The Winners Take It All

The Bonnier Sales Awards took place Friday, March 19, at Stockholm's City Hall. The ceremony kicked off with a welcome speech by Jonas Bonnier. "Why are you here?" he asked the crowd of 150 of Bonnier's top salespeople, prompting the answer through charades: "You are the best." Even through a difficult year, he said, the 11 finalists managed to not only meet their goals, but often exceed them. These salespeople were inspirational in their passion for the company, he said, punctuated by a round of applause from the crowd.

Hosted by Tilde de Paula, one of Sweden's popular TV presenters and often seen on Bonnier-owned TV4, the Bonnier Sales Awards 2009 ceremony filled City Hall's Golden Hall, notable for its intricate gilded mosaics and as the ballroom for Nobel Prize winners.

Guests enjoyed the same dinner as the 2009 Nobel Prize winners, a menu that included lobster consommé and truffle-stuffed quail. Between courses, guests were entertained by Melodifestivalen alumna LaGaylia and Swedish Idol winner Daniel Lindström, who sang a variety of Motown, soul and pop covers. The two joined for a grand finale medley that ended with the lights dimming and a line of waiters entering with trays of dessert lit up by sparklers in the darkened hall, just as is done at the Nobel Prize dinner.

Accompanied by a presentation of the jury's motivations for each finalist, jury member Jonas Eriksson, CEO of Canal+ and C More Entertainment and Jonas Bonnier announced the winners:

Rookie of the Year was awarded to Jenny Boberg of TV4 Sverige. "This is amazing," she said. "I can't find any other word to describe how it feels to win. I'm so proud and so honored to win from among so many good sales people." Boberg thanked TV4 for providing her with an opportunity to shine and "for being such a great company to work for," she said. She also thanked "my sales manager Lilly Andersson as well." Asked how she was planning on using her EUR 3,000 prize money, "I haven't even thought about it," she admitted, since she hadn't expected to win.

Sales Manager of the Year went to Dagens Nyheter's Heikki Lampinen. "It feels great!" he said. "I'm so honored." Lampinen then reiterated that his win couldn't have been possible without his colleagues. "It's always a question of team effort." Asked what he's doing with the EUR 10,000 prize, he said that he's planning to take his family traveling. And as for the rest of the night, Lampinen was in the celebratory spirit: "I just want to party on now!"

Sales Representative of the Year was won by Kayse Gundram of TransWorld Media, who stressed that there were so many people she was grateful to for her success, including her managers and family. Asked what she was planning to do with her EUR 10,000 prize, Gundram said that she'd probably use the prize for "a little of what I should do, like saving some, and a little bit of having some fun-I might come back to Sweden with my family." Stunned by her win, Gundram said that it was a little hard to put into words how she felt about it. "It's a very nice recognition for many years of doing what I love."

Click here to see videos from the ceremony (click on the content icon, then click on Bonnier Sales Awards and choose from the list) or here to see pictures.