Micael Gustafsson is “European Cluster Manager of the Year 2012”

Micael Gustafsson is the managing director of Cluster 55 and was during the European Cluster Conference in Vienna awarded as European Cluster Manager of the year 2012. Micael has a very varied background, mainly from industry. He has been working as a management consultant, copywriter in advertising, marketing manager in automotive, CEO in an ICT firm, manager at Logica and has started several companies of his own. 

Cluster 55 is based in the southern part of Sweden, but operates also in the greater Copenhagen area. The organization focuses on helping start ups and SME:s in the ICT sector with internationalization through a large international network. Matchmaking, fundraising and branding are main activities.

“Passion and curiosity are keywords in cluster management, sharing and collaboration are others. As we work with people you really need to have an interest in what others do and you also must be willing to share your knowledge with them. The award really means a lot to me and to my colleagues. The international reputation that this gives us, will help us to expand our network even more” says Micael Gustafsson.

The “European Cluster Manager of the Year 2012” Award

The Award honors cluster managers in Europe for outstanding success stories and was open to every cluster manager in Europe to apply.

On the occasion of the European Cluster Conference 2012, Micael Gustafsson Cluster Manager of Cluster 55, was elected “European Cluster Manager of the Year 2012”. 

After 2006, 2008 and 2010 the “European Cluster Managers’ Club” awarded the “Cluster Manager of the Year” for the 4th time. Micael convinced the jury with Cluster 55’s success story on a “business roaming agreement” in which a network of business hubs throughout Europe, Asia, South America and the <acronym id="acronym0">US</acronym> was created. He could claim more than 40% of the audiences’ votes through his open, straight and charming answers to the pitching questions raised by the Jury President, Christoph Beer, and Klaus Haasis, European Cluster Managers’ Club. Micael has officially been honored during the award Ceremony on the evening of the 19.4.

Besides Micael, the nominees were 

  • Alois Geisslhofer, Green Building Cluster of Lower Austria 
  • Bertrand Guilbaud, Images & Reseaux
  • <acronym id="acronym1"></acronym>Rolf Reiner, CARS (Cluster Automotive Region Stuttgart) / automotive-bw

All four candidates got the opportunity to presents themselves and their work to 350 participants of the Conference who afterwards elected the winner. 

The Award honors cluster managers in Europe for outstanding success stories and was open to every cluster manager in Europe to apply.

Jury Members "European Cluster Manager of the Year Award 2012"

The Jury of the "European Cluster Manager of the Year Award 2012" is composed of the following members:

  • Christoph Beer, ICT Cluster Bern, Cluster Manager of the Year 2008 (President of the Jury)
  • Dusan Busan, Automotive Cluster of Slovenia, Cluster Manager of the Year 2006
  • Johann P. Bang, Future Position X, Cluster Manager of the Year 2010
  • Lennart Svensson, Skåne Region, Chairperson of the European Forum for Clusters in Emerging Industries (EFCEI)
  • Marc Pattinson, inno TSD, as representative of the European Cluster Alliance