11/05/2026
Last week, the Swedish Armed Forces and the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency convened the first meeting of a new Business Council for Total Defence — a strategic forum established to contribute perspectives, experience and situational awareness in support of strengthening Sweden’s collective resilience and defence capability.
Our CEO, Mikael Karlsson, has been appointed as a member of the council.
To us, this is not primarily recognition — it is responsibility.
At MW Group, our purpose is to contribute to a stronger and more resilient society by strengthening Nordic total defence through fostering and developing defence-related companies. We invest in, build and scale small and medium-sized enterprises that support both civilian preparedness and military capability.
We believe this is fundamental to building resilient societies at scale — not through a handful of large governmental institutions alone, but together with a strong ecosystem of specialised and capable, small och large, companies working together across sectors.
That ecosystem does not emerge on its own. It requires long-term commitment, industrial capability, access to capital, and genuine partnership between the public and private sectors.
“This council represents exactly the kind of forum we need — where government, authorities and industry can come together, share perspectives on a strategic level and take collective responsibility for the long-term work required to strengthen Sweden’s defence capability and resilience AND to make sure that things gets done. I am honoured to contribute.”
— Mikael Karlsson, CEO, MW Group.
Photo: Försvarsmakten