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Together with MDA alumni, current MDA students, program contributors from over the years, and distinguished guest speakers, the Center for Sports & Business celebrated the 10th Program Year of the Management Diploma for Athletes (MDA).

The MDA marked the beginning of sports and business at the Stockholm School of Economics in 2011. Hosted at Executive Education, the MDA can be seen as a mini-MBA program where participants learn about strategy, marketing, leadership, and accounting. Throughout the years, Anders Sewerin and Peter Rovér have done an outstanding job as program leaders.

The MDA is the CSB's response to the critical challenge of dual careers for elite athletes. The program brings together individuals from various sports arenas, all united by a strong commitment and determination to succeed. It helps them build a platform for a career beyond sports - whether by starting their own company within or outside of sports, taking the next step in their current career, or developing in their role as a manager or leader in a club or association.

A key theme of the evening's official program was balancing förnyelse (renewal) and förvaltning (management).

Professor Martin Carlsson-Wall, Research Director at the Center for Sports & Business, set the context for the evening, highlighting that MDA students represent renewal. He also discussed the increasing financialization of global sports and the implications this will have for Swedish sports.

Lars Strannegård, President of the Stockholm School of Economics, joined Martin Carlsson-Wall in a conversation about his decade-long tenure as SSE President. He shared insights on how SSE remains relevant, attracts top students and researchers, and maintains its strong foundation in research-based education with deep business connections. He also spoke about the future of the SSE, where sports will play an increasingly important role.

Anna Wiklund, Managing Director of Google Sweden, shared insights from her career at Google and spoke about the company culture - Think like entrepreneurs, act like owners, and everyone is a leader. She also highlighted Google's innovation success, from the 20% Culture (now called Labs) to their groundbreaking achievements in quantum computing and chemistry, as well as the lessons learned from failures.

Finally, Patrik Hofbauer, President and CEO of Telia Company, reflected on his journey from a hockey career to the business world and emphasized the importance of execution. One of his key takeaways was that the best employees combine sports and academic education - individuals with a sports background have the right mindset, know how to focus, and understand the importance of competition.

The event concluded with mingling in the Stockholm School of Economics Atrium late into the evening.