Skanska ranks as Fortune magazine's most admired engineering and construction firm in the world, and Krusell, who is frequently cited as one of the best corporate communication chiefs in Sweden, gets a hefty dose of the credit. Krusell recently spent a few minutes with FOCUS, and we began by asking about his plans as the new HR honcho for Skanska's 76,000 worldwide employees.

FOCUS: Why did you take the HR position?

Krusell: First of all, I'd done a lot of soul searching about how I could grow professionally. When my CEO approached me with this offer to become senior VP of HR, it was too good to pass up. So from a personal development standpoint, it offered a great professional challenge. Secondly, I think it will give me an opportunity to impact our brand at a deeper level. Our brand is all about our people. The reason you select Skanska is because you like to do business with our people. Sometimes clients will work with us for years, as was the case with the Öresund Bridge connecting Sweden and Denmark. In that sense, HR is really mission-critical for a strong brand.

FOCUS: How is the HR function going to be run differently now that a communication guy is in charge?

Krusell: HR, like communication, has a tendency to become detached from the business and the brand. Much like communication departments can get mired in mindlessly cranking out press releases and newsletters, HR departments get caught up in pay scales, benefits, and a host of other tactics, without concern for how they are supporting business objectives. In the case of HR, this can be outright dangerous. You develop leaders who aren't aligned with the company's direction and what's going on in the market.

What I bring to the table after five years as corporate communication VP is a deep understanding of the company, its strategies, its people and its brand. I will provide strategic direction to HR. Having said that, I obviously need to learn the ropes of HR, which I'm frantically doing right now.

FOCUS: What will be your priorities?

Krusell: I'll spend a lot of time on leadership development: recruiting the right people, rotating them around assignments, training and motivating them. Moreover, I will work closely with my successor in corporate communication to help give employees a better understanding of where the company is heading and what our brand attributes are. That requires change of behavior. You don't get employees to "live the brand" by just communicating to employees; you need to align incentive systems, recruitment, training and leadership development with brand communication strategies.

FOCUS: What a concept - you'll actually make corporate communication and HR get along?

Krusell: Yes. Take the issue of executive bonuses and stock option plans as an example of the integral roles of HR and PR. It's been an even more contentious issue in Europe than in the U.S. In my new role, I don't have to be a spinmaster and apologist for systems that create public outcry. Instead, I can help create incentive systems that are defensible to the media and investors, that are consistent internationally, and that will motivate leaders and employees.

FOCUS: Do you think more communication professionals should take this step?

Krusell: I'll answer that in a few years when we know how successful I've been. But yes, I'm all for broadening perspectives, whether it involves a move to HR or to a general management position. I think it's important for communicators to actually learn what they're communicating about. Even if all fails and I go back to communications, at least I've learned a thing or two about incentives, recruitment, and leadership development, and that can't hurt as a communication leader.

There's been a curiously insular reaction to my move in the professional communication community in Sweden. Many are aghast, and they're asking me, "why would you want to leave the field of communication to become a HR director?" To me it's all about the challenge to align people strategies with communication strategies to grow the business and the brand.