Mattias Gyllenswärd

Age: 21
Family: Mother, father in England. 1 younger sister, 1 younger brother
Hobbies: Sailing

 The world of Ericsson is nothing new for Mattias Gyllenswärd, whose father has had a long career in telecommunications. As a family, the Gyllenswärds have sailed together for years. Now, young Mattias has taken both activities and combined them at Ericsson Racing Team.

But it’s not his dad that got him the job. “I went sailing with a guy who worked here,” explains Gyllenswärd. “He asked if I wanted a job and before I knew it I was building a boat.”

As an apprentice, Gyllenswärd does various duties. He has laminated the deck and hull, made panels, among other tasks. “I jump around a bit,” he says with a laugh. “It’s very exciting. It’s a huge project and I’m glad to be here.”

He says growing up with Ericsson doesn’t give him an advantage in the boatyard. “It’s building a boat, not selling networks,” he says. Most builders have started with the misconception that Ericsson makes mobile phones, but learn quickly that the joint venture between Ericsson and Sony, Sony Ericsson, makes consumer products while Ericsson makes telecommunications equipment and services to enable the connectivity between those devices. So in his simple statement, Gyllenswärd reveals that he understands more deeply than most boat builders exactly what Ericsson does.

His personal use of the mobile communications network is rather modest. “I make calls, send texts, but not much more than that,” he says. He’ll keep in touch with the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009 via the Internet.

This experience could be the start of a career, but Gyllenswärd says he’s just testing the waters. “It’s probably not what I’m going to spend the rest of my life doing, but I won’t regret this,” he says.