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When Swedish packaging giant Tetra Pak celebrates its 50th anniversary next year, there will be a distinct difference in top management. For the first time in the company's history, a non-Swede now holds the position of chief executive. An Argentine of British descent, Nicholas Shreiber was appointed chief executive at the end of 1999, having been with the Tetra Pak organization for almost 10 years. Although his appointment was doubtlessly a significant step for the multinational, the expectations for Schreiber go beyond the mere symbolic. He has proven to be the right man for the job. Having lived and worked in over eight countries and with diverse management experience in fields ranging from consulting to textiles, Schreiber epitomizes what Tetra Pak has become a truly global corporation. "I would say that my appointment as chief executive was another step in the long process that our company is going through. I started as one of the few non-Swede managing directors for Mexico," said Shreiber. "At that time, 70 percent of managing directors were Swedes and 30 percent were from other countries. Today, it is the other way around. Yes, the chief executive is the most visible position, but this is not a departure from what we have been doing as a company." The task facing Shreiber is not easy. He inherits control of a company that is present in more than 165 countries and employs more than 18,900 people. But he is quick to point out that although the task may seem monumental at first glance, success for Tetra Pak lies simply in staying true to its core. "Companies are like people," commented Shreiber. "The core doesn't change but the outward appearance does. By staying true to our basic entrepreneurial spirit, our innovation and our desire to be near our customers, I feel that the success that Tetra Pak has experienced these past 50 years will only continue." For decades, the brand Tetra Pak has been synonymous with beverage cartons. What many consumers may not realize is that Tetra Pak not only supplies hundreds of types of packaging from cartons to PET bottles, but also develops its own processing solutions, designs and liquid-food plants. Currently, Japan is ranked as the second-largest market for Tetra Pak, after the United States. Figures for 2000 showed total net sales of about $6.28 billion and around $1.63 billion for the Asian region alone. "We have been very successful in the Japanese market. We have had consistent growth there year after year. And this year, our results will be very close to our U.S. numbers. Of the 87 billion packages we sold last year, 7.5 percent of worldwide sales were in Japan," explained Shreiber. "By positioning ourselves as a service, marketing, and engineering company, we have really evolved ourselves to the point where now Tetra Pak is more than just packaging," he added. Today, Tetra Pak is one of the world's largest and most successful private companies. It is still owned by the Rausing family of Sweden, with the 3rd generation now joining the controlling shareholders. Shreiber's appointment as CEO stands not as a token gesture but as a reaffirmation of Tetra Pak's position as a transnational company. And since he was named an honorary Swede in 1999, Shreiber has fully integrated himself into Swedish society. At Tetra Pak he has shown a remarkable ability for leading from the perspectives of both insider and outsider, aptly reflecting a company whose brand has become an ubiquitous part of consumers' lives the world over.
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Tetra Pak chief and honorary Swede Nicholas Shreiber shows off one of his company's ubiquitous packages.