STOCKHOLM -- Swedish bearings manufacturer SKF named Rickard Gustafson, head of the Scandinavian airline SAS, as its new CEO.
Gustafson will replace Alrik Danielson, SKF said in a statement. Danielson had already announced he was stepping down this year after six years at the helm.
Gustafson, 56, has been CEO at SAS for a decade and also sits on the board of SKF's largest owner, Foundation Asset Management (FAM).
SKF, the world's biggest maker of ball bearings, generates about 70 percent of group sales in its far more profitable industrial business, while 30 percent stems from the automotive sector.
Under Danielson's leadership, the supplier has been revamping its vast factory network, raised spending on automation, pushed performance-based revenue models and cut costs.
SKF, whose rivals include Germany's Schaeffler, consistently beat analysts' forecasts throughout 2020, and in November raised its long-term profitability target.
