IIH Nordic has a new CEO, so we’ve done a welcome interview to give you a better understanding of who Lars Gudbrandsson is and what his visions are for the company.
How has it been at IIH Nordic so far?
“It has been very intense and fun. But also very educational – in a good way. I’ve been exposed to both internal and external matters. I’ve talked to a number of clients, and internally I’ve had 1:1s with the entire staff at IIH Nordic, getting to know people and putting faces to people. This means a lot to me. I have also enjoyed the scheduled onboarding. But I sleep well at night – it takes a lot of mental capacity.” – Lars Gudbrandsson
What is your impression of IIH?
“Positive. Insanely talented people. The best in the north. Friendly, nice and kind people. The culture is really good. When you walk in the door, you can feel that people are thriving and like it here. This shines through among colleagues and towards clients.” – Lars Gudbrandsson
What are your goals and visions for IIH Nordic?
“It is too early to say anything qualified about what needs to be developed further. My personal methodology is to get my head around data by collecting information. To then be able to analyse it and finally have implemented and activated the adjustments. The methodology is therefore collection, analysis and activation – in the same way as advising and helping our clients. I am currently in the collection phase – looking at the soft values to understand the culture, and at the same time looking at the hard data, e.g. the financials. There are many things we already do well and it’s clear we have a good foundation. At the same time, there are still many opportunities in the market where IIH Nordic can help and make a difference for many companies.” – Lars Gudbrandsson
What are your dreams for IIH Nordic?
“All the way up in the helicopter: We must remain No. 1 in our field. My dream for IIH Nordic is that more people realize that we are the best in our field. There is a lot of value for many companies in getting their data foundation right – and many companies want to go in that direction, but may not know how to get there. My dream is that they call us, because we already have that under control today. We have the models, the processes and the skills. And we’re one of just 21 companies globally to be awarded the Marketing Analytics Specialization for our ability to develop marketing technologies based on the Google Cloud Platform.” – Lars Gudbrandsson
If you had to describe IIH Nordic in three words, what would they be?
“Innovative, experts and positive. Innovative and experts are linked. We are good at finding the right solutions to our clients’ problems. Individualised to the client’s challenge, we find the ideal solution, without developing rocket science (every time). We are very strong professionally and have an environment that fosters that we can meet and challenge for the benefit of our clients. In addition, everyone here is positive and welcomes new things and the art of solving clients’ problems. We want to help each other and each other’s clients. We’ll always find a solution to whatever we are working on.” – Lars Gudbrandsson
What will be your biggest challenge as CEO here?
“In the short term, it will be to get up to speed fast enough. In the long run, it will be how to ensure that our technical capabilities are understood by all levels of our clients in the Nordics – from specialists to CxOs.” – Lars Gudbrandsson
How can you contribute to IIH?
“A management structure where we get the right decisions made at the right time. A commercial mindset and capability. I can work both technically and commercially, bridging the gap between the two. In doing so, I can translate how technology can solve our clients’ commercial needs and objectives. In many ways I am the interpreter – a kind of Babel fish (ed: from Douglas Adams’s 1979 novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy).” – Lars Gudbrandsson
Background
Lars started his career in 1997, and he has previously worked as a Marketing Director, and most recently as CMO & EVP of Commercial & Marketing at Bonnier Publications. Lars has many years of experience with data, digital marketing, digital business models, and digital products. In addition, he has managed a number of business areas and thus also has a commercial approach, which will benefit IIH Nordic going forward.
Lars Gudbrandsson has been on The M List several times, was on the “Nordic 100 in Data, Analytics & AI 2022” list, has three previous nominations at the Danish Digital Award, and has most recently been nominated in the category “Data and AI Transformation Professional of the year”.
