Sebastian Siemiatkowski
Sebastian Siemiatkowski | |
|---|---|
 Siemiatkowski in 2019 | |
| Born | 3 October 1981 Sweden |
| Education | Stockholm School of Economics |
| Occupation | CEO of Klarna |
Sebastian Siemiatkowski (also spelled Sebastian Siemiątkowski; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish entrepreneur and former billionaire who is the co-founder and chief executive officer of fintech company Klarna.
Early life
[edit]Siemiatkowski's parents moved to Uppsala from Poland in the 1980s.[1] He was born on 3 October 1981[2] in Sweden but his older sister was born in Poland.[3][4]
Siemiatkowski considers himself as a second generation immigrant. His early influences were Richard Branson and Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA. Siemiatkowski credits the Swedish digital policy of subsidizing the ownership of computers for his success because it allowed his family to acquire their first computer.[3]
Education and career
[edit]Siemiatkowski attended high school at Katedralskolan, Uppsala.[5] He holds a master's degree from the Stockholm School of Economics.[6]
He started building Klarna at age 23[7] and co-founded the company with Niklas Adalberth and Victor Jacobsson in 2005. Siemiatkowski had met one of his co-founders when working at Burger King.[6]
In 2022, as Klarna laid of 10% of its employees as it experienced financial difficulty, Siemiatkowski publicly posted a list of employees who were recently dismissed by the company publicising their email addresses in the process.[8] This was criticised as tone deaf by commentators.[9] The Swedish Financial Sector Union expressed regret to have learnt about the job cuts from the media rather than being consulted beforehand and sued the company over the layoffs.[10]
Siemiatkowski owns about 7% of Klarna, which made him a billionaire, although after Klarna experienced difficulties its lower valuation meant that, as of 2023, he was no longer a billionaire.[6]
Future of work
[edit]In December 2024, he stated that the company stopped hiring people last year because "AI can do all of the jobs that we humans do. It’s just a question of how we apply it and use it”.[11]
Personal life
[edit]Siemiatkowski married Nina, a marketing executive he first met while attending the Stockholm School of Economics, in 2014. She is the founder of a digital platform to connect donors with local nonprofits and played a key role in identifying a marketing agency that created Klarna's branding.[12] They have three children and live in Stockholm.[13][12]
References
[edit]- ^ "Sebastian Siemiątkowski". Politico. Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ Chambers, Sam (June 6, 2021). "Interview: 'Payday loans? No, we're a cuddly alternative to credit card giants,' says Klarna's Sebastian Siemiatkowski". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
- ^ a b "How Klarna's Sebastian Siemiatkowski is making retail payments smoother". Bloomberg. December 17, 2021. Archived from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ Larsson, Linus; Nantell, Anette (November 29, 2019). "Klarnas vd Sebastian Siemiatkowski: Jag kunde inte hantera alkoholen". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). ISSN 1101-2447. Archived from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
- ^ Goldberg, Daniel (October 6, 2015). "Klarna- och Skype-grundarna återvänder till gymnasiet" [The Klarna and Skype founders return to high school]. Dagens industri (in Swedish). Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Sebastian Siemiatkowski". Forbes. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ Stokel-Walker, Chris (June 20, 2023). "Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski will never play by the rule book". GQ. Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Klarna faces backlash after CEO shares names of laid-off workers on social media - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. June 1, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
- ^ Daly, Charles; Bloomberg (June 1, 2022). "'Tone deaf' or a big help? Klarna CEO sparks heated debate after posting a list of laid-off employees". Fortune. Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Software workers labor union sues Klarna over layoffs of 700 | Hacker News". news.ycombinator.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
- ^ "Klarna CEO gives final verdict on AI vs human force". Daily Jang. December 16, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
- ^ a b Rose, Hilary (April 12, 2022). "Nina Siemiatkowski: I don't just want to be Mrs Klarna". The Times. Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
- ^ Levine, Joshua (September 23, 2021). "Inside Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski's Striking Home". WSJ Magazine. Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
