Sebastian Siemiatkowski

Sebastian Siemiatkowski
Siemiatkowski in 2019
Born	(1981-10-03) 3 October 1981 (age 43) Sweden
Education	Stockholm School of Economics
Occupation	CEO of Klarna

Sebastian Siemiatkowski (also spelled Sebastian Siemiątkowski; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish entrepreneur who is the co-founder and chief executive officer of fintech company Klarna.

Early life

Siemiatkowski's parents moved to Uppsala from Poland in the 1980s.[1] He was born on 3 October 1981[2] in Sweden but his older sister was born in Poland.[3][4]

Siemiatkowski considers himself as a second generation immigrant. His early influences were Richard Branson and Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA. Siemiatkowski credits the Swedish digital policy of subsidizing the ownership of computers for his success because it allowed his family to acquire their first computer.[3]

Education and career

Siemiatkowski attended high school at Katedralskolan, Uppsala.[5] He holds a master's degree from the Stockholm School of Economics.[6]

He started building Klarna at age 23[7] and co-founded the company with Niklas Adalberth and Victor Jacobsson in 2005. Siemiatkowski had met one of his co-founders when working at Burger King.[6]

He owns about 7% of the company, which made him a billionaire, although after Klarna experienced difficulties its lower valuation meant that in 2023 Siemiatkowski no longer counted among billionaires.[6]

Controversy

In May 2019, Siemiatkowski was summoned to the Swedish Ministry of Finance to answer questions regarding perceived issues with Klarnas management of identity theft and the debts of customers.[8]

In 2022, as Klarna was experiencing financial difficulty, Siemiatkowski posted a list of employees who were recently dismissed by the company. This unusual course of action was considered as tone deaf by commentators.[9] The Swedish Financial Sector Union expressed regret to have learnt about the job cuts from the media rather than being consulted beforehand.

In December 2024, the CEO of Klarna said that the company stopped hiring people last year because "AI can do all of the jobs that we humans do. It’s just a question of how we apply it and use it”.[10]

Personal life

Siemiatkowski married Nina, a marketing executive he first met while attending the Stockholm School of Economics, in 2014. They have three children and live in Stockholm.[11][12]

References

1. "Sebastian Siemiątkowski". Politico. Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
2. Chambers, Sam (June 6, 2021). "Interview: 'Payday loans? No, we're a cuddly alternative to credit card giants,' says Klarna's Sebastian Siemiatkowski". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
3. "How Klarna's Sebastian Siemiatkowski is making retail payments smoother". Bloomberg. December 17, 2021. Archived from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
4. Larsson, Linus; Nantell, Anette (November 29, 2019). "Klarnas vd Sebastian Siemiatkowski: Jag kunde inte hantera alkoholen". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). ISSN 1101-2447. Archived from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
5. Goldberg, Daniel (October 6, 2015). "Klarna- och Skype-grundarna återvänder till gymnasiet" [The Klarna and Skype founders return to high school]. Dagens industri (in Swedish). Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
6. "Sebastian Siemiatkowski". Forbes. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
7. Stokel-Walker, Chris (June 20, 2023). "Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski will never play by the rule book". GQ. Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
8. Lindberg, Andreas (May 16, 2019). "Överskuldsättningar och id-kapningar – Klarnas vd kallas till regeringen efter kritiken". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). ISSN 1101-2447. Archived from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
9. Daly, Charles; Bloomberg (June 1, 2022). "'Tone deaf' or a big help? Klarna CEO sparks heated debate after posting a list of laid-off employees". Fortune. Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
10. "Klarna CEO gives final verdict on AI vs human force". Daily Jang. December 16, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
11. Levine, Joshua (September 23, 2021). "Inside Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski's Striking Home". WSJ Magazine. Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
12. Rose, Hilary (April 12, 2022). "Nina Siemiatkowski: I don't just want to be Mrs Klarna". The Times. Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.