Lars Jacobsson
Lars Valentin Jacobsson is an entrepreneur who graduated as a marketing and business economist from IHM Business School in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1990. He is the Chairman and CEO of United Sun Systems, Chairman of The Perfect World Foundation, Chairman of Volunteer Travels, and a member of the board of the World Sustainable Development Forum (WSDF)– Nordic.
At 16 years old, Lars started to work in the oil harbor of Gothenburg; he established his reputation during the 1990s through his entrepreneurship, where he started several storage, trading, and shipping companies. In 2000, Lars met his wife, Ragnhild “Rags” Jacobsson. Together they made many trips around the world becoming more aware of the tragic situation for animals and nature. These insights inspired Lars to sell his companies and become deeply engaged in a number of animal and nature-related philanthropic endeavours. The most important endeavour for him personally was to be able to pursue his vision of a fossil fuel-free future with a focus on solar energy.
Since 2005, Lars has founded two solar energy technology companies, most recently United Sun Systems. The focus of this company is on creating the world’s first viable solar energy technology, including storage, in order to facilitate the transition away from a carbon-based economy to a green economy. During this time, Lars and Rags became private sponsors/donors for a number of conservation projects around the world; in 2010 the husband and wife team officially founded The Perfect World Foundation, a Scandinavian-based independent non-profit organization. The Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson (Fergie), proudly serves as Global Ambassador to this foundation.
The primary mission of The Perfect World Foundation is to support animals and natural areas in crisis and to raise awareness and funding together with other projects around the world in order to create positive action for global conservation initiatives. With the same goal, Volunteer Travels in Scandinavia was bought in 2009 and has grown to encompass over 80 projects in 23 countries. In 2015, Lars was appointed Ambassador of Elephant Family in London, of which Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles are the Presidents. In 2016 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Rajendra K. Pachauri, nominated Lars Jacobsson as a member of the board of WSDF-Nordic.