Björn Vikard The Anti-Consultant
I spent nearly two decades in aerospace manufacturing — from CNC operator at Volvo Aero to Managing Director across six countries. Now I partner up with family-owned manufacturers to build succession systems that work without the founder.
Author of Leading with Character Across Cultures (Amazon Best Seller) and Don't Exit Wrong.
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Factory of the Future
A deep conversation about manufacturing transformation, building operations from scratch in Sri Lanka, developing women leaders on the factory floor in Indonesia, and what happens when a Swedish manager tries to lead an Indonesian team the Stockholm way. The most story-rich of the three.
Past podcast appearances
The Thoughtful Entrepreneur
Anti-Consultant positioning, the succession problem, and the Volvo consultant origin story.
Pre-Zero Sports Talk
The longest and most personal conversation. Leadership across cultures, succession failure in elite sport, AI in consulting — and the natural humour comes through most here.
About Björn
Björn Vikard spent nearly two decades in aerospace manufacturing — from CNC operator to Managing Director across six countries. Now he partners up with family-owned manufacturers to build succession systems that work without the founder.
Author of Leading with Character Across Cultures (Amazon Best Seller) and Don't Exit Wrong.
Björn Vikard is a family business succession coach — or as he calls it, the Anti-Consultant. He works with second- and third-generation family-owned manufacturing businesses to reduce founder dependency, professionalize operations without unnecessary corporate complexity, and prepare the next generation to earn authority through performance.
His approach combines aerospace-grade systems, leadership capability building, and cross-cultural execution, with a specific focus on companies operating across Europe and Southeast Asia. He brings more than 20 years of operational leadership experience across manufacturing and industrial businesses in Sweden, the United States, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, and Thailand, including COO and Managing Director roles.
His typical clients include mechanical production companies, aerospace and industrial suppliers, and industrial distribution businesses with revenues between $25 million and $100 million.
His career started on the shop floor at Volvo Aero Corporation — nearly twenty years on the JAS 39 Gripen fighter program, from CNC operator to Purchasing Leader on the GEnx and Airbus A350. He went on to lead manufacturing operations in Sri Lanka, India, and Indonesia, including a COO/Managing Director role overseeing a €46M P&L and a factory that grew from €29M to €46M in output in two and a half years.
The Indonesia turnaround taught him the lesson he now builds his entire practice around: compliance is not commitment. When he stopped leading the Swedish way and started listening, the business took off. That experience — and the $44M family business collapse he watched happen when a founder died without succession systems in place — are the stories behind everything he does today.
Björn Vikard — family business succession coach and the Anti-Consultant. He spent two decades in aerospace manufacturing, from CNC operator to Managing Director across six countries. Now he helps family-owned manufacturers build succession systems that actually work without the founder.
What I talk about
I bring floor stories to every conversation — no abstract theory, no consultant-speak. Pick one, combine elements, or ask me about something not listed.
The succession crisis in family manufacturing
70% of family businesses don't survive the second generation. Not because the plan was bad — because nobody executed it. I watched a $44M manufacturer collapse overnight.
From CNC operator to Managing Director: leadership across six countries
I started on a factory floor in Sweden and ended up running manufacturing operations across four continents. I did a public apology on an Indonesian factory floor.
The Anti-Consultant: why I refuse to call myself a consultant
When I started at Volvo, a consultant walked in and I gave him grief. That conversation stuck with me for 20 years.
Building organisations that outlast their founders
The founder is "the spider in the company." I help founders install the systems and test whether succession holds through planned absences.
8 questions that open stories
Conversation starters, not a script. Each one opens a real story.
- You went from CNC operator to Managing Director across six countries. What's the biggest thing that career arc taught you?
- You call yourself 'The Anti-Consultant.' What does that actually mean — and what happened at Volvo?
- You talk about the '$44 million collapse.' What happened to that family business?
- You did a public apology on a factory floor in Indonesia. What went wrong?
- You say 'compliance is not commitment.' What does that look like on a real factory floor?
- Your succession system includes 'founder independence testing.' How does that work?
- What's the number one mistake family business owners make when they start thinking about succession?
- You work across very different cultures. How does culture change the way succession works?
Sound bites and talking points
Use these in promos, show descriptions, or social posts. They're things I actually say.
If your business can't run without you, that's not dedication — it's risk.
I'm the anti-consultant. I don't leave you with a binder. I build the systems with you, on your floor.
Succession isn't a retirement party you plan in your last year. It's an operating system you build while you're still strong enough.
Compliance is not commitment.
The next generation has to earn authority through performance — not inherit it.
The track record behind the stories
Leading with Character Across Cultures
A nine-capability leadership system, tested across more than a dozen countries in real manufacturing environments.
Don't Exit Wrong
The deep dive into what happens when founders get succession wrong, and how to get it right.
- Volvo Aero Corporation (now GKN Aerospace)Nearly 20 years — CNC operator to Purchasing Leader on the JAS 39 Gripen fighter program, GEnx, and Airbus A350.
- COO / Managing Director, Guentner Group Asia€46M P&L in Indonesia. Factory output grew from €29M to €46M in two and a half years.
- General Manager, ELSTEEL India350 unionized employees. Re-engineered delivery delays from 92 days to 3 days.
- Founder, iQMC LankaBuilt AS9100 quality systems for a European aerospace Tier 1 supplier in Sri Lanka. The systems outlasted his tenure.
What podcast hosts have said
"What you've done is really something to be proud of and I'm considering myself honored to have met you."
— AW Schultz & Alexandria Bjerg, Factory of the Future
A few things you might not know
- HomeMy wife is a trained Thai chef. Great for the food, terrible for the waistline.
- FarmWe're building a sustainable farm in Kanchanaburi — grow everything you need, trade with your neighbours.
- DivingMy first scuba dive was at the Great Barrier Reef. Everything since then has been a letdown.
- Shop floorI started as a CNC operator at Volvo Aero as a teenager. My first day on the factory floor is still more useful than any leadership seminar since.
- NameThe name Vikard is a taken name — my great-grandfather wanted to be a vicar, so he changed the family name.
- StudioI live in Bangkok and record from my home studio. I'm used to late-night sessions to match US and European time zones.
Booking and technical setup
Book Björn for your podcast
If your audience includes family business owners, manufacturing leaders, or anyone thinking about what happens after the founder steps away — I'd like to be on your show. I bring real stories from real factory floors, and I cross-promote every appearance on LinkedIn.
✉ Email BjörnBjörn Vikard provides coaching services only. Coaching is in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling or any other type of therapy or medical advice. I cannot guarantee the outcome of coaching efforts and/or recommendations from my website or blog. These are my expressions of opinion only. By accessing information at and through this site, each user waives and releases Björn Vikard to the full extent permitted by law from any and all claims relating to the usage of the material made available through this website. In no event shall Björn Vikard as a business or as a person be liable for any incident or consequential damages resulting from the use of the material.
Reach me directly: [email protected]
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