Global engineering group, Sandvik, boasts one of industry’s top female leaders — according to Ledarna’s ‘Female Leaders of the Future’ list.
Nina Åxman, vice president and head of global operations at Sandvik Rock Tools, is listed as number one in the international list of inspiring women in leadership.
The ‘Female Leaders of the Future’ list compiles 75 female executives from a range of business sectors. Now in its fourteenth year, the Female Leaders of the Future initiative aims to highlight examples of women in leadership and create a meeting place for women in business to inspire and support each other.
Åxman joined Sandvik in January 2020. As vice president and head of global operations at Sandvik Rock Tools, Åxman is responsible for leading 1,300 of Sandvik’s employees across nine countries.
Before beginning her role as vice president, Åxman was keen to capture a true experience of life at Sandvik beyond boardroom meetings and conference calls. Putting on her Sandvik uniform, Åxman gained valuable perspective of working life at Sandvik’s production facility in Sandviken, Sweden — the organisations primary production site and town of the organisation’s namesake.
Åxman’s desire to diversify her working knowledge of Sandvik through hands-on experience is reflected in the company’s efforts to diversify its team. Sandvik works on several levels to increase diversity, including a program providing an introduction to staff on how to work with diversity and inclusion as a manager. As a result of these efforts at Sandvik, the share of women in managerial positions increased from 17.7% to 18.2% in 2019.