Kenneth Wahlqvist leaves, Veli Taatila covers the interim, and Per Anders Quist arrives on 19 October from the agency that awarded Kreate Sverige its largest contract.
Kreate Group's subsidiary Kreate Sverige AB has appointed Per Anders Quist as chief executive officer, effective 19 October 2026. The company says the appointment is meant to support continued growth in Sweden and strengthen its position in the Nordic region, and notes that Kreate has already reached the target level set for its Swedish operations under the 2024–2027 strategy period, ahead of schedule.
Quist joins from the Swedish Transport Administration, Trafikverket, where, according to the announcement, he was responsible for billion-scale infrastructure projects. He has more than 30 years of experience in infrastructure construction and has led major road, tunnel and other infrastructure projects in Sweden and Norway, including more than ten years at NCC in leadership roles in Norway and a board seat at NCC Norge AS.
President and CEO Timo Vikström framed the hire around Kreate's next growth phase: "In Sweden, we have already reached a level that, a few years ago, we expected to achieve only in 2027. We intend to continue growing in the coming years. Per Anders' exceptionally broad experience in infrastructure construction from both the contractor's and the client's perspective provides him with excellent qualifications for the role. In addition, his straightforward and determined approach is a strong fit with Kreate's culture. We believe he is the right person to lead Kreate Sverige through its next phase of growth."
Quist himself pointed to Norway as the next frontier: "Kreate has built a strong foundation for growth in Sweden. I see significant opportunities to continue growing the business in Sweden, while the Norwegian market also offers interesting opportunities. I look forward to developing our operations together with our employees and customers." The release notes Kreate currently explores Norway on a project-by-project basis and that Quist's Norwegian background supports a more permanent presence there.
Outgoing CEO Kenneth Wahlqvist is leaving to pursue opportunities outside the company. Veli Taatila, Kreate Sverige's first CEO, will serve as interim CEO until Quist starts.
The appointment lands on top of a record quarter
The Sweden CEO change follows weeks after Kreate's largest-ever Swedish contract and a group-wide guidance upgrade, the timing places a leadership change on top of the strongest operating momentum the unit has shown to date.
Kreate Group's April–June 2026 EBITA rose to EUR 9.3 million, or 5.0% of revenue, up from EUR 2.2 million, or 3.0% of revenue, a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter rose 152.3% to EUR 185.4 million, and the order backlog grew 215.2% to a record EUR 885.8 million. Much of that jump is acquisition-driven: KFS Finland Oy has been consolidated as a subsidiary since 1 April 2026, meaning the comparison is not like-for-like with the same quarter in 2025, when Kreate's full-year revenue was EUR 315 million. The half-year report attributes the broader growth to organizational scaling and strategic priorities including Sweden expansion, but Sweden itself, as the numbers below show, remains a small fraction of the group.Revenue for the quarter rose 152.3% to EUR 185.4 million, and the order backlog grew 215.2% to a record EUR 885.8 million. The company's half-year report linked the growth to organizational scaling and strategic priorities including Sweden expansion, and separately noted that KFS Finland Oy has been consolidated as a subsidiary since 1 April 2026.
On 16 June 2026, Kreate raised its full-year 2026 guidance to EUR 600–650 million in revenue and EUR 21–26 million in EBITA, up from a prior range of EUR 510–550 million and EUR 18–22 million, citing efficient project execution and stronger-than-expected order book development. A day after, Kreate Sverige had secured roughly SEK 320 million (about €30M) subcontract for the Lundby Tunnel renovation in Gothenburg, its largest contract to date, with Vikström saying, “We have systematically grown our business in Sweden, and the Lundby Tunnel contract is proof of our Swedish organisation’s ability to participate in increasingly larger projects based on its own special expertise. In line with our strategy, Sweden is developing into a second strong geographical pillar for the Group.”
The Swedish unit, in its own numbers
Kreate Group's half-year report gives the clearest picture of what Quist is inheriting. Sweden generated EUR 15.6 million of Group revenue in the second quarter of 2026, up 101.9% year-on-year, and EUR 31.1 million over the first half, up 82.8%; management describes this as revenue that "has developed according to plan." Sweden still accounts for a modest slice of the Group, about 10% of total revenue, against roughly 90% for Finland, but Kreate's own market assessment treats the two geographies identically: "stronger than usual" market conditions and a "strengthening" outlook in both. The backlog tells a tighter story: of the EUR 336 million Kreate expects to realize during 2026, Sweden's share is just EUR 21 million, about 6%, well below its 10% revenue weight, setting a modest ceiling on how much of this year's growth Quist's unit is expected to contribute before his own tenure begins.
The half-year report also names underground rock construction as Kreate Sverige's largest business line, alongside growing concrete, earthworks and foundation engineering operations, and states that Kreate has become Sweden's leading contractor in tunnel lining, the same discipline underlying the Lundby Tunnel win. The report separately notes that a March 2026 tunnel-lining contract in Northern Norway marked a strategic entry into that market, which Kreate estimates at five to ten times the size of Sweden's, giving concrete shape to the Norway ambition both Vikström and Quist raised in the appointment release.
What Kreate is aiming for
Kreate's own framing is that Sweden has outrun its 2024–2027 strategy target and is now being handed to an executive with Trafikverket and NCC Norway experience specifically to sustain that pace and to test a permanent Norwegian footprint. The Lundby Tunnel contract, running from September 2026 to August 2028, is described by the company as positioning Kreate Sverige for an expected growth phase in the Swedish tunnel construction market from 2027. Group-wide, the raised guidance implies management expects the momentum visible in the first half of 2026 to continue through year-end.
·
5 min read
Explore and follow profiles from this article to get timely updates:
Kenneth Wahlqvist leaves, Veli Taatila covers the interim, and Per Anders Quist arrives on 19 October from the agency that awarded Kreate Sverige its largest contract.
