Mentor

Tom Johnstone CBE

Mentor

Tom
Johnstone

Download PDF

Overview

Tom Johnstone was President & CEO of SKF AB, steering the company’s evolution from a bearings manufacturer into a knowledge-driven, sustainability-focused engineering firm. Under his leadership, global sales rose from SEK 42bn to SEK 71bn, profitability doubled, and SKF consistently ranked on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and FTSE4Good—reflecting the long-term impact of his “BeyondZero” initiative.

Tom is currently Chair of Combient AB, Chair of Wärtsilä Oyj, and is an Independent Director at Investor AB, where he offers strategic guidance on governance, stakeholder impact, and industrial innovation. He is also Interim Chair at Northvolt AB, the PE-owned electronics company.

He was Chair of Husqvarna AB, a 10 year tenure that included navigating leadership succession and reinforcing board effectiveness across global industrial platforms. He was a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Volvo Car AB and Chair of the British-Swedish Chamber of Commerce.

Earlier positions included Executive Vice President of SKF AB and President of its Automotive Division.

He brings deep cross-sector expertise in:

• Industrial & engineering transformation – leading legacy manufacturers through value-chain integration, innovation, and global scaling

• Board governance & institutional stewardship – steering supervisory practices and succession across listed and family-investor platforms

• Sustainability & continuous improvement – embedding ESG, Six Sigma, and long-range stewardship into competitive industrial models

• Governance across geographies & industries – leadership roles in maritime, industrial automation, and private-invested groups spanning Sweden, Finland, and broader technology sectors

Educated at the University of Glasgow (MA) and honoured with doctorates from Cranfield and the University of South Carolina, he earned a CBE in 2015 and the Swedish Royal Order of the Polar Star in 2008.

Known for his steady intellect and transformational leadership, he remains a trusted mentor to executives navigating governance, sustainability, and industrial innovation on a global scale. Tom is a respected voice in engineering-led business transformation.

PDF Profile

Download PDF

Major Career Roles

Husqvarna AB

Chair

Wärtsilä OYJ

Chair

Combient AB

Chair

Investor AB

Independent Director

Volvo Car Corp.

Independent Board member

Northvolt AB

Board member

Other Career Highlights

SKF Group

President and CEO

British-Swedish Chamber of Commerce

Chair

Access to an unmatched roster of world-class Mentors

Our unrivalled global roster of board chairs and CEOs offers the seasoned wisdom of proven world-class leaders. Explore this rich array of talent and connect with us to begin a mentoring journey shaped around your leadership context.

Meet the Mentors

The Original Mentor

Mentoring has its roots in one of the oldest leadership stories. In Homer’s Odyssey, Mentor was entrusted with guiding the young Telemachus while Odysseus was away — not by directing him, but by offering judgement, perspective and wisdom born of experience. This enduring idea of counsel, grounded in trust rather than instruction, remains the essence of mentoring today.

That same tradition sits at the heart of Global Mentors Group today. 

We exist to provide leaders with access to seasoned peers who have walked the path before them, offering the clarity, judgement and discretion required to lead at the highest level.

Global Mentors Group
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.