Founder Profile
Assar Gabrielsson
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Assar Gabrielsson?
Assar Gabrielsson is a founder of Volvo Car AB, which was founded in 1927 with Gustaf Larson. Assar Gabrielsson is a founder of AB Volvo, which was founded in 1927 with Gustaf Larson.
- Companies founded
- Volvo Car AB and AB Volvo
- Founded
- 1927
- Co-founders
- Gustaf Larson
Background
Economist trained at the Stockholm School of Economics who worked in sales at SKF, including its French operations, before starting Volvo.
Founding Story
Assar Gabrielsson was the commercial founder of Volvo. As a sales manager at SKF he argued that Sweden could build cars suited to its own roads and climate, and he persuaded SKF to fund the project in 1927. He served as Volvo's managing director until 1956, overseeing the move into trucks and buses, the company's 1935 independence from SKF and its listing in Stockholm.
Assar Gabrielsson was born in 1891 in Korsberga.
Assar Thorvald Nathanael Gabrielsson was born on August 13, 1891 and died on May 28, 1962.