VanillaPlus: What was your first job?
Mats Nordlund: My first job was knocking on doors in the neighbourhood where I grew up in Northern Sweden selling Christmas cards. I think that it helped me to develop a skill to quickly deliver a sales pitch so that I could close a deal before anyone was able to shut the door in front of me.
VP: What led you into a career in telecoms?
MN: I developed an early interest in computers and communication thanks to my parents who bought me a Commodore VIC-20 when I was 10 years old. I was also amazed by space science, so satellite communications were exciting to me.
VP: Without naming and shaming, tell us about your worst ever boss.
MN: I have been fortunate to always have had very helpful and coaching bosses in my professional career, so I don’t have any horrible bosses stories to share, luckily.
VP: What has been your worst business travel experience?
MN: When John McEnroe, the tennis player, ignored the check in waiting line and just went straight to the counters to get on a flight. I don’t think that I had ever wanted to return home more after that long week of travel, and I was really regretting giving up tennis in that moment.
VP: What has been the proudest moment in your career?
MN: When we signed our first Netrounds customer back in 2009. That marked the start of the exciting journey me and my fantastic colleagues are still exploring and enjoying.
VP: Where do you see yourself in five years?
MN: Definitely still working in telecoms. Perhaps me and my wife have relocated from Sweden to another country, though. Maybe Spain or Italy – somewhere a bit warmer and where I can take up that tennis game again, with a wine and thin crust pizza happy hour of course.
