Guðbjörg Edda Eggertsdóttir
Investments as a Way to Shape Your Work Environment and Have a Positive Impact on Society
"I don't want to live anywhere else but in Hafnarfjörður," says Guðbjörg Edda Eggertsdóttir with a smile when we visit her in the municipality where she has lived nearly her entire life. Edda has made herself comfortable – her spacious apartment is cozy, and she herself has a warm presence and infectious laughter.
Surrounded by the aroma of coffee and the pleasant company of books, paintings, and other artwork, we focus our attention on Edda's successful career in business and especially her progress in the investment field, which is the main topic of the day.
First Investment as a Way to Shape Her Work Environment
Edda has long and successful experience in business, both domestically and internationally. However, it wasn't always clear that she would eventually turn to investments.
She completed her degree in pharmacy from the University of Iceland in 1973 and a candidate degree in pharmacy from Danmarks Farmaceutiske Højskole, now Copenhagen University, in 1976. She then returned to Iceland and worked for a while as a professional director of the pharmaceutical wholesaler Farmasía hf. In 1980, she moved to Pharmaco hf., beginning her career with the company to which she would dedicate most of her professional life.
"I think I've held about fifteen different positions there!" says Guðbjörg Edda with a laugh.
I wanted to contribute, both to make the company a reality and so that I could have some influence.
What were you doing initially?
"Originally, I was what's called a pharmaceutical representative for the medications that Pharmaco produced here in Iceland. At that time, it had just become possible to register domestic pharmaceuticals here, and Pharmaco – which had then become a relatively established company, owned by pharmacists – wanted to participate in that development."
However, Pharmaco's main business was importing foreign pharmaceuticals, and the original manufacturers were not happy that their Icelandic distributor was essentially competing with them. Therefore, it was decided to place Pharmaco's pharmaceutical production in a separate company that was established in December 1981 and named Delta.
"And I am actually one of the founders of that company and bought shares in it. That's really my first investment – apart from having bought an apartment and things like that."
"There, a company was being founded that I knew I would work for, and I was passionate about doing it well and properly," says Edda. "I wanted to contribute, both to make the company a reality and so that I could have some influence – for those reasons, I bought two percent of Delta. I was certainly not a wealthy person, so this was quite an effort, but I felt I needed to do it. For the next 20 years, I was always trying to maintain about 2% in the company. Some years I couldn't participate in capital increases – but then I would later try to buy out someone who wasn't necessarily interested in staying."
A Changed World Regarding Gender Balance
In the early years, the women at Pharmaco could be counted on the fingers of one's hands.
"Though perhaps not on the fingers of one hand," says Edda, while noting that she didn't really think much about such matters.
"This industry was, like most at that time, very male-dominated. Female employees were mostly in packaging and other jobs that didn't require much education. In the beginning, all managers, except for me, were men."
Pharmaco hf. eventually merged with Delta hf. and finally took the name Actavis in 2004 after various other companies worldwide had also been purchased and incorporated.
"During all that time, male managers were in the majority, basically until around 2010 when I became CEO of Actavis in Iceland. By then, we had about 800 employees, and the gender ratio of both employees and managers had become equal. But that's of course thirty years after I started working!"
Women Generally Take More Cautious Steps in Investments and Business
Around the turn of the century, Edda began investing more systematically in various companies. However, it wasn't until she retired in 2014 that she focused entirely on investments and took seats on the boards of various companies.
How do you choose your investments?
"It's quite a bit just gut feeling – some intuition. I've never enjoyed investing in government bonds or anything like that, and have primarily been interested in companies that are, or intend to be, in the healthcare sector. Because that's where my expertise lies. There I feel I can assess whether it's an idea that can achieve some market share."
Do women approach investments differently than men?
"I think it's perhaps more noticeable with them that they preferably want to see that they'll survive the year," says Edda with a wry smile. Men are often more self-confident, whether deserved or not, and likewise more risk-seeking. "But women can also go bankrupt!" she adds with a laugh. "Let's not forget that!"
"I have always made a special effort to invest in companies that women manage or are at least involved in founding. That's why women have been more prominent in my projects. It's deliberate."
Do you have any good advice for those taking their first steps?
"I have sometimes told young women who are taking their first steps that if they feel they can't afford to save anything or put into investments, they can start by skipping going out one weekend a month. And then use that money to buy shares or put into a fund. In the stock exchange, for example, you can buy one share in a company, and it doesn't cost much. That's a certain beginning!"
"What I think matters most in finances, overall, is that people approaching retirement have at least acquired a roof over their heads and are more or less debt-free. That's number one, even two and three as well. To set long-term goals regarding savings and asset formation."
Important to Be Able to Make Decisions and Follow Through
Are you a role model – and do you want to be one?
"In the company, I was inevitably a role model – and hopefully for everyone, but perhaps especially for the women."
What qualities are most important if one wants to succeed in business?
"A friend of mine recently reminded me that I once described myself as: Healthy, hardworking, finds it easy to make decisions.
I don't know if the first two items still apply to me, but the third one still does. It's often necessary to discuss matters with all concerned parties and weigh different perspectives – but then you also need to be able to make decisions and follow through."
These few women who have reached far in the pharmaceutical industry worldwide – half of them are Icelandic, I would guess.
Where do Icelandic women stand in an international context?
Edda says there's still a long way to go – for instance, it's striking to look at children's savings. Boys already have more savings than girls in the early stages of life. This needs to be fixed. However, at the same time, Iceland is looked to in equality matters for good reason, as we stand very far ahead in that area in many ways.
"These few women who have reached far in the pharmaceutical industry worldwide – half of them are Icelandic, I would guess. Which shows that this equality discussion in Iceland has delivered tremendously more than many realize."
"When I was finishing high school, I thought it completely normal that I would have the same opportunities as men – and could both have a career and have children and a family and be in the workforce. This is not the case in most parts of the world."
According to Edda, investments are a way to shape society, and therefore it's urgent to encourage as many women as possible to take action. No step is too small – many small things can, in the fullness of time, become something much bigger. Financial literacy needs to be improved, and people need to be shown that investments and savings are not only for some initiated elite.
"My first investment was really to have an influence. I didn't think then that this would be the beginning of something much bigger."
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