Lars always takes a vacation up north

SUMMER PROFILE

There’s a tireless fighter in the garden back home that’s become a favorite of Lars Andersson’s.
This buddy has a capital H right in the middle of its forehead. Or on its hood, rather. More precisely, we’re talking about Husqvarna. That is, the robotic lawn mower.
“It saves me a lot of precious time. You start to wonder where to spend that time instead,” says Lars.
Yes, this is exactly what Lars is here to talk about. He’s this year’s summer spotlight on Inexchange.

But first, a quick note: mowing the lawn isn’t entirely a thing of the past. The robot leaves various edges to Lars. The man of the house still has to make a few passes with the trimmer. But aside from some touch-ups around bushes and fences, the grass on the lawn back home in Tibro is neatly trimmed and looking great.
So we can put this traditional summer chore behind us. However, we’ll stick with the theme of traditions. One such tradition here at Inexchange is that every summer we let an employee share what he or she plans to do during vacation.
This time, we’re passing the baton to Lars Andersson, who is the department head of our Customer Success support organization.
What does that mean in practice?
“It means I’m responsible for the support side of the organization’s customer-facing functions and incoming support cases. Alongside this reactive work, we also take a proactive approach to build closer relationships with major customers and partners,” explains Lars, adding:
“I started as a support representative in 2014, then served as a team leader for a few years, and since 2021 have been responsible for Customer Success, which was previously a traditional support department. The change we made back then has meant that today we focus more on the customer journey and on offering more than just support."

“Lovely Härjedalen”

But Lars will soon be taking a break from his daily routine. A four-week vacation is on the horizon. The question is: what does he associate most with summer?
"As a newcomer to Skaraborg from Härjedalen, I’d say that summer for me means being able to travel north to my lovely home region and visit my family, my parents, siblings, and other friends, I have up in Härjedalen."
"Our family has a shared country cottage. It’s an old mountain pasture hut that’s very basic. For one thing, there’s no sewer system. We fetch water in buckets from a cold spring. But we’ve modernized it a bit and installed solar and wind power. So now, at least, we can charge our cell phones. Otherwise, the kids would probably never come along (haha!)."
He himself has absolutely no problem with the poor cell service. With magnificent nature right on his doorstep, he enjoys the woods and the countryside. At this time of year, fishing is a big draw, and come fall, he’s a must-have participant when it’s time for moose hunting.

“Even if you’re not a trained leader — which I wasn’t at first either — there’s always something you can do besides just standing on the sidelines.”

Lars Andersson on the philosophy that has shaped his involvement in football.

Longtime football coach

Lars also has a passion for football. The ongoing World Cup is undoubtedly a draw, even after Sweden’s elimination by France, and he’s also involved in local football. His son Alvin is a goalkeeper for Ulvåkers IF P 16-17 and, on the last weekend in June, helped his team reach the B final in that age group at the Skadevi Cup in Skövde. Lars serves as an extra resource for the coaching staff and occasionally leads some goalkeeper drills.
But it’s Tibro AIK, above all, that Lars is associated with. The term “passionate advocate” is well-deserved.
“My philosophy is that even if you aren’t a trained coach — which I wasn’t at first —there’s always something you can do besides just standing on the sidelines. Like picking up balls or cones, or simply h elping out when the kids are doing different drills. The coaches are there on a volunteer basis and for the kids’ sake. If you can contribute in some way, it’s usually welcome,” he says, noting:
“Gradually, I found myself moving closer and closer to the center circle. Eventually, I was standing there as a coach.”

When Lars moved to Tibro in the early 2000s, he was still an active senior player, but responsibilities like a house, a job, and so on led him to stop playing and choose to get involved as a youth coach — a role he held until 2007.
“That’s when we had our first child. I felt I didn’t have enough time to be a football coach while also being a parent to a young child,” he explains, adding with a broad smile:
“So instead, I was elected to the board.”
But of course, that’s time-consuming too. As the children grew up and started playing sports, the situation reversed:
“I felt that when I was both on the board and coaching my son’s team, it was too much to handle both roles. So I chose to just be a coach.”

Manchester United Fan

Since football is such a central part of Lars’s life — and since we’ve all been swept up a bit in the ongoing World Cup frenzy — we’re giving him the chance to look back on all the matches, goals, and dribbles he’s seen and rank his top three memories. You’ll find them right below this article.
But it’s not certain that the list will remain the same in the years to come. New memorable football experiences will, of course, emerge. You only need to look ahead to August to see that Lars has another highlight in store.
“My son and I are going down to watch Manchester United take on Paris Saint-Germain at Ullevi in Gothenburg (August 8). It’s a preseason match, sure, but it’ll still be awesome to experience,” he says.
Manchester United is Lars’s favorite English team. That naturally adds an extra layer of excitement to the match for him. But when it comes to United, there’s still one must-do item missing. He’s taken several football trips around Europe, but has never seen a match live at Old Trafford.
“It’s still on our ‘to-do list’ that is, for me and my son to go to Manchester and watch United at their home stadium. We’ll see when it happens, but that’s the plan,” he says firmly.
And once something starts to take root, it usually gains momentum in the end. Everyone with a lawn knows that. As Lars would say. Even though he’s left the mowing to his valued friend — the hardworking summer worker out back on the property.

+++ Lars ranks 3 memorable football moments +++

Djurgården’s 2019 Swedish Championship
“I’m a die-hard Djurgården fan when it comes to both soccer and hockey. The club’s successes hold a special place in my heart. And this particular championship, Djurgården’s twelfth Swedish Championship title in football, stirred up a lot of emotions. Sports director Bosse Andersson was so overwhelmed during the celebration that he fainted (!) immediately after lifting the Swedish Championship trophy.”

Sweden’s 1994 World Cup Bronze
“I wasn’t very old back then, but it was an unforgettable summer with Brolin, Ravelli, Kennet Andersson, and all the other bronze medal heroes. Sweden’s matches in the tournament, and the penalty shootout against Romania in particular, have become true classics. It’s a memory that really sticks with me, no doubt about it.”

The football  trip to London in 2009
“I’ve been on quite a few football trips with family and friends. You know, the kind of trip where you all meet up at the airport and kick things off with the obligatory beer. These trips have taken us to places like Barcelona and Munich, but if I had to pick one in particular, it would have to be the very first one. We went to London and watched Arsenal vs. Fulham. The only downside was that it ended 0–0. It felt especially disappointing in hindsight. Just a week later, Andrei Arshavin, who was playing for Arsenal at the time, scored four goals in a single match!”
Lars enjoys traveling to watch football. This stadium on Sir Matt Busby Way in Manchester is undoubtedly part of his future plans. We are talking about Old Trafford, the home stadium of Manchester United. Or “The Theater of Dreams", as the stadium is iconically nicknamed. Photo: Sierra Alpha Juliet, Unsplash