Christer Gardell

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: Sitting in isolation and away from London, Paris or New York, the Sage of Stockholm, is the ultimate activist investor and the ultimate buggy man of Nordic corporate fairy tales. His company, Cevian Capital, would be a softy in New York, but for Scandinavia he is the ghost of pillaging Vikings. No company is large enough in Europe for him to take 1-4% ownership, take over the board and fire the management, to get his way. He will even partner with the likes of Carl Icahn for added firepower.

BIG DEALS: Volvo, TeliaSonera, Munich Re.