Bjarne Normann Madsen is the former VP Group Finance at ECCO, a family-owned footwear company established in 1963, headquartered in Bredebro, Southern Jutland. While ECCO was undergoing a significant transformation, he chose to participate in the Leading Strategic Change program INSEAD. He has since changed jobs and currently holds the position of Group Chief Financial Officer at NDI Group A/S. “ECCO is currently in the midst of a comprehensive transformation and digitalization journey, where we are focused on centralizing many of our internal processes. We have a clear need for standardization and simplification, and this is the journey I am leading,” he explains, and elaborates further:

“We are, like all other companies at the moment, in constant change. This involves digitalization in the consumer space, e-commerce, and omnichannel strategies—essentially new ways of doing business. It also impacts the internal processes related to finance. We need new tools, new processes, and new IT systems. The transformation process has significant implications for all this internal work, for which I am responsible,” he explains and continues:

“My clear motivation for participating in Leading Strategic Change was driven by a need to upgrade my expertise in change management and transformation. The topic has always interested me, and combined with the processes we are currently undergoing at ECCO, the timing was perfect. Additionally, several close colleagues of mine had previously participated in other Scandinavian Executive Institute programs at INSEAD, and their positive recommendations of both the study environment and professors were crucial in my decision to choose this particular program,” he adds.

Not Rushing Execution
According to ECCO’s finance leader, the strategy execution program has provided many new valuable skills and perspectives. “I’m quite enthusiastic, to put it in straightforward terms. I appreciated the preparatory material, and the two INSEAD professors—each with their own distinct approaches to the topic—were truly excellent. There was a consistent thread between what I had read beforehand and the sessions we were presented with at INSEAD. I particularly gained a lot from the relevant and educational cases regarding the ‘pitfalls’ often encountered in managing change and transformation processes. This reflection has been directly applicable to the processes I’ve initiated at ECCO. The intuitive way in which learning occurred really gave me some aha moments,” he says, and continues:

“I would also like to mention the experience with Virtual Reality used during the sessions. It wasn’t just ‘fun and games,’ but rather an excellent learning method that sparked reflection and inspiration. One of the most important key learnings I’m bringing back from the program in France relates to the importance of not rushing the execution of a change process. Reflecting on previous change projects I’ve been involved in, I can see why they have been challenging and sometimes failed. One of the cases we worked on specifically dealt with doing things in the right order—being patient and not forcing things. This is probably one of the most crucial lessons I’ve learned and something I will be very mindful of moving forward.”

Networking in Executive Forum
The program also had a positive impact from a networking perspective, according to the ECCO executive. “I met many interesting people during the program and feel that good connections were established. The participants are naturally spread across most of Denmark, but I hope many will meet at masterclasses in the Executive Forum.” “This way, we can maintain contact and support each other through sparring and advice, which is reinforced by the trust and shared frame of reference established during the program in France,” concludes Bjarne Normann Madsen.