The Society (VL)
The Danish Management Society (VL) VL is the leading Danish non-profit network for Industry Leaders; C-suite executives, board members, politicians and opinion leaders. The purpose of the Danish Management Society is based on the objects clause articulated for the founding of the Society on 8 April 1965:
The purpose of the Society is to promote modern, responsible leadership and management by means of sharing knowledge and engaging in dialogue and, in so doing, contribute to the sustainable, financial progress and general improvement of the standard of living in Denmark and the world we live in.
The Society conducts its activities primarily through the VL Groups, which meet at regular intervals to share experiences, knowledge and ideas across industries and sectors of Danish society – preferably with international vision.
The Society is non-profit, and we work to enhance our members’ ability to shoulder not only managerial tasks, but also the unique responsibility instilled in business leaders as fellow citizens. We have about 4,000 members, organised into network groups (VL-groups) of roughly 30–40 each.
Membership is by invitation only. In other words, it is not possible to buy access to the Society.
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What we do
VL works particularly through the VL-groups, which meet at regular intervals to share experiences and viewpoints across industries and sectors of Danish society. We endeavour to inspire the dialogue within the individual groups to not only deal with management issues, but also general societal conditions and the roles of executives relating to this.
We also arrange events for members across the groups. In addition, we take part in national and international organisations to the extent defined by the Governing Board and disseminate lessons learned and information obtained to our members and, if relevant, to others.
What we do not do
We do not run a commercial business which seeks to earn a profit; we do not have a political goal, and we do not represent any of our members’ special interests. VL being non-profit, income and assets may solely be used to advance the Society’s purpose which is to promote modern, responsible leadership by means of sharing knowledge and engaging in dialogue and thereby contribute to the sustainable, financial progress and general improvement of the standard of living in Denmark and the world we live in.
The Society
Ida Bratting Kongsted
Ida Bratting Kongsted is CEO of the Danish Management Society and represents the Society at a number of events transcending all VL groups, including the Annual Danish Top Executive Summit, Årstemaet (Annual Theme), etc.
In cooperation with the Governing Board, Ida sets the forward-looking strategy for the Danish Management Society to ensure the continued success and exclusivity of the Annual Danish Top Executive Summit, which have been its hallmarks ever since it began in 1965.
Ida Bratting Kongsted left a position at AS3 Executive to take up her duties at the Danish Management Society in 2018.
T: +45 35 43 92 92
M: +45 51 51 98 01
Mette Tingskov
Project Manager
T: +45 35 43 92 92
M: +45 93 94 65 30
Email: mt@vl.dk
Mette Tingskov
Mette er ansat som Projektleder og arbejder med at skabe større projekter som Årstema, VL Døgnet og andre aktuelle events, der går på tværs af alle VL-grupperne.
Mette har i 10 år arbejdet som Projektleder med rådgivning og afvikling af store projekter i AS3. Hun har senest boet og arbejdet i Indonesien og i Californien (Silicon Valley), hvor hun har haft opgaver indenfor rådgivning, formidling og konceptualisering. Udover relevante kurser i projektledelse, projektkoordinering, test tilbagemelding mv. har Mette en baggrund som Cand. Comm. og er efterfølgende certificeret Psykoterapeut.
Tinne Lilholt-Grøne
Executive Coordinator
T: +45 35 43 92 92
M: +45 21 80 45 22
Email: tlg@vl.dk
Tinne Lilholt-Grøne
Tinne er ansvarlig for koordinering og kommunikation i forbindelse med nyhedsudgivelser samt arrangementer i Selskabet.
Som uddannet cand.mag. med en bachelorgrad i erhvervssprog og 10 års erhvervserfaring har Tinne skarpe kompetencer inden for sprog, oversættelse, koordinering og service, både på tværs af fag, sektorer og kulturer. Ud over freelance-arbejde med oversættelse har Tinne senest arbejdet som Personal Assistant hos ingeniørfirmaet Arup og tidligere haft samme titel ved den tyrkiske ambassade i København.
Anne-Sofie Rahbek Wendelboe
Members & events
T: +45 35 43 92 92
M: +45 51 94 29 67
Email: asw@vl.dk
Anne-Sofie Rahbek Wendelboe
The Supervisory Board
Jesper Nygård
Board Chair
CEO, Realdania
Member of VL2, Copenhagen
Jesper Nygård
Jesper Nygård has been CEO of Realdania since 2013.
He also holds the position of chairman of the board of Realdania By & Byg. Jesper Nygård is a member of the board of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40 Cities), a member of the 2030 panel and chairman of The Honorary Committee of the World Congress of Architects Copenhagen.
He became a member of the board at Realdania in 2003 and chairman of the board in 2009 but withdrew from the board in 2013 when he became CEO of Realdania.
