Ulf Persson

Ulf has led the company since 2017, having joined its board in 2002 and served as chairman from 2015. Ulf’s tenure reshaped ABBYY from a regionally run business into a unified global operating model through transformation efforts that led to the relocation of ABBYY's headquarters to Austin, Texas and opening of an R&D and Center of Excellence in Bengaluru, India in 2024. Under his leadership, ABBYY serves customers globally, with offices in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, and developer centers in the United States, India, and Hungary, supporting organizations in more than 150 countries.

He is a public voice demystifying AI hype, and in over a decade of interviews, has advocated that AI is a set of tools rather than a cure. He also speaks on the benefits of agentic AI and governance, and provides a leadership perspective on innovation, and culture.

Before ABBYY, Ulf co-founded technology venture capital investor Mint Capital and was Managing Director at the AIG-Brunswick Millennium Fund, overseeing approximately $300 million in assets.

He was named to The Software Report’s Top 50 Software CEOs of 2024 and holds a B.Sc. in Economics. He is an alumnus of the Stockholm School of Economics and the Swedish Defense Language Institute.