He has previously held assignments as both head of division and director of studies. Richard Torkar has been a familiar face for a long time at the Department of Computer and Information Technology. In 2021, he took over as Head of Department with the aim of improving the working environment and develop the department.
"I hope that after my time as Head of the Department, the department will be an even better place to work, where everyone is happy and we can get the best out of our employees. If we focus on improving our working environment, everything else will fall into place", says Richard Torkar.
Richard Torkar chose to focus entirely on the department and began his first year as head of department with aggressive recruitment work, a start on the development goal.
"The past year has largely been used to get to know more people at the department. I've spent a lot of time focusing inward, ie on the department, recruitments, and understanding why certain things look the way they do. An instructive year where I also received a lot of help from my colleagues at the department, at the IT faculty, and in Chalmers' management team", he says
Passion for leadership
He has a great passion for leadership and according to him, it is his background in the Armed Forces that is the basis for that. He hopes to build a strong department by supporting his employees so they can do the best job possible.
"Daring to be a manager, to ultimately take responsibility, is important to me. Success in an organization does not necessarily depend on a manager taking responsibility, but I think everyone feels good about clarity and transparency. In short, anyone can be a manager when the sun is shining and life is playing, but it is only when it gets dark and an organization is under stress that a manager with clear leadership is needed."
The future and challenges
According to Richard Torkar, a good culture is the most powerful tool for business management. And where others see challenges, he sees solutions. For him, the answer to the challenges is simple, change.
"The well-known mangement consultant and author Peter Drucker once said: Culture eats strategy for breakfast. That's how it is. If people are afraid of change, and if you cannot make people understand that change is a necessity, then all plans will be useless, he says and continues:
Without change, there is no development. An organization stagnates, which in the worst case leads to a forced change that we have no control over."
About Richard Torkar
Age: 51
Lives in: Stenungsund.
Family: Wife, and three children who will be 11, 14, and 17 this year.
Hobbies: When I have time to spare, you can see me running along the roads, and if it's spring, I try to catch a sea trout with my fly rod.