CEO gives board members a pornographic surprise

The CEO of a municipal housing company in Dalarna in central Sweden has been reprimanded after pornographic pictures popped up during a recent presentation to the company’s board.

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Sixty-three-year-old Pär Nyberg, who leads the Kopparstaden municipal housing company in Falun, was in charge of managing the projector for a recent meeting of the company's board.

As chairman of the board Erich Colberg sat with his back toward the screen and prepared to kick off the meeting, Nyberg attempted to bring up the first slide.

But when the CEO pushed the button on his computer it wasn't the meeting’s agenda which appeared, but a picture of a naked woman, the Dalarnas Tidningar newspaper reports.

“When Pär got rid of the first picture, another one popped up. But the whole board was quiet so I didn’t see or notice anything,” Colberg told the newspaper.

“It was only after the meeting that everything came out.”

The incident prompted the board to call a special session during which it decided to issue Nyberg a formal warning and dock his pay.

“Pär Nyberg has clearly violated our IT-policy for which he has the utmost responsibility. He’s done something extremely stupid. But he promises that it will never happen again,” said Colberg.

Nyberg regrets the incident, but claimed that the pornographic pictures weren’t actually stored on his computer.

Rather, the images were website pop-ups which appeared while he was surfing for another website.

“I’m really sorry. It was a mistake that runs counter to all standards of morality,” Nyberg told Dalarnas Tidningar.

“But it’s not illegal. It wasn’t child porn or anything like that, but a naked woman.”

In the wake of the incident coming out in the media, the Kopparstaden board has also decided to review Nyberg’s side-activities to ensure that they do not adversely affect his ability to carry out his responsibilities as CEO.

With nearly 20 years on the job, Nyberg is generally thought of as a competent manager.

Nevertheless, some doubt whether or not he can continue after the pornographic mistake.

“His authority in the company and with outsiders has been severely damaged,” said Mikael Rosén, a member of the municipality’s local council.

“During working hours people should focus on their job. Surfing porn isn’t allowed, nor is visiting poker sites. I think everyone is aware of this. But it’s obvious that Pär Nyberg has broken the municipality’s rules.”