Volvo goes back to car industry basics with surprise CEO switch

STOCKHOLM/LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - Volvo Car's (VOLCARb.ST), opens new tab abrupt decision to tap Hakan Samuelsson as its CEO puts the car industry veteran back in charge of steering the automaker through U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff turbulence and a wobbly transition to electric cars, analysts and investors said.

Samuelsson, who led the Swedish automaker for a decade from 2012 to 2022, helped to revitalise the Volvo brand and oversaw the company's initial public offering in 2021 on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.

He was also running Volvo during Trump's first term, during which the company built a car assembly plant in South Carolina, a move that could prove crucial if Trump goes ahead and slaps 25% tariffs on U.S. car imports on Wednesday.

His car industry background contrasts with outgoing CEO Jim Rowan, who joined in 2022 from Dyson without any car industry experience.

Rowan was an unconventional choice with a three-decade career in the consumer and technology sectors. But at the time, the automaker said Rowan's experience of digitalisation, disruption, innovation, engineering and supply chains would be valuable.

Volvo Cars board Chair Eric Li, also known as Li Shufu, said Samuelsson's experience was exactly what was needed as the car industry was entering a more complex phase.

"We know Håkan Samuelsson as a very knowledgeable and experienced leader in the industry," Carina Silberg, head of Governance and ESG at Alecta, the fifth largest shareholder in Volvo Cars, said.

Sverre Linton, chief legal officer of the Swedish Shareholder's Association, which represents small shareholders in Volvo, said: "But ... Samuelsson is not a wizard, he also needs the help of a solid strategy in which the board plays a central role creating."

Other investors and analysts said in research no...
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