Mr. Percy Barnevik / CEO/Chairman, ABB, Astra Zeneca

Dr. Percy Barnevik has been the CEO/Chairman of ABB, Astra Zeneca, Skanska, Sandvik and Investor. Further, he has been a board member of General Motors and DuPont as well as a member of the US Business Council and the Bilderberg Group. In Switzerland he was Vice Chairman of the World Economic Summit in Davos.  He has received seven honorary doctorates in the USA, the UK and Sweden.

Over the past 17 years, Dr Barnevik has devoted his time and money to philanthropy, in particular the build-up of the charity Hand in Hand. 

Hand in Hand focuses on poverty reduction through job creation. Women are mobilized into “Self-Help groups”, empowered by business training and access to credit. Hand in Hand has so far helped almost 1.9 million women entrepreneurs and created 1.85 million enterprises.  The goal is to create 10 million jobs which will lift 50 million family members out of poverty.

Further, more than 275,000 children have been taken out of child labour and moved into 600 schools.  A few million people have been engaged in health and environmental programs.