I really like technology. Throughout my career I have always worked either in technology companies, or focused on the technology sector.
In your role as CFO at CodeScene, what will you bring to the table?
I am a finance generalist which is important for CodeScene at this stage in its evolution – there is work to be done across every area of finance, from the more technical side (accounting, tax, payroll) to the more commercial side (planning/analysis, contracts, investor relations) and everything in between. From my early years, I also have experience from outside finance. This is useful, as the CFO role in an early-stage startup often branches into other areas - such as operations or marketing. On a personal level I am relatively relaxed and try to keep a sense of humour at all times – both of these qualities help a lot when working in a startup environment as the pace and variety can be a bit crazy from time to time.
Why tech business and CodeScene?
I really like technology. Throughout my career I have always worked either in technology companies, or focused on the technology sector. I like the pace of change, but also the fact that there are some longer-term trends which generally prevail. My most recent experience was at Dell which has its origins as an innovator on the hardware & supply chain side of the industry. On leaving Dell I knew I wanted to work more closely with software and applications – so for me CodeScene was a great fit. I was also looking for a small company setting. While my background is mainly at large companies, I have generally worked in smaller satellite offices or in small divisions within the wider firm. I prefer this kind of environment, where it is easier to have a direct impact and you are generally closer to the customer.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your previous work experience.
I was born and bred in the UK, but my wife is Swedish so most of my adult life has been divided between the UK (London) and Sweden (Malmö / Stockholm). My academic background is in business, but after trying out a few different roles (from industry analyst to marketing manager), I found my home in finance. I am a qualified accountant but have always worked close to the commercial end of finance. I was most recently at Dell, where I spent 15 years in a variety of finance roles, most of them within Dell’s local operating companies in the UK, Denmark and Sweden.
How will programming change in the coming years in your estimation?
Over the past couple of decades we have already seen the rise of software, applications and the automation they bring, as well as the long-term trend that hardware functionality tends to be absorbed by software. So in today’s landscape, organizations are already highly invested in software. Within programming, the biggest evolution in recent times has been the widespread adoption of the agile methodology, and related movements like DevOps. While these have allowed organisations to create & update software more quickly, there is a cost in terms of coordination. More updates made more frequently by more developers means more to keep track of. So I think a key change we will see in this space is organisations trying to get more sophisticated and structured about how they manage this “problem of control”.
€3 million in funding - How will this affect CodeScene?
Until now CodeScene has been entirely boot-strapped, so this funding allows us to move much faster in scaling up the company. Our focus this year is on building out the organization and establishing a stronger presence in some of our most important markets, while continuing to invest in the product. As with any scale-up, there is also a cultural change we have to navigate as we go from being a small closely knit team to a larger diverse team without losing our identity. Since CodeScene has already had a highly distributed organization in its early years, I think we are well set to handle this.