Prior to joining Realdania, Jesper Nygård was CEO of the housing company KAB from 1996-2013 and was chairman of the National Building Foundation (Landsbyggefonden) from 2000-2013 as well as a board member of Boligselskabernes Landsforening (today BL – Danmarks Almene Boliger) for 23 years. He has also been a board member in i.a. Brøndby IF A/S, Danish Architecture Center, the Foundation for Social Responsibility and chairman of i.a. Bolius.
Jesper Nygård participates in debating activities, gives many lectures and holds a Master of Science in Public Administration from Roskilde University in 1989 and has more than +25 years of leadership experience.
Anja Monrad
Vice Chair of the Board
Board professional | Keynote Speaker | Angel Investor | Ex-Dell executive
Member of VL64, Copenhagen
Anja Monrad
With more than 30 years of experience as an international top executive in the IT industry, Anja Monrad has not only been the highest placed woman on the Danish Tech scene, but also internationally in Europe. She has just finished a 23-year operational career within sales and marketing at the IT giant Dell Technologies, where she was most recently responsible for Western and Central & Eastern Europe respectively.
Today, Anja Monrad is a professional board member and representative for the IT industry in Denmark, Vice Chair of the Board for VL – Danish Management Society and also a member of several boards. She has also previously been appointed by the European Commission as chair of the board of the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition in the EU and has been an active member of the board of the European interest organization Digital Europe.
She is recognized as a clear promoter of DEI, has been nominated for Danish Leader of the Year in 2020, and has won awards for her role as a female role model at home and abroad, and is a sought-after keynote speaker within Digitalisation, Diversity and, not least, the topic of Women in Management.
Anja Monrad holds an MSc in Economics from CBS in 1989, was born in Poland, but has lived in Copenhagen most of her life.
Carsten Topholt
Operational Partner, Private Equity Fund & board member
Member of VL17
Carsten Topholt
Carsten Topholt has been CFO of TV 2 Denmark from 2019 to 2024.
Before TV 2, Carsten Topholt worked for five years at the consulting firm McKinsey & Co; primarily in Europe and the Middle East (EMEA) with digitalisation, transformations etc.
He has also worked in the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Affairs with, among other things, infrastructure, energy and climate as well as the ownership of the state owned companies – Ørsted, SAS, Copenhagen Airport etc.
Carsten Topholt holds two Master degrees – in mathematics and philosophy from University of Copenhagen. He also holds diplomas from CFA, London School of Economics, London Business School, and IMD.
He has published the book Kultur & Politik, Multivers 2019. He is also working on a book about the history of mathematics.
Carsten With Thygesen
Founder and CEO, Cresco Capital Services
Member of VL6
Carsten With Thygesen
Carsten With Thygesen works as a professional board member, investor and has also founded and manages the Investments and Asset Management company Cresco Capital Services A/S. He has more than 30 years of experience in finance, real estate, forestry and wood industry-related business. Carsten With Thygesen has more than 18 years of experience in managing (including transforming and profitably growing) an international company with over 1000 employees and approx. 1.6 billion DKK in turnover. He also has more than 20 years’ experience as chairman of the board in companies with different forms of ownership (listed, capital fund, association and fund-owned) within the investment, construction, real estate and forestry and wood industry sectors. Furthermore, Carsten With Thygesen has 15 years of experience as a board member within philanthropy and almost 10 years of experience as a board member and chairman of the Aarhus School of Architecture.
He holds an MSc in Agricultural Development (1989) from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, an HD in Finance and Credit (1991) from the Copenhagen Business School and an Executive MBA (1995) from SIMI, and with subsequent Executive programs from IMD, Insead and Harvard Business School.
Christina Hvid
CEO, Molio
Member of VL46
Christina Hvid
In 2019, Christina Hvid joined Molio as CEO. Molio is a gathering hub for the development of shared digital tools, standards, and knowledge within construction, which streamlines construction processes and increases digitalization as well as a green transition.
Christina has dealt intensively with management, board work, innovation, and digitalization in her well over 20 years as CEO in Danish business life. She has, among other things, been CEO of Symbion A/S and Rejseplanen A/S, and as CEO of Danske Slagterier, Christina was instrumental in the formation of the Danish Agriculture and Food Council.
Christina also has more than 20 years of active board work behind her and is currently Chair of the Board of Fonden Hornbæk Kunstmuseum and Board Member of the IT University in Copenhagen and in buildingSMART International, headquartered in London. In addition, she is active in a number of advisory boards, steering groups, boards of representatives, etc. and often speaks at conferences and congresses with messages about digitalization and standardized methods as a prerequisite for more sustainability and a green transition in construction.
Christina holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Copenhagen and has since supplemented with management courses from i.e., Insead, Wharton and Copenhagen Business School. In 2008, she was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
Helle Borup Friberg
Board member and former CEO, Økologisk Landsforening
Member of VL28
Helle Borup Friberg
Until September 2024, Helle Borup Friberg was CEO of Økologisk Landsforening – Organic Denmark – and was behind the organization’s development from a niche organization to a broader interest organization for ecology and sustainable transition.
