SKF has announced that Tom Johnstone has decided to step down as president and CEO of SKF, on 1 January 2015.

Johnstone will be succeeded by Alrik Danielson who has been president and CEO of Höganäs since 2005. Danielson worked at SKF between 1987 and 2005 and held a number of executive positions within the group including that of president of the SKF Group’s industrial division and member of the SKF Group’s executive committee.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

Leif Östling, chairman of the board of SKF, said, “I am very pleased to welcome Alrik Danielson back to SKF. His experience during 18 years at different positions in SKF and the last nine years as CEO of Höganäs makes him a competent successor to Tom Johnstone.”

Östling continued: “I want to thank Tom Johnstone warmly for his great achievements during close to 38 years at SKF and above all during his time as president and CEO. Under Tom’s leadership SKF has developed into a knowledge engineering company, profitably increased its sales from SEK41bn (US$5.93bn) in 2003 to SEK63bn last year and delivered a total shareholder return of over 400%”.

Danielson said: “I am proud and happy to rejoin SKF and to become its president and CEO in January. I look forward to continuing to build on the group’s positive development during the last decade.”

Johnstone said, “To retire from SKF after almost 38 years with the company will not be easy. However, the time is right and the decision to step down has been made easier by the board choosing Alrik Danielson as my successor. I wish him and the SKF team the best of luck. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the board, our shareholders, our customers and distributors and all the fantastic employees within SKF for their strong support in my years as president and CEO.”

Just Auto Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Just Auto Technology Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
Continental has secured the Window Displays Innovation Award in the 2025 Just Auto Excellence Awards for its Window Projection solution, transforming side windows into dynamic, data-rich canvases. Discover how this compact projection technology and intelligent software are reshaping in-car UX and opening fresh revenue streams for OEMs and mobility providers.

Discover the Impact