The Gentle Giant

With 25 years of experience from one of the Nordic region’s largest construction companies, and a love of demanding outdoor activities such as cross-country skiing, mountain biking and enduro, Patrik Larsson knows there are no shortcuts to success. Meet River Group’s new CEO.

 

 

Back to the Core

With a background in civil engineering specialising in roads and water, 25 years at Skanska in various management roles, and ultimately being responsible for the construction giant’s road and civil engineering operations in Sweden, River Group’s new CEO combines deep technical expertise with a sharp business mind. But it was the desire to get his hands dirty again that ultimately brought him to River Group. – Working at Skanska was a fantastic learning experience. But towards the end I felt I had become detached from the core business itself. In organisations of that size, processes and innovation take time. River Group is the opposite: when we make a decision, we expect to see the impact quickly. It’s both demanding and incredibly inspiring – you can really make a difference and be a more hands-on leader.

A Clear Goal

As a leader, Patrik values inclusion and democratic decision-making processes to avoid the organisation becoming too top-down. Perhaps what you might call a “nice” boss. But while Patrik does not advocate an autocratic leadership style, he is not afraid to set clear goals. – The goal is crystal clear: To be Northern Europe’s leading independent pump service provider within three years. Our great strength is that we are brand-independent. We should always be able to offer the customer the very best solution, regardless of the brand name on the pump.

Decentralised Scale

Many might think that “decentralised” and “scale” are opposite business models. But not in an organisation where the companies have such close relationships with their customers as they do in River Group. Larsson sees enormous potential in making better use of the group’s collective knowledge and expertise – something everyone he has spoken to across the group so far agrees with. After just over a month in the CEO role, he has already formed a clear impression. – My first observation was that this is an extremely decentralised model. That’s a huge advantage because we need to stay close to our customers locally. At the same time, we have an enormous amount of expertise spread across 23 different companies.

The next step for River Group is to start taking greater advantage of our economies of scale. We need to share knowledge and collaborate much more closely across the group – particularly within each country.

Patrik is highly optimistic about River Group’s future, both in terms of the market and the potential within the group. – I’m really looking forward to helping River Group take the next step.

There is so much talent and expertise across the group, and my job will be to build on the strengths we already have and create the right conditions for us to make even better use of them across our different companies. It’s going to be an autumn filled with hard work and a lot of fun together. And hopefully a few trips out into the great outdoors!

*Patrik Larsson took up his position on 10 August 2026 and will be based at the head office in Stockholm.