She sits on the boards of the Aarhus School of Architecture and Juliana Drivhuse, just as she has been chair of the Innovation Center for Organic Farming, deputy chair of ØkologiRådgivning Danmark and sat on the board of CARE Denmark.
Helle Borup Friberg is an active debater both nationally and internationally in the area of sustainable transition of the food system and has, among other things, been appointed to the Danish government’s Climate Partnership for Food and Agriculture.
Behind her, she has held a number of international management positions, e.g. from the LEGO Group, as Head of Operations and Digital Platform in LEGO Education, from ScanCom based in Ho Chi Minh City and, from Georg Jensen Damask as regional sales manager for Germany.
Helle Borup Friberg holds a Master of Science degree in Business, Language and Culture from the University of Southern Denmark in 1995 and also studied International Business and Marketing at the University of San Francisco. In 2017, she also completed an Executive Board Leadership programme at Copenhagen Business School.
John Wagner
Board member and political commentator
Member of VL9, Copenhagen
John Wagner
From 1995 to 2023, John Wagner was CEO of De Samvirkende Købmænd (DSK) and serves on various boards in the retail commodities trade.
John Wagner has served on the boards of the Danish Broadcasting Company and the graphic design company Formula Holding A/S and is today chairman of the Foundation ‘Fonden af 1. oktober 1959’, deputy chairman of VANA, member of the board of KFI – Erhvervsdrivende Fond, the board of Aveny -T and expert assessor for the Maritime and Commercial Court.
John Wagner also has experience with the interplay between the public and private businesses as a member of several commissions and partnerships, most recently the Nominating Committee for Sustainable Urban Development set up by the Minister of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs.
He is also a network coordinator for organisation executives and a regular commentator in Altinget, in TV2’s News & Co., Dagligvarehandlen and most recently authored “Schlüter’s Politiske Testamente” (Gyldendal 2019).
He is also a qualified journalist, having served as political editor of the Danish newspapers Jyllands-Posten, Weekendavisen and Børsens Nyhedsmagasin, after which he was debate editor and editorialist for Berlingske Tidende, before becoming secretary-general of Denmark’s Conservative Party from 1988 to 1992.
Lars Sander Matjeka
Board member, executive adviser & lecturer
Member of VL 91, Copenhagen
Lars Sander Matjeka
Lars Sander Matjeka is a professional board member and has previously been the chairman of the board at many different companies, such as OTW Denmark, UBD, and Kvantum.
Lars has many years of business experience as the former CEO of Aller Media A/S from 2017 to 2020. Prior to this, he held the position of CEO at two of Aller’s subsidiaries and has also been the marketing and communications director at SAS Institute.
Lars began his career at A.P. Moller-Maersk, where he obtained his first leadership position at the age of only 21. Later, he took on the position of marketing manager with Cognos (Today IBM Cognos Analytics) and with the advertising company Gorm & Larsen as their business unit manager.
He holds a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from CBS in 2000.
Merethe Eckhardt
Director of Development, Danish Courts Agency
Member of VL47
Merethe Eckhardt
Merethe Eckhardt is director of development at the Danish Courts Agency, former deputy director at the Danish Broadcasting Company and former lawyer at Plesner.
With a legal degree and +25 years of leadership experience behind her, Merethe Eckhardt has worked with strategy, innovation, execution and top management as well as with digitalisation and artificial intelligence in the public and private sector in and outside Denmark. She has a large international network and has worked with organisations, companies and people in large parts of the world and is often a speaker at conferences and congresses abroad.
Merethe Eckhardt holds a post-graduate at MBA level from Warton, Insead and Stanford Research Institute, just as she has completed board training on commercial foundations at Copenhagen Business School and the Global Board Leadership Masterclass at CBS Executive Fonden.
Over the past several years, she has sat on boards within design, culture, media and the judiciary, including Knud Holscher Design (chair) and Dubberman (chair).
Merethe Eckhardt is currently board chair in Dansehallerne and Teatergrad, as well as a board member in Zetland, Danner, ERA (Academy of European Law), an expert in the Council of Europe, a member of CEPEJ in the same place and a member of the radio and television board.
Peter Kaas Hammer
CEO, Kemp & Lauritzen A/S.
Member of VL73, Copenhagen
Peter Kaas Hammer
Peter launched his career with the consulting firm Qvartz (now Bain & Company) in 2001. He began working for MT Højgaard (now MTH) in 2006, where he served as a member of the executive management team for several years, tasked with developing the affiliated subsidiaries, among other duties, and served on several of the boards. Peter became managing director of Ajos A/S (MTH-owned company) in 2011 and managing director of Lindpro A/S (MTH-owned engineering company) in 2013.
Peter’s career in a low-margin sector is based on his sound analytical and practical approach, which focuses on strategic, tactical and operational aspects.
Peter received his master’s degree in economics from Aarhus University in 2001 and attended the Cranfield School of Management as part of his studies.