(2 of 8)
Typical of Europe's rising chief executives are the eight men reported on below, all of them in their 30s or 40s. They are not the only young or middle-aged business leaders in Europe, and they are not necessarily as powerful as some older industrialists and bankers who have been on top longer. But partly because they have many more years ahead, they and men like them will be firmly in command of Europe's privately owned commerce and industry by the end of the decade.
Future-Shock Trooper
At 37, Pehr Gustaf Gyllenhammar is president and chief executive of Sweden's Volvo, the automobile, aircraft and heavy-equipment manufacturer that is the largest industrial combine in Scandinavia (revenues last year: $1.2 billion). He is also the author of a book about future economic and social problems, Toward the Turn of the Century, Somehow. "My main job is structuring a corporate philosophy that will take us into the next century," he says.
Lately, Gyllenhammar has been concentrating on ways to help his workers enjoy their jobs. Since becoming chief executive 16 months ago, he has overseen $30 million in improvements in Volvo plants—adding saunas, Ping Pong and coffee-break rooms, swimming pools and libraries. He is investing another $50 million in two plants scheduled for completion in 1974, in which "work teams" of 20 will replace much of the assembly lines. Instead of each worker performing a single, repetitive operation, he or she will work as part of a group that will be responsible for assembling large components and subassemblies, like brake systems. On some teams, each member will change his job every day—for example, alternating between the assembly line, quality control stations and office paper work. U.S. automakers say that Gyllenhammar's innovations are not suited for Detroit's high-volume production, but in next year's contract negotiations the United Auto Workers are expected to ask for an employee voice in determining hours, plant layout, assembly-line speed and other production details. In addition, Gyllenhammar has put two workers on Volvo's twelve-man board of directors and replaced most individual offices in the company's Göteborg headquarters with open work areas to encourage contact among executives and white-collar employees.
Just as striking as Gyllenhammar's private industrial revolution are his views about the automobile: "I don't think it would be a bad thing to ban the private car in big cities. Cars are killing the city and strangling small towns and villages. Car manufacturers should work with government authorities to find transportation facilities that can take over for the car. And car manufacturers should concentrate on cleaning up the piston engine."