Fredrik Sand

Fredrik Sand new expert on industrial policy

Data-driven innovation Security and safety
Fredrik Sand is a new business policy expert at IT&Telekomföretagen with a focus on security, data-driven innovation and internet-related policy issues. He has worked at the Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation and the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and has been active in the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce as responsible for issues such as innovation and digitization.

Welcome Fredrik! Can you give us a brief introduction of yourself outside of work?

- Outside the office, I have done a lot of voluntary work. Now I sit on the board of Stockholm International School. It is not a free school but a school with an international curriculum and certification. It has over 600 students from 60 different countries, from preschool to high school. Although I am not a lawyer, I was previously on the board and chairman of the Swedish Association for IT and Law. I have the luxury of taking the shuttle boat from my home in Hammarby sjöstad to work. Otherwise often found in the reading chair.

What attracted you to the position of industrial policy expert?

- I come back to issues that I have worked a lot with over the years - at the Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation and at the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. Some are familiar - others are new. Digitalization has entered a new phase where it is intensifying and creating change in many industries - with even stronger technology shifts such as AI and autonomous systems. It will be exciting to try to contribute to the development of Sweden's most important industry and follow the power of digitalization.

What do you see as the biggest challenges?

- Digitization brings many positives. It improves and simplifies things for us. Recently, some issues have received a lot of attention, such as cyberattacks. This raises legitimate questions, but there is a risk that the political system's responses will be quick and ill-considered. This can unnecessarily slow down or hinder development. Over the years, IT&Telecom companies have contributed important knowledge and been involved in influencing developments in the right direction, and we must continue to do so.