Day in the Life of an American Executive Living in Sweden & More News Here

• Mark Bula is the chief business officer at H2 Green Steel in Stockholm, Sweden.
• He labored in the metal trade and in startups in the US earlier than transferring to Sweden in May 2021.
• In Sweden, he is discovered that life is extra about the way you take pleasure in it, and fewer about what you do for work.

Growing up, the final thing Mark Bula thought he would do was enter the metal trade. Today, he is working at a Swedish startup targeted on producing eco-friendly metal. 

In May 2021, Bula moved to Stockholm, Sweden, to turn out to be the chief business officer at H2 Green Steel, a Swedish startup that goals to supply metal with hydrogen as an alternative of carbon to scale back the CO2 emissions that steelmaking produces. He discovered the alternative after receiving a chilly e-mail from the firm’s chairman about constructing a low-carbon metal mill in Sweden.

“I thought, ‘How nice would it be to be able to try something overseas, to have that experience?’” Bula, who is not positive his household needs to return to the US, mentioned. “In the US, we are very oriented towards our jobs. Here, it’s more about how you enjoy life, what activities, sports, and outdoor activities you do. It’s a different kind of lifestyle.”

Bula walked Insider via a day in his life, and the way work and life in Sweden stacks up in opposition to work and life in the US.

6 a.m. — get up and a ‘sacred’ cup of espresso

When he first moved to Sweden, Bula mentioned he discovered himself “so excited for the job” that he would make it to the workplace earlier than 6:30 or 7 a.m. Now that he is established a routine a yr later, he wakes up round 6 a.m.

“I make myself a cup of coffee, which in Sweden is sacred,” he mentioned, including that he did not drink espresso in the US.

After espresso, he goes to the fitness center throughout the avenue from his condo in the Stockholm metropolis heart.

“The Swedes are big on exercise,” he mentioned. “A lot of companies make sure there’s access to a gym, or you’re paid to go to a gym.”

After a bathe, Bula takes a 20-minute bus experience to the workplace. In the US, he “never took a city bus for transportation on a regular basis.”

H2 Green Steel

7:30 a.m. — arrive at the workplace

When he will get to the workplace, Bula checks his emails and touches base with the firm’s salespeople. Most of his coworkers come in round 8 or 8:30 a.m., he mentioned.

Bula mentioned he tends to socialize at work, and he sees it as half of his position as a pacesetter. “I try not to make it obvious, but I enjoy getting around and talking to people,” he mentioned.

In the US, Bula mentioned he had a bigger workplace to himself, however in Sweden, the workplace is an open room with open desks.

“Those desks float for the most part,” he mentioned. “You don’t really have an assigned desk, so I try to get in early to make sure I always get my same desk. You can’t take that part of the American out of me.”

10 a.m. — a ceremonial second espresso

Later in the morning, Bula mentioned he goes for one more cup of espresso earlier than he begins his subsequent assembly. Some afternoons, earlier than or after lunch, Bula has fika — the Swedish customized of having espresso and one thing (often) candy with mates — together with his colleagues.

He spends most of his day working with the gross sales crew and the authorized individual on his business crew. On Mondays, Bula mentioned management conferences or contract negotiations largely fill his schedule. 

Most of the work is targeted on pre-selling the metal mill to lift the 4 billion euros wanted to construct it.

“A lot of what I do throughout the day is talk to customers and work with the sales team to close offtake agreements to prove to banks and lenders that there is interest in this project, and there is an opportunity to penetrate the market.”

11:45 a.m. — lunch with colleagues

Bula mentioned he is noticed that lunchtime in Sweden is finished collectively.

“In the US, so many of us want to take our lunch and go off so we can get away from everybody,” Bula mentioned. “Not here.”

At first, Bula mentioned he discovered it unusual that he was anticipated to have lunch together with his coworkers, however now he enjoys sitting and speaking with individuals, typically studying Swedish phrases from them.

Bula mentioned having lunch together with his coworkers is a “nice switch” from a typical workday lunch in the US.

Employees sometimes take an hour for lunch earlier than going again to work, Bula mentioned. Meetings and work on market methods take up most of his afternoons.

H2 Green Steel

5 p.m. — time to wind down

Bula tries to go away the workplace round 5 or 5:30 p.m. so he can take walks outdoors together with his spouse and discover Stockholm.

Every Monday at 5 p.m., Bula has Swedish classes for about an hour and a half that H2 Green Steel pays for. He’s been doing the classes for 3 months.

“I will admit that at the end of a long day on Monday, it’s hard to focus on Swedish lessons,” Bula mentioned. “But it does give you this confidence level.”

7:30 p.m. — dinnertime, at a distinct tempo

The earliest Bula eats dinner is 7 p.m., which is the similar as he did in the US.

“We’re a lot more relaxed over dinner here than we were back home,” Bula mentioned. “We were walking in the door, trying to prepare a meal, then rush through the meal so we could go watch TV for an hour and maybe do more work.”

In Sweden, Bula picks up recent meals at the retailer, walks the canine, after which goes residence to organize dinner.

“It’s a very different pace,” he mentioned.

10 p.m. — the finish of a protracted day

Sometimes, Bula says, he’ll do work for an hour after dinner earlier than going to mattress. But he additionally likes to look at

Netflix

to calm down; he does not often watch the information, he mentioned, as a result of it is in Swedish.

Bula mentioned he does not sleep late. In the summer time months, the solar in Sweden comes up round 3:30 or 4 a.m., and does not set till 10:30 or 11 p.m.

“I find the climate here, the hours of sun, and everything else to be better,” he mentioned.

Every day at a startup is totally different, Bula mentioned. At H2 Green Steel, “there’s always something different about it, and I find that to be a lot of fun.”

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