Louise Svanberg
Former Chairman and CEO, EF Education First
Louise Svanberg is currently a director of the SCA Board in Stockholm, Sweden, as well as director and advisor of the CAG Board in Brisbane, Australia. She is also a director on the MPM Bio-tech Advisory Board and serves as an advisor to the Cue Ball Group in Boston, USA.
Louise Svanberg is the former Chairman of EF Education First, the world’s largest private education organization. Mrs. Svanberg joined EF and developed EF’s businesses in travel, language learning, academics, cultural exchange filed and travel. She was appointed CEO in 2002 and became Chairman of EF Education First in 2008. In 2010, after 25 years with the company, Mrs. Svanberg decided to step down.
During her tenure as Chairman and CEO, Mrs. Svanberg led EF’s rapid growth around the world. EF Education has expanded to include sixteen subsidiaries and non-profit organizations, hundred of offices and schools in more than 50 countries with more than 35,00 employees. Mrs. Svanberg believes the most essential tools for growth in a knowledge industry is the combination of a perpetual entrepreneurial spirit, a relentless focus on cost and a strong company culture that supports the development of new generations of leaders.
In 2004, Mrs. Svanberg was named the Most Powerful Swedish Business Woman by the economics magazine Veckans Affärer. She was ranked No. 35 on Fortune Magazine’s list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business in 2005 and in 2006, she was awarded the Franklin D Roosevelt Humanitarian award in the USA. In 2008, she received the European Union
Business Women Award as one of the ten most powerful business women in Europe.
Born in Sweden, Mrs. Svanberg spent much of her childhood in Asia. She earned degrees in business and language from the University of Stockholm and the University of Sorbonne in Paris. She has been a member of the International Young Presidents’ Organization for many years and is fluent in Swedish, Italian, French and English.
Mrs. Svanberg has three children and currently lives in Boston and London with her husband, Carl-Henric Svanberg.