2026.01.13
Jonas Sandwall new Secretary General of SME-D – strengthens focus on innovation and delivery for total defense
SME-D, the trade association for small and medium-sized companies in the Swedish defense sector, is shifting its focus to innovation and delivery capability for Sweden's total defense. Jonas Sandwall now takes office as the organization's new Secretary General.
With a background in technology-driven development, deeptech and strategic collaboration between business and research, Jonas Sandwall takes on the role of Secretary General. The goal is clear: to create structures that give small and medium-sized companies a natural path into total defense – with cutting-edge expertise, a rapid pace of innovation and high delivery reliability.
We are facing a security situation where new technologies and delivery reliability are prerequisites for our resilience. In order for Sweden to be able to bring world-leading and groundbreaking innovations to its total defense, we must create the right conditions for small and medium-sized companies. It is these players that allow Sweden to compete with innovation speed and delivery capacity, says Jonas Sandwall, new Secretary General of SME-D.
I look forward to working together with SME-D's members and their deep expertise for world-class total defense.
SME-D's mission is to strengthen the competitiveness of its members and create better conditions for innovation and delivery capabilities in defence tech and security tech. The organization is an important voice in developing structures that enable new companies to become an integrated part of the total defence technology ecosystem.
The established defense industry provides a stable foundation for Sweden's security and will continue to be crucial for our defense capability. At the same time, today's security situation requires more than traditional structures. We need to supplement it with new processes that enable business for new players who can deliver rapid innovation, cutting-edge expertise with short development cycles. says Andreas Nilsson, chairman of SME-D.
SME-D has recently established its office function within TechSverige, which strengthens collaboration between the defense sector and the broader tech industry. The collaboration creates better conditions for faster technology delivery, robust skills supply and increased competitiveness for Swedish companies.
We are very pleased that Jonas Sandwall will take up his position as Secretary General. With SME-D's establishment with us, we are taking an important step towards strengthening the collaboration between the defense sector and the Swedish tech industry, where Jonas will have a central role, says Åsa Zetterberg, CEO at TechSverige.