DA

Martin Ellemann Olesen

Experience and about me

More than 25 years of leadership across business, technology, product and organizational change: direct line management of 80+ people, co-founder and co-CEO of a consultancy, and more than ten transformations led – typically with C-level sponsorship.

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25+
years across business, technology and leadership
10+
transformations led, typically with C-level sponsorship
80+
people in direct line management
Co-founder
and co-CEO of a consultancy

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 45 to approx. 150 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 advisor and transformation leader. The role in each context is stated where it has been described.

IDA – Danish Society of Engineers

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

Contributions

  • end-to-end value streams across business and digital development, with OKRs and quarterly follow-up on strategic ambitions
  • grew the digital organization from approx. 30 to 50 employees
  • created the leadership conditions for AI adoption among approx. 45 developers, including an AI process-improvement team and a trusted data foundation

Bluegarden

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

Contributions

  • reorganized Product and Development around dedicated product teams with stronger Product Management and Product Owner roles
  • transparent portfolio prioritization at executive level and shorter decision paths
  • 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 / ZTR

PE-backed post-merger integration of Trackunit and Canadian-based ZTR across Europe and North America.

Contributions

  • co-created a new governance and operating model across the two organizations
  • introduced more distributed decision-making and a common leadership language
  • coached leaders in Denmark and Canada and spent substantial time in Canada building local trust and relationships

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

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.

How I work

My approach is shaped by an agile mindset, but not as dogma. I believe in being clear on direction, outcomes and boundaries while remaining willing to test, learn and adjust how we get there.

I do not believe in copy-paste transformation. Proven ideas and patterns matter, but they have to fit the specific business, problem, culture and context.

I believe governance should create clarity and better decisions, not bureaucracy. Good transformation creates a line of sight from strategy to everyday decisions and gives people throughout the organization enough clarity and authority to act.

I try to get close enough to understand what is worth protecting while keeping enough distance to see what needs to change.

Education

  • MBA with specialization 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

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