Jonas Olsson: Operational clarity that accelerates profitable growth in Nordic SMEs

Meet Jonas Olsson – a transformation-driven CEO and operator recognised for turning complexity into controlled, profitable growth. With two decades of leadership across manufacturing, construction, logistics, public infrastructure and technical services, he brings structure, focus and execution-power into environments where margins are thin and expectations are high.

From structure to scale

• Turned a global group from loss-making to profitable, growing revenue from SEK 206M to 331M and lifting operating margin from –1.3% to +6% across Sweden, Norway, the UK and UAE.

• Led multiple ISO-aligned transformations that strengthened compliance, delivery precision and pricing power in regulated industries.

• Repositioned market leaders through sustainability, quality and reliability – securing higher-margin contracts and long-term agreements with top-tier clients.

• Built scalable, cross-functional processes in engineering, production, logistics and sales – enabling teams to execute faster, cleaner and with measurable impact.

INSIGHT by Jonas Olsson

Below, Jonas shares his reflections in his own words on operational clarity that accelerates profitable growth in Nordic SMEs:

Jonas Olsson, Senior Advisor at Advisory on demand

Profitable growth and sustainable business development – when a company faces a shift

When a company faces transition – a change of ownership, a declining profit trend, or the need to take its next step – more is required than cost-cutting or growth in volume.

The true turning point comes from understanding the business model, the pricing logic, and the company’s real market position. Only when these elements are aligned with customer value can profitability and sustainability reinforce each other.

The most resilient organisations are those that integrate commercial clarity with purpose. They view ESG not as a regulatory checkbox, but as a strategic lever – a way to strengthen relevance, differentiation, and perceived value. When this connection is made, the effect is twofold: externally, the company becomes more attractive to customers and investors; internally, it builds alignment, energy, and shared direction.

A structured approach enables this dual value creation:

• Business Model: Define what the company truly sells – and how that value can evolve with the customer’s current and future needs.

• Pricing and Positioning: Clarify and communicate the value so that higher margins and stronger loyalty are natural outcomes.

• Value-Driven Transformation: Integrate sustainability, quality, and innovation across the offering – not as separate initiatives, but as competitive advantages built into the product, service, and process.

• Internal Alignment: Use the external value story as an internal compass. When everyone understands how their work drives the company’s promise, culture becomes a multiplier of success.

This method has proved effective across sectors – from industrial firms that introduced environmental product declarations before they were required, to service providers that doubled tender prices by bundling quality, safety, and maintenance into full-service solutions, and to impact-driven enterprises that scaled by transforming smallholder farmers into independent entrepreneurs.

In each case, the outcome was the same: profitability increased, reputation strengthened, and growth became self-sustaining. Financial performance and ESG goals are not opposing forces – they are parallel drivers of long-term competitiveness.

At times when capital must both deliver returns and accelerate transition, the companies that succeed will be those that dare to see sustainability not as cost, but as value.

Insight by Jonas Olsson, Senior Advisor at Advisory on demand