Sven-Olof Bodenfors was born in 1946 and grew up in a middle-class home in Hisingen, Gothenburg. Staffan Forsman lived two streets away. The two did their first project together in their earliest school days. His childhood may have been ordinary, but Sven-Olof himself was anything but. He was a master of many arts. A lover of life. An expert at being a generalist...Read more. His career rolled along, but the path was not always straight. School of Design and Arts, industrial designer, art director, copywriter, production manager, project manager, agency head, and finally, in 1986, one of three founders of Forsman & Bodenfors, perhaps Sweden’s most successful agency of all time. His partners were Staffan Forsman and Mikko Timonen. Sven-Olof was pushing 40 at the time, and bore within him a hidden ability. He could sniff out talents in people that nobody else had discovered, sometimes not even the person in question. Not infrequently, he would create a custom-made position at the agency to make the most of someone’s particular strength. And if there was no suitable niche for the position, he might even start a new company. This happened several times. The renowned design agency Happy is an example. Sven-Olof’s abilities to spot talent and to build strong teams were unique. He also played a key role as a strategist. His analysis built on common sense and humanism, not American management cliches. Volvo, the Gothenburg newspaper GP, Arla, IKEA and the post office were a few of his clients over the years. His leftover sketchpads bear witness to a lively intellect and far-ranging vision.

After the Platinum Egg: Sven-Olof has contributed to Swedish business and culture through a variety of important board positions. He divides his time between Gothenburg and Marseille.

– F.N.