TOMRA CEO wins leadership award

Ranstrand
Stefan Ranstrand

Stefan Ranstrand, TOMRA’s president and CEO, has been named best CEO in the sustainable resource management industry in the European CEO Awards.

Ranstrand is currently enjoying his tenth year as TOMRA president and CEO, following his appointment in August 2009. During his time at the helm, he has led the business on a journey from a loose collection of entities into one strong and unified brand. TOMRA is now globally recognized as the world leader in reverse vending technology and sensor-based sorting solutions for the food, recycling and mining industries.

“It’s a great honour to have received this accolade,” Ranstrand said. “This is testament to the whole company and recognizes the dedication of TOMRA’s people. The past year has been our most successful to date, reaffirming our status as a sustainability leader and spearhead of the resource revolution.”

Founded in 1972, TOMRA employs 3,565 people and is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Around 97,500 of its machines are installed in more than 80 markets worldwide.

During the year, Ranstrand also led acquisitions for TOMRA including New Zealand-based lane sorting manufacturer Compac for NZ$70m (€46m), further reinforcing TOMRA’s position as the world’s leading food sorting business with the widest range of technologies and the largest geographical footprint.

Commenting on the win, the European CEO Award judges said: “TOMRA’s solutions are part of a widespread push to operate more sustainably. The global population is expected to increase by 30 per cent over the next 40 years; as such, it has become essential for organizations to rethink how they obtain, use and re-use resources. Sustainability has been at the heart of TOMRA’s business for four decades and they continue to find new ways to optimize precious resources.”

Before joining TOMRA, Ranstrand held management positions at power and automation technologies company ABB (1991-2009) and computer manufacturer Data General AG (1988-1991).

In addition to his corporate experience, he has a master’s degree in industrial and management engineering from the Institute of Technology at Linköping University, as well as a diploma in industrial engineering from the Technical University of Darmstadt.