Lars Förberg
The Catalyst
Ideas with a spark, energy, range and the ability to start things.
Lars Förberg presents as a textbook Catalyst: he enters underperforming European public companies not to extract short-term gains but to ignite durable structural transformation. Throughout the interview, Förberg frames Cevian's entire model around being the agent of change that passive, myopic markets cannot provide. He is deliberate about entering only when a credible multi-lever value creation plan exists, insisting the diagnosis must precede any solution. His boardroom approach is patient, dialogic, and coalition-building rather than confrontational, earning change through credibility accumulated over decades rather than through proxy warfare. Förberg sees Cevian's competitive moat as the scarcity of true owners willing to do the deep operational work needed to move a company from mediocre to excellent, a void he believes is widening as index funds proliferate. His long-term orientation, concentrated portfolio discipline, and aversion to leverage reinforce a leadership identity built on deliberate, sustained catalysis rather than headline-driven disruption.
“We're taking those negatives of the market and turning them in our favor. We can be that entity, that owner that comes into a company that is not really doing that well, being the catalyst for change in the right direction.”
“We want to invest in a company with at least a 10-year horizon. We know in the long run the share price will reflect the true value of a company, not in the short run, but in the long run.”
“I want to be able to feel that I know what I would do if I were the chairman of the company. Unless we can answer that question, we're not going to invest in the company.”
Money Maze Podcast: ““The Craft of Active Equity Ownership.” The Cevian Approach to Activism, with Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Lars Förberg.”
LISTEN AT THE SOURCE ↗THE RECORD IS CHECKABLE