Hello CEO: Märit Sareyko, Epical

Epical is a Nordic data consulting company specializing in areas such as analytics, security, applications and integrations. On April 1, 2024, Märit Sareyko took over as CEO and found herself in the middle of an organizational change.

- "Time has gone incredibly fast. My first year has been exciting and very fun, but also challenging," says Märit Sareyko.

Epical was part of the IT services company Enfo until the summer of 2023. As CEO, Märit Sareyko's task is to lead the change while preserving the company's strengths, culture and expertise.

- "We are changing to better meet the market and to become clearer in our offering, not because we want to change our identity. As a new leader, it's about building trust, and the best way to do that is to listen and be transparent. Listening to colleagues, taking the time to understand and respect history and driving change based on who we are.

What do you see as the biggest challenges for Epical right now?

- One is, of course, the uncertainty in the world and the global economy, which affects all businesses in one way or another. It is more difficult to predict the business and plan for the future for our customers, and therefore also for us. Another challenge that is more specific to Epical is the fact that we are still relatively unknown in the market. This is despite being one of the biggest players in our industry. Those who have worked with us know us, and the vast majority of our customers are still working with us after many years, but outside of that circle we need to become more visible and clear about our expertise and how we can help complex organizations create real value from their data.  

What do you think is important for leadership in the tech industry? 

- Fundamentally good and inclusive leadership is important for all industries. However, the tech industry in particular, which has been growing rapidly for many years, has perhaps not taken the time to build good, inclusive leadership. There has been an overconfidence that tech, which is seen as more innovative and modern than other industries, may not need to focus on leadership. In many cases, technology has been in control, and structures and cultures have been built that may not always have supported mature leadership. The tech industry needs leadership that supports innovation, curiosity and development, but that is also based on good values and creates stability. Tech is still more fast-moving than other industries in many dimensions, and therefore also has a greater need for stability and long-term thinking in other dimensions. There is a need to focus on diversity, inclusion, values-based culture and sustainable development.

What is needed for the tech industry to best strengthen Sweden's competitiveness?

- One of the major challenges is the supply of skills, and this is likely to be the case for some time to come. It is a limitation of the opportunities to grow and strengthen the tech industry. We have structures where we both under-educate in tech, but also under-focus on supporting innovation. Universities and education systems should be one step ahead and help push the industry forward, but today it is the tech companies that are at the forefront of the rapid development in tech. I believe there is great untapped potential in collaborations between the business sector and educational institutions, both to increase innovation power but also to ensure that the supply of skills works better. We need to work closely together to drive innovative technology development while understanding how it creates business value.

As members of TechSverige, what benefits do you see from membership?

- In the maturity journey that the tech industry needs to make, TechSverige is an important factor. More and more companies understand the value of signing collective agreements, and having a common platform as employers in the dialog with the trade unions. It's a good model that works well, and we want to take advantage of it. At the same time, it is also a force to bring together companies in the same industry to have an opportunity to learn from each other, but also to highlight our view of how we can contribute to Sweden's competitiveness and development. Then, in practical terms, there are great advantages in the opportunities for support and advice in various areas that we have as member companies.