DA

Martin Ellemann Olesen

Experience and about me

I have more than 25 years of leadership experience at the intersection of product, technology and organization. I have been responsible for larger organizations and specialists and worked closely with executives and leadership teams to create direction, prioritization and stronger execution.

My experience spans growth, transformation and turnaround in organizations where complexity is high, and where strategy only creates value when translated into clear choices, stronger organization and better momentum.

Portrait of Martin Ellemann Olesen

In brief

  • 25+ years of experience in product, technology and transformation leadership
  • Leadership responsibility for larger organizations, specialists and distributed teams
  • Experience with growth, transformation, turnaround and organizational scaling
  • Close collaboration with executives, leadership teams and management groups
  • Background from private, public and regulated environments
  • Strong at translating strategy into prioritization, organization and execution

About me

For the past 25+ years, I have worked in the space where product, technology, and organization need to come together if strategy is to truly become reality. That is also where I create the most value.

CV

My current CV as a PDF.

Download CV (PDF)

Leadership experience

  1. 2012 – present

    21Leadership

    Founder · Executive Advisor & Transformation Leader

    I have worked closely with executives, leadership teams and key people in organizations undergoing growth, transformation or leadership change.

    Focus areas

    • strategy execution, operating model and organizational design
    • portfolio prioritization, governance and decision-making power
    • strengthening of product and technology leadership
    • coaching and development of leaders in agile leadership and modern leadership practices
    • transformations in both private and regulated environments

  2. 2014 – 2021

    Ugilic

    Co-founder and co-CEO

    Co-built and scaled a consulting company focused on modern software development, agile product development and leadership.

    Results

    • growth to more than DKK 100 million in total revenue
    • management of distributed delivery and development organizations
    • establishment of governance and decision-making models that could scale with the business
    • focus on quality, collaboration and execution in pace with growth

  3. 2012 – 2014

    goAgile

    Partner and transformation leader

    Worked closely with management on organizational design, governance, product development and modern ways of working.

  4. 2005 – 2012

    ProActive (now Fellowmind)

    Senior Manager and Head of Project Management

    Senior leadership role in a software and delivery organization with large private and public clients.

    Responsibilities

    • management of an organization with developers, architects and project managers
    • responsibility for capacity, financial performance, quality and delivery reliability
    • part of the management team
    • management layer below me with managers for several specialist areas

    Results

    • the organization grew from just under 50 to approx. 100 employees during the period
    • 82% revenue growth over three years
    • transition from more traditional delivery models to more adaptive and agile ways of working
    • close collaboration with executive management on strategy execution and organizational development

  5. 1999 – 2004

    Mærsk Data and TDC

    Program and personnel management in complex technology environments

    Mærsk Data

    • management responsibility for international architects
    • cross-cutting responsibility for development processes, technical coherence and ways of working
    • program with approx. 45 people across 6-7 teams

    TDC

    • management responsibility for two teams
    • among the early pioneers in Denmark in agile ways of working
    • strengthened the collaboration between development and business

  6. Early technical experience

    Software developer at TDC Services, PC Data Consult and ModaCAD Europe.

Selected contexts and transformations

Contexts from my work as an adviser and transformation leader. The role in each context is stated where it has been described.

IDA

Development of a digital organization in a politically governed member organization with high complexity and many stakeholders.

Contributions

  • growth of the organization from approx. 30 to 50 employees
  • design of value stream teams
  • helped introduce OKR for strategic initiatives
  • established a rhythm with quarterly follow-up on strategic ambitions
  • strengthened the link between strategy, technology and business

Bluegarden

Turnaround of product and development organization in a software company under significant financial pressure.

Contributions

  • reorganization around dedicated product teams
  • strengthening of Product Management and Product Owner roles
  • transparent portfolio prioritization at executive level
  • faster path from idea to production
  • closer link between product development, commercial priorities and strategy
  • contributed to a turnaround from a loss of more than DKK 300 million to near break-even in one year and profitability the following year

Trackunit

Integration and culture transformation following acquisition of a more traditional Canadian organization.

Contributions

  • brought in by top management in Denmark to support a strong integration
  • coaching of leaders in Denmark and Canada
  • establishment of a common leadership language
  • movement from top-down control towards more autonomous teams
  • development of a governance logic with more advisory board and more empowering collaboration

ALKA

Digital transformation of product development organization in an insurance context.

Contributions

  • governance for modern product development
  • recruitment and development of Product Owners
  • stronger collaboration between business, design and engineering
  • contribution to stronger digital customer journeys and self-service

VP Securities · BRFkredit · LB Forsikring

Stabilization and strengthening of development organizations in regulated and business-critical environments.

Contributions

  • governance and prioritization
  • leadership support and organizational development
  • stronger coherence between strategy, development and operations

Novo Nordisk · Digitaliseringsstyrelsen · Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen

Leadership sparring and organizational development in complex environments with high requirements for stable operations, compliance and scalable digital platforms.

Education

  • MBA with specialisation in Organisational Psychology

    Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University

    in progress

  • Master of Management Development (MMD)

    Copenhagen Business School

  • Deploying AI for Strategic Impact

    MIT xPRO

Let's talkLeadership and advisory