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Tomas Z

Fractional Chief Sustainability Officer

About Me

A lot of sustainability efforts get stuck between ambition and execution, be it an early-stage startup with a bold mission or a large corporate initiative to transition its business. My work for nearly two decades has been bridging that gap, where strategy, operational change, and finance have to work together.

Jurisdiction

Region: Europe

Notable Employer

  • Senior Advisor, Group Sustainability at Swedbank
  • Head of Sustainable Finance Transformation, Corporates and Institutions at Swedbank
  • Head of ESG Advisory, Large Corporates and Institutions at Swedbank
  • Strategy Consulting Manager at Accenture
  • Director, Sustainability Strategy at Telia Company
  • Management Consulting Manager at EY

Experience

Seniority LevelExecutive
Years of Experience15-20 years
Current StatusActive
Strategic Advisor Independent
2026 - Present

• Advising asset managers, private equity, and impact funds on ESG due diligence, portfolio value creation, and climate transition investment strategy as an independent strategic advisor

Senior Advisor, Group Sustainability NotableSwedbank
2023 - 2026

• Led the transformation from a standalone Group Sustainability function to a hybrid embedded model across the bank, including governance realignment and new ways of working across all business areas • Established the internal governance and control environment for the Group's voluntary ESG commitments and led the CSDDD regulatory assessment and compliance implementation, covering climate and human rights due diligence across the value chain • Delivered internal stakeholder training sessions for employees across multiple ESG subject areas and spoke regularly at external forums (UNEP FI, PRB) on sustainable finance, circular economy financing, and ESG data management

Head of Sustainable Finance Transformation, Corporates and InstitutionsNotableSwedbank
2022 - 2023

• Led a corporate development function (Head of Sustainability, Corporate & Institutions) building business capabilities (processes, people, systems, governance) to support proactive ESG advisory and product delivery to corporate clients • Led phased implementation of the EU Sustainable Finance Action Plan (SFDR, MiFID II, EU Taxonomy) and financed emissions reduction targets under PCAF, aligned with the bank's Net Zero Banking Alliance and SBTi commitments

Head of ESG Advisory, Large Corporates and Institutions NotableSwedbank
2020 - 2022

• Established, recruited, and led Swedbank's client-facing ESG Advisory function within CIB from zero, also serving on the Front Office leadership team • Led the team through 170+ sustainability-themed materiality assessments and ESG due diligence engagements (EUR 1M to EUR 2B per deal) across Industrials, Energy, TMT, Real Estate, and Retail; ESG-labelled credit exposure grew from SEK 18B to SEK 59B over 30 months • Co-originated and structured landmark green finance transactions, including SSAB's EUR 1B Sustainability-Linked RCF and energy transition mandates with Vattenfall, Fortum, and Scatec Solar • Designed a proprietary ESG evaluation methodology now used group-wide in credit risk assessment across 3,000+ corporate clients

Strategy Consulting ManagerNotableAccenture
2017 - 2020

• Led Nordic Innovation's cross-ecosystem circular economy training programme across four manufacturing sectors, engaging 50+ Nordic companies in sustainability capability building and CE pilot project design • Project manager for IKEA's global market sizing study on circular economy business model revenue potential; led development of the Finnish Chemical Industry Federation's Circular Business Model Playbook

Director, Sustainability StrategyNotableTelia Company
2015 - 2017

• Led design and deployment of Telia's Creating Shared Value strategy, including SDG impact mapping, products and offering mapping, KPI development, and performance monitoring across 15 countries in the Nordics, Baltics, and Eurasia • Trained and supported business regions and functions on strategy execution, leading to multiple local sustainability projects across markets

Management Consulting ManagerNotableEY
2011 - 2015

• Delivered non-financial assurance and related consulting engagements (ISAE 3000 limited assurance, GRI G3/G4) supporting Vattenfall, Billerud, Systembolaget, and Sodra and other clients in producing and passing external assurance of carbon footprint, climate related, and broader sustainability disclosures • Designed the investment partner ESG risk screening framework for Sida's Private Sector Collaboration unit, covering methodology, screening criteria, KPIs, and governance for DFI-grade ESG due diligence • Led sustainability materiality assessments and stakeholder engagement projects for Systembolaget, Sodra, and SEB, informing corporate sustainability strategy and external non-financial reporting

Co-founder and CEORelation Capital Partners
2009 - 2011

• Co-founded a sustainability strategy consultancy, managed P&L, hired staff, and led fundamental research as co-creator of Sweden's largest corporate sustainability brand study, covering 151 companies (now Sustainable Brand Index)

Earlier CareerN/A
1999 - 2009

Consultant, Intellectual Capital Sweden AB (2007-2009): Conducted operational due diligence and led the integration of Corporate Sustainability (ESG) into the firm's IC-Rating methodology. Part-time Swedish Armed Forces (2000-2006) with active deployments to Afghanistan and Kosovo; Squad leader in conscription service.

Education

Diploma of Leading with Analytics-Powered StrategyNorthwestern University, Kellogg School of Management
2019 - 2019
Degree of EconomicsStockholm University, Stockholm Business School
2007 - 2008
Diploma of Economics and International Business Enterprise (Graduate Studies)Sodertorn University
2004 - 2007

Certification

Total Certifications8

Leading Others

Leadership Pipeline Institute (delivered via Swedbank)

2021 - 2022

Credential ID: N/A

Leadership - to lead

Mindset

2011

Successful Sales for Field Sales Reps

Mindset

2010

Credential ID: N/A

Everything DiSC Certified Trainer

Inscape Partners International (delivered via Mindset AB)

2010

Credential ID: 00898

Coaching Programme

Foretagsakademin

2010

Credential ID: N/A

Negotiation Technique

Mindset

2009

Credential ID: N/A

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

FranklinCovey (delivered via Accenture)

2018

Credential ID: N/A

Basic environmental management (ISO 14001:2004)

Swedish Institute for Standards, SIS (delivered via EY)

2011

Credential ID: N/A

Skills

Core skills10
Interests8
Languages4

Skills

Business Strategy
Sustainability
Finance
Investment
Transformation
Operating Model
Reporting
Assurance
Leadership
Coaching

Interests

Energy Transition
Circular Economy
Nature & Biodiversity
Sustainable Investing
Impact Investing
Creating Shared Value
Big Data & Machine Learning
Analytics

Languages

English
Swedish
German
Norwegian