China’s Geely Holding has named Danish veteran Lone Fonss Schroder as chairperson of the board at Geely Sweden Holding, the company’s key European investment arm, replacing founder and top shareholder Li Shufu.
Li, also known as Eric Li, will retain a position on the board and continue as chair of Volvo Cars.
Schroder has served on the Geely Sweden Holding board for six years and is credited with an increasingly important role in shaping the group’s European operations, according to a company spokesman.
Her appointment aligns with Geely’s ongoing “regionalisation” strategy, aimed at enhancing oversight of its European assets.
As part of the changes, Schroder will resign from the board of Volvo Cars, where she had been a board member since 2010, and will instead join the automaker’s nomination committee responsible for board appointments.
Geely’s restructure at the European arm reflects a broader push initiated last year by Li to sharpen strategic focus across its brands and reduce internal competition.
This initiative has included consolidating teams, reorganising brands such as Zeekr, Geely Auto and Lynk & Co, and repositioning executives and board members at Volvo Cars and fellow Swedish electric carmaker Polestar.
Polestar, a loss-making business in which Li holds majority ownership through Geely Sweden and personal holdings, is reported to replace two Geely-appointed board members at its shareholder meeting scheduled for June 30.
In March, Volvo Cars recalled former CEO Håkan Samuelsson to lead the company amid tariff pressures and market uncertainty, underscoring the group’s efforts to stabilise executive leadership in a challenging global environment.
This leadership reshuffle at Geely Sweden Holding is designed to bolster coordination between Geely’s European entities and reinforce strategic governance across its portfolio.
