Patrik Melander, we are very happy to welcome you to the Board of Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce (SACC) in Dallas! You will be heading the Dallas chapter of SACC-Texas, can you tell us about your background?
Thank you Johanna! Well, over the past 24 years, I have been fortunate to live in the USA (Boca Raton, San Diego, Chicago), San Jose | Costa Rica, Sao Paulo | Brazil, Tokyo | Japan, Manila | Philippines and Dubai | UAE, before coming to Dallas with my family (Kristina, William and Louise). As this was the third time we move to the USA, we decided this time to go local – get Green Cards and settle down for a while.
From a professional perspective I have had many diverse leadership roles in Ericsson over the years ranging from establishing new businesses areas and organizations to driving major operations transformations and growth in well-established areas, to various Sales and General Management positions. Just before coming to Dallas as an example, I was the President of Ericsson in the Gulf Countries and Pakistan.
On the personal side I love performing different sports, culinary experiences and spending time with my friends and family
How did you end up in the US and more specifically, in Dallas?
We came to Dallas through Ericsson, and I was the head of a Global Account here, and left in September 2017 for the entrepreneurial world. I joined FourPark Management, a boutique Private Equity firm, as one of three Managing Partners. In addition to FourPark and serving as chair of SACC Dallas, I also serve on the board of a Non-Profit (My Possibilities) and the Advisory Board of a AI Start-Up (AmplifAI) among others.
How did you get in contact with SACC-Texas?
Through Angelica Moden, a former colleague at Ericsson and SACC board member. In addition, I have a very good experience with SACC from my time in San Diego, where I was on the SACC advisory board, and Chicago as a member.
What do you think you will bring to the network?
It is an honor to serve as Chairman of the Dallas chapter, and I hope to create value for our members by bringing my global experience, best practices from other parts of the world, energy and to orchestrate fruitful relationships within DFW, U.S and globally.
What is your (together with the Board) vision for SACC-Dallas 2018 and long-term?
Our vision for SACC Dallas in 2018 is to grow the number of members 50% and establish four pillars for our activities:
1) Social Events and Networking – such as the upcoming January 25th wine tasting and Young Professional events
2) Speaker series i.e. learning and development – such as the very interesting presentation held by the Dallas Regional Chamber
3) Advisory & Support – for companies wanting to establish their business in the Dallas area
4) Executive Networking – Executive round table / network and Mentor program in the DFW area that we will establish.
And finally, what’s your favorite thing about Dallas?
The People – The Mid-Western Hospitality and people are just great.