Knut Frängsmyr
A Swedish former Klarna executive appointed CEO of Avanza in 2023 who left the role after roughly one week when the bank withdrew its approval of him following a financial regulator's disclosure about fines tied to renovation work on his home.
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- Location
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Country
- Sweden
- Born
- 1981
- Education
- Law degrees from Uppsala University and Stockholm University
- Klarna tenure
- 2012–2023 (roughly 11 years); held Chief Legal Officer, CFO and CTO roles before becoming COO and Deputy CEO
- Avanza CEO
- Appointed 6 September 2023, began the role 6 November 2023, departed roughly a week later
- Later roles
- CEO of holding company Real Alliance (2024); Chief of Music at Epidemic Sound (2025)
Overview
Knut Frängsmyr is a Swedish executive and lawyer by training, with law degrees from Uppsala University and Stockholm University. He spent roughly eleven years at the fintech company Klarna, moving through Chief Legal Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Technology Officer roles before becoming Chief Operating Officer and Deputy CEO (Realtid). He is best known publicly for an unusually short tenure as CEO of the Swedish online broker Avanza in late 2023.
Klarna to Avanza
On 6 September 2023, Avanza announced Frängsmyr — then Klarna’s COO and Deputy CEO — as its incoming CEO, succeeding Rikard Josefson (Breakit; Avanza press release). He formally took over the role on 6 November 2023.
A one-week tenure and its fallout
Roughly a week after taking over, Frängsmyr left the CEO role (Breakit). According to Börsvärlden, Avanza withdrew its internal approval of him as a suitable executive after communication with Sweden’s Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen) about fines connected to renovation work on his private home (Börsvärlden). Neither the amount nor the specific nature of those fines is disclosed in that reporting.
The episode drew public criticism of Avanza’s board. Börsvärlden reports that Dagens Industri’s editorial page called it “the result of multiple parties’ failures” and argued that board chairman Sven Hagströmer should resign, noting the board had mishandled two of its three most recent CEO recruitments; it also reports that Aktiespararna’s chief legal officer, Sverre Linton, said the rapid departure “damages trust in Avanza’s board” (Börsvärlden).
After Avanza
Frängsmyr went on to become CEO of Real Alliance, a holding company, in 2024, and in 2025 joined Epidemic Sound — an EQT-owned music-licensing company valued at more than SEK 12 billion — as Chief of Music (EFN).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not state what the underlying renovation-related fines were for, their amount, or whether Frängsmyr disputed them — no source read for this profile discloses those details, only that Finansinspektionen’s communication about them was the reason Avanza gave internally for withdrawing its approval of him.
Timeline
- 2023-09-06
- Avanza announces Frängsmyr, then Klarna's COO and Deputy CEO, as its incoming CEO, succeeding Rikard Josefson.
- 2023-11-06
- Frängsmyr formally takes over as Avanza's CEO.
- 2023
- Roughly a week into the role, Frängsmyr leaves as CEO. Avanza withdraws its internal approval of him after communication with Sweden's Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen) concerning fines connected to renovation work on his private residence.
- 2023
- Dagens Industri's editorial page, as reported by Börsvärlden, argues the episode is "the result of multiple parties' failures" and calls for board chairman Sven Hagströmer to resign, noting the board had mishandled two of its three most recent CEO recruitments; the Swedish Shareholders' Association's chief legal officer says the rapid departure "damages trust in Avanza's board."
- 2024
- Frängsmyr becomes CEO of Real Alliance, a holding company.
- 2025
- Frängsmyr joins Epidemic Sound, an EQT-owned music-licensing company valued at over SEK 12 billion, as Chief of Music.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- No source read for this profile discloses the amount, date, or specific nature of the fines tied to renovation work on Frängsmyr's home, or which regulation they involved — only that Finansinspektionen's communication about them was Avanza's stated reason for withdrawing its approval of him.
Sources
6 sources (5 tier 2, 1 first-party), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Statements the subject makes about itself are marked as such and are not treated as independent evidence. See the source policy.
The reason for Frängsmyr's departure from Avanza is reported by Swedish financial trade press (Börsvärlden), not stated directly by Avanza itself in the sources read for this profile. Börsvärlden's own reporting relays criticism originally published by Dagens Industri and made by the Swedish Shareholders' Association (Aktiespararna); those original items were not independently fetched and read for this profile, so they are attributed here as Börsvärlden's own reporting of them.
- Avanza utser Klarnas Knut Frängsmyr till ny vd Supports: Klarna career roles and the roughly 11-year tenure length; context for the Avanza appointment.
- Han blir ny vd för Avanza Supports: Confirmation of the CEO appointment, succeeding Rikard Josefson.
- Knut Frängsmyr lämnar vd-rollen på Avanza efter en vecka Supports: Confirmation that Frängsmyr left the CEO role after about one week.
- Sven Hagströmer får kritik av DI och Aktiespararna efter vd-fiasko i Avanza Supports: The stated reason for the departure (withdrawn approval after an FI communication about renovation-linked fines) and the reported criticism of the Avanza board.
- Avanzas tidigare vd Knut Frängsmyr blir chef för EQT-bolag Supports: His subsequent roles at Real Alliance and Epidemic Sound.
- Knut Frängsmyr appointed new CEO of Avanza Supports: Exact announcement (6 September 2023) and start (6 November 2023) dates, and confirmation of his age (42) and law degrees at the time.
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