Volvo chief suffers stroke

The chief executive of the Swedish car and lorry maker Volvo has become the latest senior businessman to take time off for ill health, admitting that he has suffered a mild stroke.

Stefan Jacoby, who took the top job at Volvo in August 2010, is taking a month off during which the chief financial officer, Jan Gurander, will take charge.

Mr Jacoby, 54, said he felt lucky it was not worse and explained: "I am currently experiencing limited movement abilities in my right arm and, to some extent, also in my right leg."

Volvo is under pressure to increase sales from 450,000 to 800,000 by 2020 after it was bought by the Chinese car maker Zhejiang Geely in 2010 for £1.2bn.

Last week Ton Büchner, 47, the chief executive of Dulux paint-maker Akzo Nobel, said he was taking a leave of absence until mid-October to recover from "temporary fatigue".