Knows business models. Rut Meyersson used to work as a consultant at a larger agency. Today she is employed at RISE and helps innovation companies find good business models.
LIVINGLABS. Many skills build up the work within C2B2. Marine biology, computer science, social anthropology and more. For Rut Meyersson, innovation leader at RISE and linked to C2B2’s work package 2 and LivingLabs West, it’s management and economics that it’s all about.
– I specialize in service design and business models, she says.
She has a master’s degree from Hyper Island/Teesside University in Manchester and a bachelor’s degree from Stockholm University, plus studies in business design from Service Design College in Barcelona. An educational background that seems tailor-made for the corporate world. And that’s where Rut Meyersson began her career, as a management consultant at a large consulting firm.
Previously, she had also worked for short periods at Swedish National Television (SVT) and at an advertising agency.
When she stepped in to the world of management, she quickly found her place.
– It was interesting, a lot was about models for circularity and sustainability. I realized that I like to solve difficult problems, she says.
New perspectives
And then it happened: She went to a workshop with a couple of employees from RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden).
– I was very inspired by how they worked and how they thought about different issues, she says.
All said and done, Rut Meyersson applied to RISE and set her sights on a position with research content. Today, she is employed there, as an innovation manager with a focus on business models. Her position is partly about research, but also about developing new business models for companies, and then she usually works according to a worked-out model.
– It’s hypothesis-driven. I start by defining the problem and then make an assumption about a solution that I test. If it holds up, I know that we are not pushing for the wrong things. If it doesn’t, we must rethink it.
In her role, she helps innovation companies that come into contact with RISE to find their way forward. How can they combine their good ideas with a societal benefit? What business thinking achieves the maximum of that benefit? She says that her way of working is shaped, among other things, by the consulting firm IDEO.
– They are leaders in design. If you work with business models, Alexander Osterwalder is also a name that everyone knows and that has influenced my approach.
Brings expertise to LL West
Since autumn 2024 she has also put her knowledge in the service of C2B2. Rut Meyersson supports the leaders of LivingLab West. She also participates as an expert and discusses business models with the stakeholders who are engaged in the lab. Together with two others affiliated with C2B2 – Frans Sjölander at SEI and Emanuela Vanacore at RISE – she is also writing a research article within the framework of C2B2’s work package 2.
– It is about the business advantages of multi-use of a water area. For example, that you could perhaps combine offshore wind turbines with mussel farms or similar. You may not believe it because the sea is so vast, but one of the major challenges offshore is the lack of space. Several things need to be able to happen in the same area.
Views that make a difference
According to Rut Meyersson, the work within LivingLab West, with a focus on southern Skagerrak, is proceeding forward with active stakeholders and interesting dialogues.
– In that lab, there is a lot of focus on challenges around data and economic conditions. It is progressing well. The views that emerge also have the potential to shape future legislation.
Can you give an example?
– Right now we see that many offshore wind power projects are being rejected. There is a lack of clear directives on how to act. There we can contribute by providing feedback to authorities, among others, and by highlighting the challenges that companies are facing.
Facts: Rut Meyersson
Age: 32 years old.
Occupation: Innovation manager at RISE.
Lives: Stockholm.
Family: Husband and one child, plus one on the way.
Interests: Music, previously active as a DJ. And reading literature about the society.
Listens to: House and techno.
Rides: A red Trek with 21 gears.
Photo: Thomas Drakenfors