SwedCham's Friday Leadership Series introduces the leaders of Swedish businesses in Singapore. Its 2 October 2026 edition spotlighted our CEO, Roger Olofsson. In four short answers, Roger set out where we see the biggest opportunity in Asia, what makes this moment hard, what the Swedish way of working gives us, and the one message to leave with the business community: get your hands dirty with AI.
About the series
SwedCham's Friday Leadership Series profiles the people running Swedish businesses in Singapore. Roger was introduced as the founder of Olofsson.ai, a Singapore-based executive search and management consulting firm specialising in AI-native talent. Combining human expertise with proprietary AI, we source deep tech, AI and engineering talent globally for VCs, start-ups and scale-ups, as well as global technology companies and Fortune 500 enterprises.
The triple AI effect
Asked about the greatest opportunity in Asia, Roger pointed to helping businesses in Asia Pacific grow, expand and transform through AI and exceptional talent, and to helping AI companies from the US and Europe establish themselves in the region, attract the right people and bring their innovations here. We call it our triple AI effect: working with AI companies and businesses transforming with AI, finding deeply technical and AI-enabled talent, and building our own agentic AI platform. The ambition is to let AI handle more of the routine work so people can do more of what is uniquely human.
Navigating the speed of change
The biggest challenge, in Roger's words, is navigating the extraordinary speed of change together. How do we widen opportunity, avoid leaving people behind and use AI safely to support human potential? There is plenty of noise, and it takes curiosity, judgement and hands-on experience to focus on what matters. We are reinventing ourselves too: building technology, automating routine work and helping our own team become truly AI-native. Running a recruitment business while building a technology company is exciting, and it certainly keeps us humble.
The Swedish way of working
On what it means to work for a Swedish company, Roger named trust, low hierarchy and the freedom to challenge the boss. Roger wants the best idea to win, whoever it comes from. The Swedish instinct to listen is a strength, provided consensus does not become an excuse to avoid a decision. The sweet spot is Swedish trust and the ability to delegate, combined with the energy and ambition Roger experiences in Singapore.
A message for the business community
Roger's closing message was practical: get your hands dirty with AI. Use it on real business problems, involve your team and share what you learn. Equipping people with AI skills is one of the most important responsibilities of a leader, and Roger believes the competition will be between people who use AI and people who do not. Let AI free up time for conversations, understanding, judgement and relationships. Transform with AI rather than waiting to be transformed by it. AI-first, with the human at the centre.