Meet RAIN.global Business Team
Foreword by RAIN.global founders Henri Kivioja and Jarne Atsar : Who is Magnus Furustam ?
Henri: Magnus is a full-blown professional who is not afraid to ask questions in any situation. That is one of the qualities we have grown to like in Magnus. With exceptional experience in-and-out telecoms and IT, Magnus brings his unique person and winning attitude to our business building engagements.?
We are able to leverage quality, quantity and team spirit with him. As a team, we also enjoy doing things together with respect and ”winning at global level” attitude. Curiosity brings learning and learning leads to clarity. That is something every company needs in their journey.
Jarne: Meet Magnus, my old colleague from Ericsson's heyday. He was a product manager with a flair for making gadgets as thrilling as a rock concert. We crossed paths often, each encounter more varied than the last.?
Flashback to the 2008 Mobile World Congress: We were showcasing a new mobile switch, but hit a snag - no Swedes from the tech team were available. Magnus, in a pinch, called me to Germany. But with no hotel rooms left, he came up with a wild plan: I'd sleep in his bathtub!?
Instead of embracing the cozy confines of Magnus' bathtub, I embarked on a daily 40km trek to a hotel room, which, humorously, wasn't much larger than the bathtub itself. Every day, I journeyed back and forth, turning what could have been a simple tub stay into an epic commute to a tiny room. It's one of those moments where the journey (and the cramped accommodations) became as memorable as the event itself!
Magnus, Thank you for all your inspiration, guidance and fun memories!
With his successful management of multiple global product business areas, Magnus brings invaluable strategies for navigating highly competitive environments and consistently delivering strong financial results. His belief in building a solid market view and delivering a clear value proposition resonates deeply. Let's delve into Magnus's insights.
Magnus, you have managed multiple global product business areas successfully. Could you elaborate on some strategies you have employed to navigate highly competitive environments and consistently deliver strong financial results?
-I believe that to remain competitive in a highly competitive business environment, you first need to invest in building a solid view of how the market will evolve and what is driving that evolution. Based on this insight, you need a clear understanding of how you can best assist your customers in that environment by delivering a clear value proposition. Once you have a good understanding of what to deliver, it's essential to have the right people on board and to establish efficient and solid processes.
Your international sales experience in the high-tech industry is impressive. Could you highlight some key lessons learned from managing sales operations across diverse global markets?
-Typically, high-tech businesses move fast, and staying relevant in a changing business environment puts high requirements on what you bring forward to your customers, which should always be relevant to their business and operational situations. Therefore, you need to make sure that you are always addressing the customer’s key pain points or their main focus for business growth. To be able to do that, you need to stay close to your customers and partners. Otherwise, you risk being irrelevant, and then you will never deliver.
How do you envision contributing to our organization's strategic goals and vision as a member of our Senior Advisor board, particularly in terms of fostering product excellence and driving digital transformation initiatives?
-I hope to add value in bringing clarity into our strategic priorities by helping the team in the process of understanding what customer challenges we are trying to solve and then aligning the whole team behind those priorities.? I believe our offering will help our customers become more efficient as well as enabling them to develop their offering. In other words, helping our customers on their digital transformation.?
How do you stay up to date on emerging trends and technologies in the rapidly evolving landscape of IT, Telecom, Cloud and IoT??
-Working with companies that are doing new things in new ways is typically the best way to stay up to date with industry development. I also believe that following what’s happening in other adjacent industries gives you a good understanding of what’s driving the change in society at large.
How do you translate these insights into actionable strategies for business growth and innovation?
-Over the years and even more so during the last years in my role as a high-tech business advisor, I have come to realize that a product company in a highly competitive and technically advanced market needs to master at least three dimensions:
Amidst your demanding professional commitments, how do you unwind and recharge? Do you have any hobbies or activities that you particularly enjoy outside of the corporate world?
?-I typically enjoy spending time with the family, and I do my best to stay fit by skiing in the winter and running during the warmer seasons. Also, walking the dog every day helps me stay relaxed.