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A newly formed Nordic industry alliance takes off in Gothenburg

Today, leading Nordic companies and foundations announce the establishment of Nordic Compass, a new pan-Nordic industry alliance for resilience and competitiveness. The ambition is to move faster than current European process and turn Nordic industrial strengths into concrete initiatives, aligned between the business community and the Nordic governments. Initiatives in four critical areas will be presented at the Nordic Compass Summit in Gothenburg on 4-5 November.

Initiatives in four critical areas will be presented at the Nordic Compass Summit in Gothenburg on 4-5 November.
Initiatives in four critical areas will be presented at the Nordic Compass Summit in Gothenburg on 4-5 November.

"Nordic Compass – Nordic Round Table for Industry" is a new industry alliance that brings together several of the largest Nordic companies and foundations. At the first summit this autumn, the alliance will launch concrete initiatives aimed at the Nordic capital markets, deep tech, defence and energy, which can be implemented and scaled up in a short time.

The industry alliance has chosen Gothenburg as the location for the Nordic Compass Summit 2026, in collaboration with the City of Gothenburg through Business Region Göteborg and Göteborg & Co.

Gothenburg is Sweden's industrial centre and home to several of the Nordic region's largest global companies. After two decades of strong growth, the Gothenburg metropolitan region is a concrete example of how European competitiveness can be built through innovation in open collaborations. We look forward to hosting a results-oriented conversation on deeper Nordic collaboration.
- Patrik Andersson, CEO of Business Region Gothenburg
Patrik Andersson CEO, Business Region Göteborg

Gothenburg – a natural choice

Nordic Compass is established as an association with a board, which brings together senior leaders from all over the Nordic region with Jacob Wallenberg as Swedish representative. The Board is chaired by former Prime Minister of Finland Jyrki Katainen.

"Gothenburg is a natural host for the first Nordic Compass Summit. The city demonstrates how alignment between business and the public sector can translate ambition into implementation, exactly the kind of coordinated action Nordic Compass aims to scale across the Nordics,” said Jyrki Katainen, Chair of the Nordic Compass Board, Group Head of Public & Regulatory Affairs at Nordea, and former Prime Minister of Finland.

The ambition is to strengthen Nordic and European resilience and competitiveness, in a world of increasing geopolitical tensions. The Nordic countries are individually small but regarded among the best in capacity for innovation. Taken together, the Nordic Region ranks among the world's largest economies, yet industrial cooperation across the region remains underutilized, according to the alliance.

Nordic Compass gathers more than 25 leading Nordic companies, foundations and organisations as partners in various capacities*, including Aker ASA, Aker Solutions, Alfa Laval, atNorth, Carl Bennet AB, Chr. Augustinus Fabrikker, Danfoss, Embla Medical, EQT, Ericsson, EY, The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, KONE, Kromann Reumert, McKinsey & Company, Nasdaq Nordic, Nokia, Nordea, Nordic Innovation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Nscale, Saab, SEB, Vattenfall, Wallenberg Investments, and Ørsted.

An advisory board to Nordic Compass will provide national insights through eight representatives from the Nordic countries, including Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland, as well as the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Read more in the press release from Nordic Compass:
Major industry leaders launch new Nordic alliance to implement joint initiatives in four critical areas

* Full list available on the website www.nordiccompass.org