Stories 2023.10.06
The next generation of leaders
An important part of NOD’s strategy work is succession planning since partnering up with founders that sometimes start wondering whether he or she is the most suitable CEO. This usually means that the company has reached a respectable level of success and that the founders feel that a different skillset is required. Both Alexandra Wahlqvist and Malin Hultqvist joined Network of Design as CEOs of previous founder led companies. They both describe the necessity of a nuanced approach to preserve the company’s legacy while driving its future growth and managing the expectations of various stakeholders.
The importance of culture
“I made sure to spend a lot of time with the founders understanding the business and its history. One challenge was the strong emotional ties that the employees had to the founders. Companies led by founders are special; the founders’ personalities permeated the company culture. I needed to spend time on understanding the culture and continue to encourage all the positive parts of that culture. Decision-making was also often based on the founder’s gut feeling and intuition – an intuition than came from extensive experience working within the company.”
Alexandra Wahlqvist, CEO Photowall
“Taking over as CEO from founders is a complex and challenging, but also a very pleasant and privileged task, with the transition itself being a key focus. This transition involves aligning your vision with the founders’ and the original idea of the company, while also evolving the company’s future vision and strategy. Striking a balance between preserving the company’s successful elements and implementing necessary changes is crucial. Additionally, managing or understanding the backbone of the company’s culture can be challenging, as it often reflects the founders’ personalities and events from the early years, requiring careful consideration of which cultural aspects to retain, adapt, or eliminate. “
Malin Hultqvist, CEO Kid’s Concept
A new plan in place
Being the new kid on the block as a CEO requires certain skills and making a pilot change mid-flight needs a plan. There are always many things that need immediate action and also different stakeholders with different views of what is most important and what should be the way forward.
“The first thing I wanted to do was to understand what factors made this company successful and what areas needed improvement. Hence the very first thing I did was to get to know the employees by listening to them. It made me understand the importance of maintaining the culture – one of Photowall’s largest success factors. I also realized that we had a great opportunity to grow the business by getting a better understanding of our finances”, says Alexandra.
“After meeting with the team, listening to stakeholders, digging deep into products, customers, and markets, assessing the culture, and identifying immediate issues and opportunities, setting priorities was key. We at Kid’s Concept aligned on what needed to be addressed first and developed a roadmap and plan out of that. Initially, the plan is more short-term focused, but gradually a long-term strategic roadmap is formed out of those short-term insights”, Malin adds.
“NOD supports the companies during the transition phase from being founder led organizations and an important part of the NOD strategy is to make sure that all founders are still involved in different type of roles. Then, we all can benefit from their knowledge, experience, and networks.”
Therese Hillman, CEO NOD