Klarna

Klarna is a Swedish e-commerce company that provides payment services for online storefronts. Their core service is to assume stores’ claims for payments and handle customer payments, thus eliminating the risk for seller and buyer. Klarna allows users to pay with simply an email address, billing the customer later and paying the retailer in the meantime. Their business model thus differs from that of other online payment companies, which collect payment from the customer immediately and then forward the money to the retailer. About 40% of all e-commerce sales in Sweden goes through Klarna.[1] The company has more than 1400 employees, most of them working at the headquarters in Stockholm. In 2014, the company handled about $10 billion in online sales.

Sebastian Siemiatkowski is co-founder and CEO of Klarna, one of Europe’s main providers of payment solutions for e-commerce. Sebastian and his two co-founders developed the idea for Klarna during a competition at the Stockholm School of Economics.

He graduated from the Stockholm School of Economics with a master’s degree in economics and while at school founded the company with his co-founders.

Sebastian has received multiple awards for his leadership including the “Rising Star of the Year” by Ernst & Young, “Leader of the Year” by Adecco, “Manager of Tomorrow” by Sweden’s leading Management Magazine and “European Entrepreneur of the Year Award” by TechTour.