10/24/2011 – In October 2009, Mats Melbin was named managing director of Anytec Boats in Sweden and continues in that position.
CEO Mats Melbin made headlines when he fired himself rather than layoff employees.
In designing the Ribby Award to recognize self-sacrificing CEOs, I wanted to focus on those who join their employees in the trenches to make sure their companies survive these hard times. However, because unselfish CEOs are so hard to find, this month’s Ribby Award goes to Mats Melbin, former CEO of Swedish manufacturer Örnalp Unozon. In May, Melbin resigned rather than lay off 35 employees.
According to news reports, Melbin had laid off 25 employees in January and learned only a few months later that he would have to get rid of more at the plant in Örnsköldsvik in eastern Sweden. The company is owned by Vinovo AB.
On its website, Vinovo says it “owns and develops small and medium-sized enterprises with good cash flows.” Logic leads me to guess that: a) Melbin would not have resigned if the company was truly in trouble, therefore b) the cash flow was not good enough for Vinovo so the employees had to go. As this happened in Sweden, they can’t blame health care costs. So, the Ribby Award and our best wishes go to Mats Melbin whose self-sacrifice is lessened only by the fact that he won’t lose his health care.
Ribby Award winners are leaders who put their customers and employees before themselves. Each month, it recognizes a chief executive or business owner, who steps out of plush offices, away from armies of assistants and sycophants, to personally manage and promote.
