Johan Skånberg succeeds founder Urban Pettersson Bargo
Urban Pettersson Barngo and Johan Skånberg
Stockholm, Sweden, Sept. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WeMind today announces that the company’s founder, Urban Pettersson Bargo, has decided to step down as CEO after twenty years, and that Johan Skånberg, Chief Medical Officer and Medical Director, has been appointed as the new CEO. Urban Pettersson Bargo will remain an owner and member of the Board of Directors.
WeMind has grown to become Sweden’s largest private provider of psychiatric care and has treated 250,000 patients since the company was founded in 2006. The company operates adult psychiatric clinics in Region Stockholm, Region Skåne, including opioid substitution treatment (LARO), and Region Västra Götaland. The clinics in Region Stockholm that WeMind took over last year are currently undergoing a transition, with work under way to develop care towards an evidence- and measurement-based model of psychiatry.
WeMind also provides child and adolescent psychiatric services (BUP) in Region Kronoberg, as well as operating several residential care facilities specialising in the treatment of young people with mental health conditions and neurodevelopmental disabilities. In addition, the company operates three treatment and resource schools, providing education and treatment for pupils with, for example, prolonged school absence and mental health difficulties.
Urban Pettersson Bargo comments: “I founded WeMind to help more patients by reforming psychiatric care. Our idea has always been simple: we should only provide the most effective treatments and systematically measure and follow up whether our care is helping. Unfortunately, that makes us unique.”
“For a long time, I have thought that sooner or later there would come a natural point at which to hand over the operational leadership. We are now at a stage where WeMind needs leadership with strong medical expertise, operational experience and close ties to clinical practice, and I cannot think of anyone better suited to be CEO than Johan Skånberg. I feel completely confident handing over the baton to him. It gives WeMind leadership that is even closer to the organisation’s day-to-day operations and ensures continuity in our focus on quality and in our work to realise the vision that has guided us since the beginning. WeMind was built around an idea and a vision, not around one individual, and I am so proud of what we have achieved together with all our employees. And I am not leaving WeMind: I will remain as founder, owner and Board member,” Urban Pettersson Bargo concludes.
WeMind’s new CEO, Johan Skånberg, has extensive and broad experience in psychiatry. He has held a range of roles and worked for different healthcare providers, always with a focus on developing and improving psychiatric care. He has worked as a clinician, manager and medical leader, first within publicly run healthcare in Stockholm and subsequently as Chief Medical Officer and Medical Director at WeMind. Since 2021, he has been a member of the national working group on depression and anxiety disorders within the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions’ (SALAR) system for knowledge-driven management, and has chaired the group for the past three years.
Johan Skånberg comments: “I am driven by the conviction that the structural challenges facing both psychiatry and social care require greater collaboration – between professions, healthcare providers, partner organisations and regions. Achieving real change requires everyone to contribute, while at the same time building on initiatives that demonstrate positive results. One such example is WeMind’s measurement-based care, which is now beginning to spread to healthcare services around the country. I am excited to succeed Urban and look forward to carrying his ambition forward and, together with all our committed employees, continuing our work to improve psychiatric care in Sweden.”
Lars Pettersson, Chair of the Board, concludes: “Urban’s clear vision of improving psychiatric care has been a guiding principle for WeMind, and his drive and commitment have brought us to the unique position we hold today. His passion is helping patients, and that has permeated his entire leadership. It is now time to take the next step in WeMind’s development. Thanks to Urban’s ability to attract highly skilled employees, we were able to appoint his successor from within the organisation. Johan Skånberg has exactly the right profile to lead WeMind’s continued development. He is highly trusted within the field of psychiatry and has the ability to combine medical credibility with operational leadership.”
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- Urban Pettersson Barngo and Johan Skånberg
CONTACT: Email: [email protected] Website: wemind.se
