SHAPE ME UP! : A study of how leaders in the Swedish financial sector can use their personal brand to shape the corporate brand.

Abstract: Title                                 Shape me up! – A study of how leaders in the Swedish financial sector can use their personal brand to shape the corporate brand Course                             Master Thesis (60 credits) in Business Administration; Strategic Management and Leadership, International Marketing Authors                           Amanda Elg and My Engdahl Supervisors                      Maya Hoveskog and Ingemar Wictor Keywords                        Leadership, personal brand, corporate brand Problem formulation       ”How can a leader in the Swedish financial sector use the personal brand to shape the corporate brand?” Purpose                            The aim of this study is to describe the importance of the leader’s personal brand within the Swedish financial sector. Further, this study aims to explore how the personal brand of a leader can contribute to shape the corporate brand from an internal perspective, in aspects such as organisational culture and visions. This study focuses mainly on the positive aspects of the personal brand since we are more interested to see the positive outcomes of personal branding than the negative ones.  Target Group                   Our study is directed towards a target audience of Swedish leaders and other interested parties that want to increase the understanding for personal and corporate branding, and to increase the understanding of how leaders can use the personal brand to shape the corporate brand. Theoretical framework    We have mainly focused on two different theories; one for personal branding and one for corporate branding. Methodology                   This study is based on a qualitative, deductive approach, with a case strategy. The empirical data is collected through personal interviews. Result                              We have come to the conclusion that the most important thing to be able to shape the corporate brand is to align your vision and values with the vision of the company. To be able to use your personal brand, you need to know who you are and what you hold to be true. We have also come to the conclusion that in what extent the leader can use the personal brand to shape the corporate brand will be dependent of different positions and different companies. However, we believe that leaders within every sector have more or less ability to use their personal brand to shape the corporate brand.