Wallenbergsfärens power trio Jacob, Peter and Marcus Wallenberg write in a joint statement that they received the news with sorrow and that Percy Barnevik played a "particularly important role for us as chairman of Investor".
"We appreciated working with Percy very much and will remember him as a visionary and socially engaged dynamo".
Financier Christer Gardell, who is the founder and CEO of the activist fund Cevian, worked with Percy Barnevik on the board of Skanska in the 90s and describes him as "a legend in Swedish business". He also hired him as an advisor when Cevian entered ABB.
"Percy was analytical, had strong integrity and was very nice", he writes.
Fast pace
"He played an enormously important role in Swedish business", writes Klas Eklund - today chief strategist at the investment company Dahlgren Capital - in an email to TT.
Eklund was chief economist at Wallenbergsfärens major bank SEB during many of the years when Percy Barnevik was the highest executive at a number of other companies with ties to the same sphere.
"He drove to create modern and sufficiently large companies that could win in tough international competition in a fast pace and with a firm grip. His initial successes got followers in many places" continues Eklund.
Charitable organization
In recent years, Percy Barnevik spent a lot of time and money on charity in the organization Hand in hand. The organization's chairman of the board Sunit Mehrotra says that he will remember Barnevik for his vision to combat poverty through entrepreneurship.
I will remember him like many others, with a large portion of drive, commitment and enthusiasm to try to make the world a slightly better place, he says.
According to Klas Eklund, Percy Barnevik was a typical economist who took place in a world traditionally dominated by engineers.
"Personally, he was quick in response, often with drastic formulations. He knew his worth and could put hard pressure to get his will through", he writes.
