Sebastian Podlesny is the CEO of the IT consultancy firm 7N, headquartered in Copenhagen with offices in ten cities across Europe, Asia, and the USA. The company has approximately 2,000 people, of whom around 1,600 are freelance consultants from around the world.

Two years ago, Sebastian Podlesny became the top executive at 7N, which led him to seek professional development in leadership, strategy, and business development. He recently participated in the Executive Management Programme at INSEAD, which consists of one module in Denmark and two modules at INSEAD in France.

“There were several reasons why I wanted an executive education. Firstly, I was broadly seeking a deeper understanding of modern leadership and inspiration for how we can develop our business. We are successful, but maybe there is something we can do even better. This mindset is always present at 7N, and as the one responsible for the strategic development of the company, it is crucial that I remain aware of things I might not have noticed. Secondly, it was important for me to continue my education alongside Scandinavian leaders, so the combination of Scandinavian and international perspectives at the renowned business school INSEAD was simply ideal.”

According to the 7N CEO, the educational program lived up to his expectations, with the professors particularly impressing him.

“I greatly appreciated that the program had a broad approach to what modern leadership should encompass and how to develop and implement strategies. A particularly positive aspect was that the program was well-structured, and the professors represented a good diversity, being extremely knowledgeable and skilled at including practical examples and cases directly applicable to our own challenges.”

Directly Applicable Learning
Sebastian Podlesny highlights three important takeaways from the executive program.

“One of the most important things for me was learning how to create and build modern collaborative organizations. Additionally, I would emphasize the frameworks and methods we were introduced to for developing and implementing strategies. Last but not least, the session on business networking and collaboration through partnerships was an eye-opener for me,” he states, adding:

“Overall, the program has helped me ‘fine-tune’ our strategy, and I’ve gained access to several small tools that can assist me in my daily work. It’s not that we were doing anything wrong before, but I’ve now gained access to tools that can elevate our ongoing efforts to develop 7N. Lastly, the focus on partnerships has moved high up on the agenda, which is a completely new area for us, and I believe we can achieve something truly exciting in this space in the future.”