Björn Prytz

Björn Gustaf Prytz (2 April 1887 – 22 June 1976) was a Swedish industrialist in the early 1900s and from 1937 to 1947 an envoy in London for the Swedish government.

He was employed 1913 at S.K.F. as marketing manager. He became managing director for S.K.F. around 1921–22. Björn Prytz was the man behind the name Volvo during the time he was the managing director for SKF sales company in America 1914–18. Volvo was registered as a trademark, as well as a subsidiary company to SKF, in May 1915 (the application for Volvo as a trademark was sent to PRV on May 11), with the intention to use it for a new developed low-price ball bearing for the automobile industry in the America. However, these plans were never realized and the SKF name and logotype (as it looks today) was used instead for all type of bearings produced by SKF. The name and company Volvo was almost forgotten but came into use when the SKF employee Assar Gabrielsson (SKF sales manager) and engineer Gustav Larson finally had succeeded to convince SKF that they should start to manufacture automobiles within SKF. AB Volvo, as an automobile company, was founded 10 August 1926 at a board meeting held in Hofors when SKF decided to invest in the company and use it as a subsidiary company within the SKF-group.

His name is appearing in reference to a mysterious meeting which he had in June 1940 with the British Foreign Office Minister Rab Butler, at which the possibility of Britain making a compromise peace was discussed.