Steve Jordan talks to Annika Roupé, the new managing director of Alfa Quality Moving Sweden and CEO of Alfa Scandinavia. She’s new to the moving industry and brings a fresh approach during a time of rapid change.
It was a bit unfair of me to request an interview with Annika Roupé. When we spoke she’d only been in the job for nine days and had hardly had time to take her coat off. But, then again, first impressions are important, before the mind becomes distracted by day-to-day operations. So I was keen to get that snapshot of an industry that is largely dominated by lifelong players, from a total newcomer.
Annika grew up on an island, part of the Swedish archipelago, the daughter of an electrician. “My father ran his own business, so I was born into an entrepreneurial family where nobody was afraid of hard work,” she explained.
She was the first in her family to go to university, where she graduated in business administration. In her working life she used those business skills but much preferred marketing. “I was more interested in what the customers were doing, what they cared about and how we could help them.”
Her career so far has involved her in a variety of market sectors including telecommunications, security and education. So I wondered what had attracted her to the relocation business? ...
Photo: Annika Roupé