一个s newly appointed acting CEO of Elekta, I take on the opportunity to lead a truly global company with one of the most important missions there are – the fight against cancer. I have worked in Elekta for eleven years, and been the CFO for the last three years. To lead a fantastic team of dedicated colleagues all over the world; all sharing the same commitment to our customers and the patients they treat is what drives me forward.
We are currently in the middle of very challenging times due to Covid-19, resulting in human tragedies and the worst financial crisis since the 1930’s. Due to Covid-19, we are starting to see a frightening development where cancer patients are not receiving the care they need. There are delays and even though our customers are making tireless efforts to maintain treatment levels, it is a tough challenge. We must not let them down. Our role, in this global crisis, is to ensure that treatments can continue. We cannot allow a situation where patients in need don’t get their treatments. So far we have managed this well. We have kept uptimes at an almost normal level after seeing them initially go significantly down. This has been an impressive effort from the entire team at Elekta.
While doing so we must also focus on the main objective for Elekta going forward, to fill the gap. We know that the underlying shortage of radiotherapy equipment in the world is more than 10 000 units. This is what is needed to provide true access for all.
Our core is global. We serve customers everywhere and have employees in more than 40 countries. Cancer does not know any boundaries, and neither does the fight against it. Elekta is a company of diversity unified by our global approach to a common mission. As one team, we stand in solidarity with all the voices over the world demanding equal rights and justice, regardless of color. The pandemic shows us that we all share the same challenges and that we can overcome them only by becoming truly global. Elekta firmly believes this to be the only path forward to defeat cancer. So do I.
Gustaf Salford
