On 1 November, Lars Petersson joined VELUX as new CEO. VIEW caught up with him for a Q&A about courage, first impressions and his ambitions for VELUX.
What made you join VELUX?
By nature, I am curious and I like new challenges. I had been with Hempel for more than seven years, and I was starting to feel like I was running a bit idle.
I had a safe platform in Hempel and we were doing really well, so of course it was a bit of a risk to join a new family-owned company. But I also felt there was a good match. VELUX is on a journey to go from good to great and I really like that challenge. It is difficult enough to be interesting and at the same time it is definitely possible. I have a relevant background to lead VELUX on this journey, and it felt like something I could do.
I don’t know if anything surprised me, really. I was expecting to join a company full of engaged and passionate people and that is what I have found.
What has surprised you the most in these first months?
What has been the most challenging?
Making ends meet in terms of time. Being CEO of VELUX requires a lot of leadership from me, and I have had to be very hands-on from the beginning. I need to steer the ship and make a lot of decisions, but I also have to find time to learn and acquire knowledge about the business and the people.
Of course, some of this is because I am new to the business and the products – it takes time to get to know all of it. But I also think there is a tendency to push decisions upwards, and I would like to change that. I would like to encourage people in the organisation to make more decisions on their own and take responsibility. And yes, sometimes it turns out that a decision was not the right one and that is OK. I believe the biggest mistake you can make is to not make a decision and just let a discussion go on endlessly.
I feel the same culture in all VELUX locations, and that has actually surprised me a bit. Despite a very decentralised business model, the strong company culture has travelled from Denmark to our other locations. It is not easy to align on values and culture, so well-done VELUX!
What has made the biggest impression on you when you have visited different VELUX locations during your onboarding?
What are your ambitions for VELUX?
I would like us to be the sustainability leader of the industry, also when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion. We have some teams that are very mono-cultural, and people that are too similar do not necessarily make good decisions. Our employee composition should reflect our customers, and that means becoming more international and diverse. It is not an easy fix, but it is something we have to do. Everyone should feel represented in our company.
I would like to see us grow organically, in line with our strategy. We have the potential to become so much more, and our strategy guides us on the first steps to explore our full potential.
We have a really strong base, resting on the Model Company Objective, which I think is very insightful. But many people only focus on the first part about VELUX being a caring company that treats others better than most. The Model Company Objective also states that we must run a profitable business to be able to invest. If we don’t continuously reinvent ourselves, we will be disrupted. We need to keep improving, celebrate our successes and move on. Win the game today, so we can win the game tomorrow.
I have a very broad range of interests. I am interested in sports, culture, history, people and behaviours as well as business. I guess you could say I’m a generalist.
Mostly, I am true to who I am. I don’t try to blend in and I don’t try to be someone I am not. I believe everyone should be themselves and bring their full self to work every day. I am not very judging, and I don’t care about what people wear or what their personal preferences are, all that matters to me is that we have same vision and play on the same team.
How would you describe yourself – professionally and personally?
How would others describe you?
My wife would say that I work too much, and I definitely work too much for her taste, but she must love me anyway, because she is still with me, haha. My kids would say that I am supportive, and maybe also a little crazy. I am a bit of a daredevil when it comes to things such as skiing and biking, and my kids have learned not to follow my lead in those situations.
When we beat expectations – my own or other people’s. I like achieving something together with others. Winning together. I was never the star of any team, but when you succeed together with others, it is a great feeling.
When do you feel successful as a leader?
One of our new values is Courage – what does that mean to you?
Doing something despite being scared. Embracing change and not worrying if you might fail or look stupid. That is why I say “rather a speeding ticket than a parking ticket”. Don’t wait for the burning platform, but get out of your comfort zone. We have to take risks to move forward and sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way we hoped. But at least we tried and learned. It is okay to make mistakes, if you do it for the right reasons.
I have to gather my courage when I go into conflicts. I am a younger brother, so I am good at negotiations, but not a top-dog kind of guy. I used to be a little shy of conflicts, especially going head-to-head with power people, but I realised that if I stayed like that in business, I wouldn’t get to where I wanted to. Now, if I see things I don’t like, I just say it. But it is an acquired skill.
What takes courage for you to do?
