Tomas Björkman (born 3 March 1958) is a Swedish

financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of property. Types of in ...

social entrepreneur Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, Startup company, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to ...

and author. Björkman has worked in Stockholm and Geneva and is based in London.

Education

Björkman was born in

Borås Borås ( , , ) is a city (officially, a locality) and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 114,556 inhabitants in 2024. It is widely known for being a textile city, home to worldwide brands and companie ...

, Sweden. He studied natural sciences at Bäckängskolan in Borås and went on to earn a

Bachelor's Degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in physics from

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

and a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

from the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

Career

In 1990 Björkman founded IBP Fondkommission AB, the first company to introduce structured

financial instruments Financial instruments are monetary contracts between parties. They can be created, traded, modified and settled. They can be cash (currency), evidence of an ownership, interest in an entity or a contractual right to receive or deliver in the form ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. When he moved to

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

in 1996 to start a similar venture, the company had

brokerage A broker is a person or entity that arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller. This may be done for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neith ...

offices in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

and

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. When operations were sold to the Swiss banking group EFG in 2001, Björkman became chairman of the board, of what became the EFG Investment Bank in Stockholm. Parallel to finance, Björkman was an active entrepreneur in IT and real estate.

Community engagement

After leaving the world of finance in 2006, Björkman established the Ekskäret Foundation in 2008. The foundation has developed a conference facility on Ekskäret island (Oak Island) in the Stockholm archipelago. The foundation aims to facilitate conscious and

sustainable Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

social development, placing particular emphasis on the connection between internal, personal and community development. In 2010, Björkman was a founding member of the Swedish youth association Protus. The association facilitates a range of annual activities for young people focusing on life long learning and philosophical exploration. In 2016, he founded the Research Institute Perspectiva in London together with Jonathan Rowson. The aim of the institute is to inspire our political, academic and business leaders to examine real world problems with a deeper appreciation of the influence of our inner worlds. In 2017, in partnership with the Norrsken foundation, Björkman launched the digital platform 29k.org. The platform aims to help you reconnect with yourself, like-minded people and what you value most in life. Björkman has been a member of the

Club of Rome The Club of Rome is a nonprofit, informal organization of intellectuals and business leaders whose goal is a critical discussion of pressing list of global issues, global issues. The Club of Rome was founded in 1968 at Accademia dei Lincei in R ...

since 2014. The

describes itself as "an organisation of individuals who share a common concern for the future of humanity and strive to make a difference”. Björkman is also a fellow of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (, IVA), founded on 24 October 1919 by King Gustaf V, is one of the royal academies in Sweden. The academy is an independent organisation, which promotes contact and exchange between business, ...

and a fellow of the

World Academy of Art and Science The World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), founded in 1960, is an international non-governmental scientific organization and global network of more than 800 scientists, artists, and scholars in more than 90 countries. It serves as a forum for s ...

. He is also co-funder and chair of the Inner Development Goals Foundation.

Writings

Björkman has published three books: * In The Market Myth (2016), he analyzes the market as a

social construction Social constructionism is a term used in sociology, social ontology, and communication theory. The term can serve somewhat different functions in each field; however, the foundation of this theoretical framework suggests various facets of s ...

and reveals a number of common misconceptions about market strengths and weaknesses. * The Nordic Secret (2017, editor), written by Lene Rachel Andersen, explores how the Nordic countries invented a new kind of education, developed everybody’s potential and changed their fate. Large-scale investment in personal development and education is outlined as a decisive cause of success. * In The World We Create, (2019), Björkman draws a systemic overall picture of social development, integrating external naturalistic and internal phenomenological perspectives with

postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...

social criticism into an early narrative of metamodernism.

Bibliography

*''The Market Myth''. Fri Tanke publishing house, 2016. *''The Nordic Secret: A European story of beauty and freedom''. Co-authored by Lene Rachel Andersen. Fri Tanke publishing house, 7 November 2017. *''The World We Create: From God to Market''. Perspectiva Press, 27 September 2019.

References

External links

webpage ''

Foundation''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Björkman, Tomas 1958 births Living people Alumni of the University of Sussex Swedish writers Swedish business executives People from Borås