Charlotta Gummeson leaves Sahlgrenska Science Park – “It feels sad and exciting at the same time”
It has been nearly eight years since Charlotta Gummeson became CEO of Sahlgrenska Science Park.
“I am very proud of what we have achieved as a team at Sahlgrenska Science Park. During the time that I have been in charge of the organisation, we have developed as advisors and as people, and in doing so, driven collaborations and health innovation forward with increasing quality,” she says.
Much has happened in the life science industry over the years.
“If you look at the figures alone, it has nearly doubled in Sweden. It is an industry on the rise.”
This has also brought significant growth to the park in Gothenburg. The Co-Ax accelerator has been expanded to help start-up companies, and the Sahlgrenska Science Park has also linked up with various clusters worldwide. Among other things, they have been involved in developing one of the world’s largest healthtech clusters, Healthtech Nordic, she says.
“I believe that in the future, we need to collaborate more in the Nordic region and with other stakeholders in order to achieve this critical mass,” says Charlotta Gummeson, which is something she often returns to during our conversation.
Over the years, she has met many people in the industry.
“I’ve had the privilege to meet thousands of people with different perspectives and to look at the growth potential of life science.”
One of the many people Charlotta Gummeson has met during her time as CEO is the late Nobel Prize winner Arvid Carlsson, whose lab is located in the Sahlgrenska Science Park.
“He would come here every week. The meetings were fantastic, just sitting down and talking with Nobel Prize winners over coffee and discussing how we can grow together.”
These meetings resulted in an entrepreneurship award, the Arvid Carlsson Award by Sahlgrenska Science Park, which is awarded every year to a company that promotes innovation and entrepreneurship in life science.
Now, Charlotta Gummeson is looking forward to starting her own business.
“I will continue to work in a freer role where I may not need to be as politically correct. After 34 years as an employee, I am starting my own company and have accepted several different assignments in the industry and related fields,” she says and adds.
“I will be very active in the future and make good use of all my experience!”
She predicts an exciting future for the industry in general but emphasises the importance of collaboration between all parties.
“We must not forget how we worked together during the pandemic. It is crucial that we join forces nationally and build on each other’s strengths and that sufficient funds are allocated to the industry, research, innovation and business development.”
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