ISO has appointed a new Chair of ISO/TC 292 from the 1st of January this year, Mrs. Ella Carlberg. As members are very curious of our new leadership, we took the opportunity to ask her a few questions to introduce helself.
So can you start by telling about yourself and your background?
I am a lawyer by training, and started working in the legal team of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency back in 2009, focusing on our international missions and partnerships. In that position, I was part of building the legal support structure for our operative national level coordination mission, and provided legal guidance in many high profile efforts, including wild fire management, the ebola outbreak in North Africa and the refugee influx in Europe in 2015. Between 2018 and 2025, I was seconded by the agency to the Swedish Embassy in Washington DC, to chaparone bilateral research and development cooperation with the US and Canada, to help build strong bilateral ties and increase resilience on both sides of the Atlantic. Since January of 2026, our agency has changed its name to the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency, and I will be stationed at the Swedish Embassy in Kyiv, to facilitate support to Ukraine and spearhead our work on building an innovation ecosystem for civil defence.
What are your experience in the area of Security and resilience and have you been involved in standardization before?
Throughout the years, I have been fortunate enough to work on a wide and varied portfolio related to different aspects of security and resilience, from international aid missions and bilateral collaboration on training of explosives detection dogs, to EU-projects related to biodefense and stand by partnerships with the UN. But this is my first time working on standardization, and I am thrilled to be on this journey with you!
How would you describe yourself when it comes to leadership?
I aim to be a leader in service of the hardworking people who are doing the heavy lifting here, and who are the experts in their respective fields – you! Together I hope we can set an ambitious course, to bring our brightest minds and a wide range of perspectives to these complex problems.
Security and resilience is a topic on everyones agenda today. What do you consider to be the major challenges today?
I think we can all agree that we are living in times of change and instability. In Europe, a war is raging, and many have described it as the most dangerous time since the second world war. In other parts of the world, the most pressing problems may be the increasing frequency and impact of natural disasters, failing crops or unchecked flows of mass migration. Regardless of what keeps you up at night, I think increased societal resilience is part of the solution. In Sweden, we call this work Total Defense, where we integrate civil and military defense, public and private entities, government and civil society, every individual between the ages of 16 and 70 - everybody has a role to play in total defence! It includes protecting critical societal functions and strengthening supply chain security, as well as ensuring the wellbeing of the population. As you can understand, this is a huge undertaking, especially in this complex and interconnected world. But it is necessary work. And this is where standardization can play an important role.
How can standardisation and the international plattform that ISO provides help?
I think standardization is an underutilized tool, that can help bring a wealth of knowledge and perspectives together, to provide a framework to ensure that we are in lockstep and working together towards a common goal. It can lower transaction costs in many different processes, and provides beacons for us to navigate by, as we work to ensure security and resilience for all. Standardization helps us all get on the same page. Together, we need to work out how to best wield this tool, to create maximum impact and provide everyone with a safer and more prosperous society!
So what is next for ISO/TC 292 and what can members expect?
I am very much looking forward to seeing you all in Berlin for the TC plenary in May! I hope we will have interesting and impactful conversations, that set the stage for important work and in extention, greater security and resilience for all!
Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions and good luck with the future work!
Interview made by Stefan Tangen, Convenor of the ISO/TC 292 Communication group