IBM Champion Sven Jansson
For Sven Jansson, technology has always been about finding smarter, more efficient ways to solve problems and then sharing those lessons with others. Today, he works as an IBM i specialist at Agria Animal Insurance and is celebrating his first year as an IBM Champion. His favorite IBM product is, without question, IBM i, because it delivers so much in one system: a modern database, strong native languages like RPG and COBOL, open source with PASE, and reliable, cost-effective performance.
Sven’s advocacy passion is speaking, and he also serves as a board member of COMMON Sweden. Growing up in Sweden’s strong volunteer culture, he started coaching basketball at just 12 years old, which taught him the value of giving back to a community. That same spirit carries into his tech career today. On his first year as a Champion, Sven has presented at the COMMON Europe Conference in Gothenburg, joined IBM’s AI Day in Stockholm, and stayed active in online IBM calls, where he especially enjoyed a recent discussion about data breaches. One accomplishment he is especially proud of comes from his time at a Swedish bank, where he helped convert 11 physical files into DB2 partitioned tables. This four-week project not only removed repetitive work but also improved performance and saved the bank valuable resources year after year.
If Sven weren’t in technology, he says working as a hockey equipment manager for an NHL team would be an incredible experience. But for now, he’s proud to keep building, learning, and helping others grow. His advice for anyone interested in becoming an IBM Champion is simple: “Don’t be afraid to be visible out there. Speaking is outside of my comfort zone, and doing it in a language that is not my native language doesn’t make it easier, but it is worth it.”
Lightning round:
- What would be your superpower and why?
:-) That is an easy one. I would have gills, so I can stay underwater longer. I’m a SCUBA diver.
My mom used to call me the ice cream monster when I was a kid….
I have both, a Catahoula leopard hound and two Norwegian forest cats.
Summer, even though SCUBA diving in wintertime is much better.
Morning.
I’m sorry, but I enjoy paper books.
There is a bigger chance that I might stay awake long enough to see the end of an episode than a movie, so TV shows.
- A night out or a night in?
Both actually.
- Cannonball into the pool or dip a toe in first?
Cannonball.
I don’t think you want to hear me sing, if you don’t want a hearing aid afterwards….. but I like being at karaoke bars...
Over the years, I had to learn to tolerate flying, but I love driving.