechnique de Paris

Sara Wallin - CEO Chalmers Ventures

Pär Olsson - Head of the Physics Department at KTH Royal Institute of Technology

16.30

Round table panel III

Resilience for an industrial sustainable transformation

European executives are facing a challenging environment. A complex geopolitical situation, the Hamas -Israel conflict, the enduring challenges associated with the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and a rising inflation are strongly impacting Europe. Significant government investments to foster innovation and growth, such as the US Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and other non-European countries investments in green manufacturing are challenging the competitive position of our continent. How should a resilient European industrial strategy for a green transformation be conducted (innovation, infrastructure investments, reindustrialization, regulatory adaptation and harmonisation, state aid framework, critical raw materials ….)

Moderator: Linda Nyberg

Panelists

Jörgen Sjöstedt - Senior Vice President, Europe South & West Volvo Trucks

Mats Gunnarsson - Executive Vice President and Head of Commercial Operations at Scania

Jean-Jérôme Semat - Managing Director Alfa Laval France & NWA

Christian Leon - Head of Ericsson France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Algeria & Tunisia and Head of Global Customer Unit Orange at Ericsson

Sandro Baldi - Commercial Director - NUWARD – EDF

Closing remarks by HE Etienne de Gonneville, Ambassador of France to Sweden

17.35

End of conference