I’ve been part of a project at my company, where our goal was to update a client’s stakeholders on their progress. I took on the role of delivering a mid-year report to a stock market-listed company. My job was to manage the project, produce, and design the report, making sure it met all the market’s rules and was helpful for investor relations.
A research trip to Copenhagen aims to enrich upcoming meetings for a variety of external boards of directors (not my ordinary assignements, in this case upcoming new clients), thereby broadening their perspective. Many boards rigidly follow a set agenda, a practice I find insufficient and shall be action based. I believe that board activities and business development initiatives are crucial for increasing shareholder value. The role of a board of directors is not just a ceremonial title; it’s a mission to help the company scale and adopt a broader view.
I am exploring Copenhagen to identify a mix of board workshops, cultural experiences, and themed restaurant visits. These elements will be woven into upcoming new clients – the board’s developmental agenda, focusing on themes and subjects designed to inspire growth.
This post also highlights the importance of personality. Each board is teeming with unique personalities that contribute to its DNA and, in turn, influence the company’s character. How can we draw inspiration from external standout personalities? Moreover, how can we learn from their successes, even if those have been achieved in other sectors of society?
–This time, the path led me to the Labour Museum in Copenhagen, where I saw a wall poster featuring none other than Anker Jörgensen (Danish politician who served at various times as Prime Minister). The museum’s basement houses the classic Smørrebrød restaurant Café & Ølhalle “1892,” (a comimg destination on my board trips and workshops) complete with workers’ beer—a darker classic lager that exudes natural personality, much like Anker himself. Exemplified by Ankers refusal to move into the official Prime Minister residence Marienborg, preferring to stay with his wife in their small apartment in a working class area of Copenhagen.
Are you a management consultant?
While I don’t function as a traditional management consultant, I often join management teams for short-term or long-term tasks, assisting organisations from a business management standpoint, either in a specific role or for various business development initiatives.
Do you serve as a board member?
I have held and currently hold board positions for publicly traded companies across all three significant marketplaces in Sweden, and for unlisted companies, either as a representative for a significant shareholder or as an independent board member.
Do you engage in corporate communications?
I am involved in corporate communications, working either on projects to create regulatory or value-enhancing communications, or assuming an overarching responsibility to manage investor relations.
Are you an investor?
I no longer function as an investor. In the past, I worked for several renowned Swedish investors. Nowadays, I focus on consulting tasks in management and communication and accept board positions.
Do you work in international relations?
Although I don’t hold a professional role in international relations, I undertake assignments that aim to foster trade between countries, for example.
