Erik Gillberg

vuorineuvos Erik Paul Oskar Gillberg
Born	(1926-10-09)9 October 1926 Hämeenlinna, Finland
Died	21 February 1999(1999-02-21) (aged 72) Espoo, Finland
Citizenship	Finland
Education	diplomi-insinööri
Occupation	General Manager
Employer	Kesko Oy 1950–1952 Oy Transporter Ab 1952–1959 Konetuote Oy 1960–1961 Sesamia Oy 1961–1964 Oy Fiskars Ab 1964–1971 Oy Suomen Autoteollisuus Ab (1981→ Oy Sisu-Auto Ab) 1971–1983
Predecessor	SAT: Tor Nessling
Successor	SAT: Jorma S. Jerkku
Spouse(s)	Aila Annikki née Viljanen (b. 1929)
Children	three daughters and one son; born between 1951–1962
Parent(s)	Oskar Rafael Gillberg and Hedwig née Heller
Awards	vuorineuvos 1982 First Class Knight of the White Rose of Finland Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire

Erik Paul Oskar Gillberg MSc (diplomi-insinööri) (9 October 1926 – 21 February 1999) was a Finnish engineer, businessman and vuorineuvos.

After graduating from Helsinki University of Technology, Gillberg worked in machine import business and then for Fiskars in different manager positions. He is best known as the General Manager of heavy vehicle producer Suomen Autoteollisuus, later Sisu-Auto, which he modernised thoroughly between 1971 and 1983. He was finally moved from office by the owner, state of Finland, because the company could not reach its financial targets.

The rest of his career Gillberg worked in various positions of trust and consulting younger managers.

Gillberg was married and he had four children.

Gillberg was born in Hämeenlinna, Southern Finland. His parents were engineer, sales manager Oskar Rafael Gillberg and Hedwig née Heller. He did his abitur at Helsinki Finnish Upper Secondary School in 1944 and continued his studies in Mechanical Engineering Faculty of the Helsinki University of Technology. After graduating diplomi-insinööri in 1950 Gillberg worked in tractor, transportation vehicle and engine import business first for Kesko, then as general manager for Transporter and after that as marketing manager for Konetuote. In 1961 Gillberg was appointed general manager of Sesamia, which developed equipment for geological researching. Gillberg moved to Fiskars in 1964, first to manage technical sales, and from 1967 he led the product development.

In 1971 Gillberg was selected the General Manager of the Sisu vehicle producer Suomen Autoteollisuus to replace the owner-manager Tor Nessling, who had led the company patriarchally for nearly four decades. The board of SAT wanted to choose a such manager who would modernise the organisation and grow the company.

Gillberg began to lead the company to a modern, more delegating management culture. He gave more responsibility and decision-making power to the department managers and with his own example Gillberg started to democratise the organisation, that had been constructed strictly hierarchical during Nessling's era. At the beginning he astounded the older and most class conscious co-workers by walking into the company canteen casually in shirtsleeves.

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