Percy Nils Barnevik HonFREng[1] (born 13 February 1941) is a Swedish business executive, best known as CEO and later Chairman of ABB 1988–2002, and for being the centre of a giant pension dispute that shook Sweden in 2003.

[3][4] Born in Simrishamn in southern Sweden, the youngest of three children, he grew up in Uddevalla, north of Gothenburg, where his parents operated a small printing company.

During his work in the United States, Sandvik started competing against the industry leaders, such as General Electric and U.S. Steel.

Based upon these extraordinary results Barnevik received a one-off payment of 148 million Swiss francs when he retired as CEO in 1996.

When ABB's board made the pension payment public, a huge scandal ensued and Barnevik was forced to resign as chairman of Investor, the Swedish investment company controlled by the powerful Wallenberg family, and to hand back a large chunk of his pension to ABB.

The charity, which fights poverty through job and business creation, has since grown to include programs in 10 countries: Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, India, Afghanistan and, more recently, Cambodia and Myanmar.