Kevin Lind: From Gothenburg to Northern Sweden – the courage to move north and challenge yourself
When Kevin Lind was asked to take on an assignment in the defence industry far up north, it was more than just a typical career move. It became the starting point of a personal journey where he challenged himself both privately and as an engineer.
Today, Kevin works with change management for a defence client. His day-to-day work involves receiving improvement proposals – from production, from the customer, or from other engineers – and turning them into practical solutions in the hardware. Sometimes it’s a simple adjustment; other times, it requires rethinking things entirely to find a smarter solution that solves several problems at once.
What attracted him was the combination of technology, real impact, and close collaboration. Kevin thrives when he can act as the link between the design office and the workshop floor:
“I like being where things are actually built, talking to the technicians and seeing how our ideas perform in real life. When we find a solution together that makes their work easier – that’s when Smarter Together becomes very real,” Kevin describes.
But his choice of industry is just as much driven by values as by technology. With a British grandfather who both served in Normandy during World War II and later worked on fighter aircraft manufacturing at Supermarine, working in the defence industry has always felt close to home.
“For me, this job is about protecting the things I value in Sweden: democracy, healthcare, free education, and the right for everyone to be who they are. If something were to threaten that, I want to feel that I’ve contributed to making those who defend us better equipped and safer at work,” he says.
Moving north also became a personal experiment. Kevin had given himself a deadline: he had promised to do something about his winter depression within a certain number of years, and that deadline was approaching. Instead of chasing the sun further south, he chose to give northern Sweden a fair chance. Snowmobiling, skiing, and new winter habits have replaced his summer activities like motorcycling and skydiving on the west coast.
“I wanted to figure out whether it’s really the darkness that’s the problem, or if I’ve simply been missing fun things to do during the winter. Now I’ve had the chance to find out,” he says.
With the customer’s office within walking distance, Kevin is a natural part of the team’s everyday life. He also has regular check-ins with his consultant manager at Etteplan, where he can discuss everything from professional challenges to how life in a new city is working out.
“It’s reassuring to have someone to bounce ideas off who stands outside the customer’s organisation. It allows me to be bold in my thinking, test ideas, and still feel that I have Etteplan backing me up. For me, that’s both Forward Focus and Bold Thinking in practice,” concludes Kevin.