Dan Olof Olofsson (born 24 September 1950 in
Ekenäs, Finland) is a Swedish
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
, business leader and
philanthropist.
Biography
Dan Olofsson was born as the second oldest of five siblings in Ekenäs, Finland, where his father was employed as pastor of
Karis
Karis (; fi, Karjaa ) is a town and former municipality in Finland. On January 1, 2009, it was consolidated with Ekenäs and Pohja to form the new municipality of Raseborg; fi, Raasepori.
It is located in the Finnish province of Southern ...
from 1948 to 1951. His parents and family are rooted in
Kaxås, in
Jämtland in northern Sweden. When Olofsson was one year old his family moved to
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal pop ...
in southern Sweden, where he was brought up and still lives.
["Hemma bäst för IT-kungen"](_blank)
'' Sydsvenskan'', 23 September 2010
Olofsson attended upper secondary technical school at Pauliskolan in Malmö and graduated as Master of Science in Engineering at Lunds Tekniska Högskola in 1974.
After his education, Olofsson began a career in the technology consulting industry. He started at VBB (what is now
Sweco) where he during 1979 became group manager for a new venture in energy technology.
[Alt URL]
/ref> Later, Dan Olofsson proceeded to become region manager for Scandiaconsult's southern division.
The Danir Group
The family business Danir was founded in 1986. Dan Olofsson has gradually, together with his son Johan Glennmo and with a long-term focus, built this group of companies which in 2022 is expected to have a turnover of almost SEK 13 billion. The Group has grown primarily through new hires and the start-up of new companies, and now has 11,600 employees in 25 countries.
The main business is consulting companies that focus on supporting customers in their digitalization. This is run within the framework o
Sigma
Nexer
A Society
an
PION Group
The Danir Group also has financial investments.
Thanda and Star for Life
In 2002, Dan Olofsson decided to build the safari facility Thanda Safari with more than 14,000 hectares of land in South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. The safari facility is a conservation project to protect endangered species and has also for several years received the World Travel Award as “The World's Leading Luxury Lodge”. In 2016, the marine reserve Thanda Island opened just off the coast of Tanzania and was awarded “The World’s Leading Exclusive Private Island” by World Travel Awards.
Olofsson’s philanthropic commitment is best seen through the organization Star for Life, which he and his wife Christin launched in 2005. So far, 500,000 young people has participated in a four-year preventive programme against HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
, promoting a healthy way of life, in South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
, Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
, and Sri Lanka.["Community Philanthropy Award Commended (2008)"](_blank)
, GBCHealth, 31 October 2008 Since 2013, Star for Life is also established in Sweden under the name
Motivationslyftet
, aiming to strengthen young people's self-esteem and belief in the future. In 2021
Star for Life was started in Jerusalem
with a focus on improving the living conditions of the inhabitants of East Jerusalem through investments in education and jobs.
Uppstart Malmö and Project Kaxås
In 2011, Olofsson initiated the founding of
Uppstart Malmö
, a trust aimed at creating more job opportunities in the under-privileged areas of his hometown Malmö. The concept behind the trust is to offer advice, support and financial help to local entrepreneurs who create more jobs, and to help young people and immigrants enter the labor market. Altogether, more than 3,500 people have found work through this initiative.
To break the depopulation in sparsely populated areas of Norrland's interior and ensure the survival of Kaxås village school
Project Kaxås
was started in 2019. The idea was to invest in young families who want to live a safe life close to nature and still have access to a functioning labour market including teleworking. By moving in young families from different places in Sweden, the number of inhabitants in Kaxås increases from 100 to about 260, of which the number of children increases by over 60. The eco-village Ladriket is an important part of Project Kaxås.
Miscellaneous
In the autumn of 2012, Olofsson’s autobiography ''Mina tre liv'' (“My three lives”) was published by the publishing house Ekerlids Förlag. The book has received particular attention for its claim that the Swedish government should have committed a financial miscarriage of justice at financier Maths O Sundqvist.
In recent years, Olofsson has actively participated in the public debate on issues relating to business conditions and entrepreneurship, about the defense of freedom of choice in welfare, and about the need for a policy that combines a positive climate for companies with social responsibility.
Dan Olofsson is the uncle of the artist Jonathan Johansson and the father of Andreas Olofsson, who played guitar in The Animal Five
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
.
Bibliography
''My three lives: about enterprise, engagement and violation of justice''. Stockholm: Ekerlid
Libris
Awards
* 2001 – South Swedish county of Skåne's Greatest Entrepreneur
* 2004 – City of Malmö Ambassador of the Year
* 2008 – The Pegasus Prize
* 2008 – The Community Philanthropy Award at Global Business Coalition in New York
* 2011 – Entrepreneurial Role model of the Year b
Founders Alliance
* 2011 – H.M. The King's Medal 12th size for important contributions to Swedish business and philanthropic commitment
* 2012 – The Royal Patriotic Society Business Medal for outstanding entrepreneurship
* 2012 – The magazine ''Veckans Affärer
''Veckans Affärer'' (, lit. "the week's business") was a Swedish business magazine published on a weekly basis in Stockholm, dealing in all business-related matters both within and outside Sweden. It was in circulation between 1965 and 2019.
H ...
''’s Social Capitalist Award, given to role models who through business try to solve problems in society
* 2015 – Olofsson was honored with the Swedish Region Skåne's award for exceptional efforts for the development of Skåne
* 2015 – Awarded an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of Technology and Society at Malmö University in Malmö, Sweden, for contributing to resolve societal problems through the use of information and communication technology
* 2015 – Awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of FASTA in Argentine, for his citizenship and philanthropic efforts in Africa and Sweden
* 2015 – Awarded The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise' (Swedish: Svenskt Näringsliv) Nicolin Prize for his contributions to the public debate for a better understanding of the importance of enterprises
* 2018 – Dan Olofsson is chosen to become a member of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Leadership Council
* 2019 – Appointed 2019's Growth Entrepreneur in Malmö, Sweden
* 2021 – Jerusalem Mayor's Medal of Honor for long-term support of the Jewish nation and work to improve the living conditions of the residents of East Jerusalem.
References
External links
Danir
Sigma Group
Nexer Group
Star for Life
Thanda Private Game Reserve
Uppstart Malmö
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olofsson, Dan
1950 births
Living people
Swedish businesspeople
Lund University alumni
People from Scania
Swedish nonprofit businesspeople