Kreate Group's subsidiary Kreate Sverige AB has appointed Per Anders Quist as chief executive officer, effective 19 October 2026. The company says the appointment is meant to support continued growth in Sweden and strengthen its position in the Nordic region, and notes that Kreate has already reached the target level set for its Swedish operations under the 2024–2027 strategy period, ahead of schedule.
Quist joins from the Swedish Transport Administration, Trafikverket, where, according to the announcement, he was responsible for billion-scale infrastructure projects. He has more than 30 years of experience in infrastructure construction and has led major road, tunnel and other infrastructure projects in Sweden and Norway, including more than ten years at NCC in leadership roles in Norway and a board seat at NCC Norge AS.
President and CEO Timo Vikström framed the hire around Kreate's next growth phase: "In Sweden, we have already reached a level that, a few years ago, we expected to achieve only in 2027. We intend to continue growing in the coming years. Per Anders' exceptionally broad experience in infrastructure construction from both the contractor's and the client's perspective provides him with excellent qualifications for the role. In addition, his straightforward and determined approach is a strong fit with Kreate's culture. We believe he is the right person to lead Kreate Sverige through its next phase of growth."
Quist himself pointed to Norway as the next frontier: "Kreate has built a strong foundation for growth in Sweden. I see significant opportunities to continue growing the business in Sweden, while the Norwegian market also offers interesting opportunities. I look forward to developing our operations together with our employees and customers." The release notes Kreate currently explores Norway on a project-by-project basis and that Quist's Norwegian background supports a more permanent presence there.
Outgoing CEO Kenneth Wahlqvist is leaving to pursue opportunities outside the company. Veli Taatila, Kreate Sverige's first CEO, will serve as interim CEO until Quist starts.
The appointment lands on top of a record quarter
The Sweden CEO change follows weeks after Kreate's largest-ever Swedish contract and a group-wide guidance upgrade, the timing places a leadership change on top of the strongest operating momentum the unit has shown to date.
Kreate Group's April–June 2026 EBITA rose to EUR 9.3 million, or 5.0% of revenue, up from EUR 2.2 million, or 3.0% of revenue, a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter rose 152.3% to EUR 185.4 million, and the order backlog grew 215.2% to a record EUR 885.8 million. Much of that jump is acquisition-driven: KFS Finland Oy has been consolidated as a subsidiary since 1 April 2026, meaning the comparison is not like-for-like with the same quarter in 2025, when Kreate's full-year revenue was EUR 315 million. The half-year report attributes the broader growth to organizational scaling and strategic priorities including Sweden expansion, but Sweden itself, as the numbers below show, remains a small fraction of the group.Revenue for the quarter rose 152.3% to EUR 185.4 million, and the order backlog grew 215.2% to a record EUR 885.8 million. The company's half-year report linked the growth to organizational scaling and strategic priorities including Sweden expansion, and separately noted that KFS Finland Oy has been consolidated as a subsidiary since 1 April 2026.
On 16 June 2026, Kreate raised its full-year 2026 guidance to EUR 600–650 million in revenue and EUR 21–26 million in EBITA, up from a prior range of EUR 510–550 million and EUR 18–22 million, citing efficient project execution and stronger-than-expected order book development. A day after, Kreate Sverige had secured roughly SEK 320 million (about €30M) subcontract for the Lundby Tunnel renovation in Gothenburg, its largest contract to date, with Vikström saying, “We have systematically grown our business in Sweden, and the Lundby Tunnel contract is proof of our Swedish organisation’s ability to participate in increasingly larger projects based on its own special expertise. In line with our strategy, Sweden is developing into a second strong geographical pillar for the Group.”
The Swedish unit, in its own numbers
Kreate Group's half-year report gives the clearest picture of what Quist is inheriting. Sweden generated EUR 15.6 million of Group revenue in the second quarter of 2026, up 101.9% year-on-year, and EUR 31.1 million over the first half, up 82.8%; management describes this as revenue that "has developed according to plan." Sweden still accounts for a modest slice of the Group, about 10% of total revenue, against roughly 90% for Finland, but Kreate's own market assessment treats the two geographies identically: "stronger than usual" market conditions and a "strengthening" outlook in both. The backlog tells a tighter story: of the EUR 336 million Kreate expects to realize during 2026, Sweden's share is just EUR 21 million, about 6%, well below its 10% revenue weight, setting a modest ceiling on how much of this year's growth Quist's unit is expected to contribute before his own tenure begins.
The half-year report also names underground rock construction as Kreate Sverige's largest business line, alongside growing concrete, earthworks and foundation engineering operations, and states that Kreate has become Sweden's leading contractor in tunnel lining, the same discipline underlying the Lundby Tunnel win. The report separately notes that a March 2026 tunnel-lining contract in Northern Norway marked a strategic entry into that market, which Kreate estimates at five to ten times the size of Sweden's, giving concrete shape to the Norway ambition both Vikström and Quist raised in the appointment release.
What Kreate is aiming for
Kreate's own framing is that Sweden has outrun its 2024–2027 strategy target and is now being handed to an executive with Trafikverket and NCC Norway experience specifically to sustain that pace and to test a permanent Norwegian footprint. The Lundby Tunnel contract, running from September 2026 to August 2028, is described by the company as positioning Kreate Sverige for an expected growth phase in the Swedish tunnel construction market from 2027. Group-wide, the raised guidance implies management expects the momentum visible in the first half of 2026 to continue through year-end.
Follow moves like this on the Listeds Executive Intelligence Platform.
Stay on the pulse, catch the signals
Subscribe to Listeds Leadership Intelligence Platform:
leader and company database access
email alerts
career, boards and interim opportunities