For The Hamrin Foundation, there is a clear distinction between before and after 2023.

In June 2023, The Hamrin Foundation got a CEO - the first one outside the family since it was founded in 1985. The CEO is Hanna Ståhl, and over the past year she has thrown herself into a world of family foundations that she has been in contact with, but never before been a part of.

- "When Lovisa contacted me, the feeling was that this was a job I couldn't refuse, or I would regret it," says Hanna Ståhl.

Hanna has 17 years of experience from various roles in academia. She has worked at Jönköping International Business School (JIBS), Jönköping University and Chalmers University of Technology, where she was University Director until taking up the position as CEO of The Hamrin Foundation.

- "I've probably done everything you can do in academia if you're not doing research or teaching, so I felt ready. At the same time, I am very grateful and happy that I have so much experience from academia and a large network that I can activate when needed. Many of the things I enjoyed about my previous positions I have brought with me into this job," she says.

Structure and collaboration 

Over the past year, Hanna has spent a lot of time getting to know the foundation and the ongoing projects. She has also been working on getting structures in place, for example by developing contract templates and getting regulations down on paper. "Everything will be published on the website, so that it will be even clearer for researchers and others who want to get in touch with the foundation how to proceed and what types of projects are granted funding.

- I have also spent time building partnerships with other family foundations, because it was not very developed when I arrived here. My perception is that many foundations work quite isolated. Here we have tried to get out and visit others, so that we can learn from each other and eventually also be able to run and finance projects together," says Hanna Ståhl.

Projects that contribute to change 

The Hamrin Foundation wants to use its grants to touch society, academia and business and to challenge established truths and provide more perspectives on our time. Hanna Ståhl tells us about two current major collaborative projects that can contribute to this shift in various ways:

- "When we are looking for projects or collaborations, it is important for us that they benefit society and people. We have an ongoing collaboration with the Art Initiative at the Stockholm School of Economics and have just started a collaboration with the Media & Democracy collaboration platform at Lindholmen Science Park, where we will soon launch exciting joint projects focusing on media, communication and democracy.

Wants to be personal 

Going forward, Hanna wants to deepen her own knowledge of modern media and communication research, which is close to the Foundation's statutes. Research projects and collaborations that can be linked to prominent environments in art and industry, where the focus is not to deliver answers but to raise questions and activate the viewer, are also a high priority going forward.

- We want to invest in people we believe in - excellent researchers with personal drive and integrity, excellent leaders and professionals. Given our size, we can move quickly from idea to decision. Our strength lies in the fact that we can be personal, says Hanna and continues:

- Then, in the long run, we hope that our partners will find each other. It would be great if we could be involved in creating meetings that result in cross-fertilization and interdisciplinary collaboration projects.