果冻视频

In front of a packed atrium at the 果冻视频, Iceland’s president Halla Tómasdóttir joined Emma Bell, the H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf’s Chaired Professor in Leadership, for a fireside chat about Nordic leadership, collaboration and how to create positive impact in the world.

SSE President Lars Strannegård opened the event by welcoming the distinguished guests, which also included King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden. Strannegård spoke about the vital role of truth, trust and science in today’s complex world, and highlighted the importance of leadership rooted in knowledge and empathy. He emphasized that SSE fosters “human intelligence” – a combination of being fact-based, reflective, empathetic and entrepreneurial – as a foundation for navigating the complexity of the world.

A call for “radical humanity”

Tómasdóttir described today’s world as a place of deep uncertainty and stressed that the Nordics enjoy high levels of trust but must use it responsibly. She encouraged the region to stay the course and serve as a “lighthouse” in a world increasingly shaped by fear and division.

Reflecting on her experience in business, politics, and as CEO of a global leadership initiative, she laid out what she called a new leadership playbook. It consists of four principles: radical collaboration across sectors and identities, radical inclusion – especially of younger generations, radical transparency to rebuild trust, and radical humanity, which she described as being sincere, humble and humane. These are qualities that are going to be crucial to leaders in a society increasingly influenced by technology.

President Tómasdóttir especially emphasized the importance of giving young people more than symbolic seats at the table – they need to be given a chance to cocreate the future that awaits them.

Leadership is not about the positition that you hold, she added. It’s the person you choose to be and there is a leader inside every single one of us. “Science matters, that’s an absolute” she said. “But where you unlock leadership is in your heart.”

Entrepreneurship creating societal impact

The event continued with a panel on leadership and entrepreneurship, moderated by Professor Bell. It featured Isabel Keulen, CEO of SSE Business Lab and SSE Ventures, and entrepreneur Stefan Krook, SSE’s first Practitioner in Residence.

Keulen explained that many entrepreneurs at SSE are motivated not just by profit, but by a desire to solve urgent problems. She shared examples of founders working on digital healthcare, gender equity and sustainability, adding that belief in the mission is what helps founders persist: “What happens when what you’re working on is what you believe in – you don’t give up.”

Krook, founder of the GoodCause Foundation and Kivra, noted that the current economic system often fails to reward companies that create societal value. He advocated for shifting taxation away from labor and toward activities that threaten the future, such as pollution.

A shared Nordic responsibility

Sweden’s Minister for Education, Johan Pehrson, also spoke, highlighting the shared values and innovation capacity of Sweden and Iceland. He said that even small countries can make a global impact and stressed the need to deepen collaboration – not only in research and innovation, but in defending democracy and human rights.

Tómasdóttir underscored that the Nordic region has both the opportunity and responsibility to lead by example. With trust still relatively high compared to other regions, the Nordics are well placed to offer leadership that is principled, inclusive and long-term.