Get to know Linus Brandt
CFO at Opus Group since April 2016.
Linus Brandt joined Opus from Mediatec, where he was CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and Deputy CEO. Prior to that he worked as CFO at Stena Adactum – the Stena Group’s investment company – which included Mediatec and several other companies run by entrepreneurs. He now brings this experience with him in his new role at Opus Group.
Structural capital and financing
“One of my goals is to create structure while also retaining the entrepreneurial spirit within the group,” he tells us. “This will mean building up structural capital through processes and procedures that support management while also creating a platform for continued growth. It’s also about having a clear, long-term strategy – essential when prioritizing wisely among the opportunities the market offers.”
“The strategy is not only important for us, but also for our investors by allowing them to see the lines along which we are working. I also hope to help both communicate and deliver to the market in compliance with our “story”. Relations with the capital markets are always a question of trust. It is especially important in enabling us to attract capital and safeguard long-term financing on good terms for Opus.”
“Because Opus is a growth company, the CFO’s main task is to safeguard long-term financing.”
“The vehicle inspection industry is growing globally and there are opportunities for Opus to grow by setting up in new markets. To do this we need a strong balance sheet and good liquidity,” he says. “Thanks to robust cash flows from our operations in the USA and Sweden, we’re constantly generating resources for new establishments including those where we must build operations from the ground up with new stations, equipment and personnel training.”
Sustainability in practice
Linus Brandt began his career in the 1990s as an auditor and advisor with Arthur Andersen. In addition to auditing mainly international and publicly listed companies, he also worked with e.g. the sale of companies and was periodically stationed in South Africa and Norway. With just over 20 years’ experience from various industries and types of company, he hopes to contribute new perspectives.
One of the things that makes work at Opus especially stimulating is the public good it generates, i.e. how vehicle inspections now contribute to a better environment and fewer traffic fatalities in the Third World. The Safe & Clean concept plays a vital part in operations in many ways.
“Not only do we help the appropriate authorities around the world to achieve cleaner, safer vehicles, but the way we do business is also spotless,” he tells us. “We categorically refuse to take part in every form of corruption such as bribery and commissions, and we regularly check our own inspection stations to remove the slightest suspicion of irregularities. Our operation entails the exercise of official authority, so our credibility must not be eroded in any way at all.”
A recent example of the Group’s practical sustainability efforts is Opus Bilprovning’s 2016 achievement of becoming the first vehicle inspection company to be 100 per cent carbon neutral. This not only includes the company’s own emissions but also those from our customers’ trips to and from inspection stations.
About Linus
Linus lives in Gothenburg, is married and has two boys and a cat. A great deal of family life is centred around the children’s sporting activities. The younger son plays competition tennis, while the elder has moved to Leksand to attend baseball academy. Otherwise books, films, travel and socializing keep the family busy.
Hidden family talents include Linus’ Morse code abilities (he was a signals officer in the Navy); he is also (or rather was) really good at climbing the rigging in old sailing ships after spending a summer on the schooner Falken in his younger years.