Lars Dalgaard

I worked for Unilever, one of the 10 largest transnational employers in the world, in Amsterdam, Germany, Amsterdam (again), and Denmark. At different points I was globally responsible for two large, recognized product lines, development, marketing and sourcing, I was Business Unit P&L Director, and Board Member in a 13,000 person division, and Country Manager, in a business we ended up merging with 3 other acquisitions.

I also worked for Novartis, at the time one of the largest Pharmaceutical companies globally. I worked for them in New Jersey, USA and Basel, Switzerland, both as a Sales Representative, Product Manager working directly with Engineering and Development, and a Corporate Finance Controller in the head office, overseeing investments at 4 major geo's with the title of "Country Manager".

We have built SuccessFactors from scratch over the last 6 years with 3 things in mind:

1. A passion and ambition to Change the world, increasing productivity by 50% worldwide. A new Industrial Revolution, managing people for performance, pleasure and respect in their work, through stronger alignment, engagement, dialogue, collaboration, career-planning and pay for performance, delivered in an affordable surprisingly exciting application over the web 100%, to give ease of use and proliferation.
2. Build a collaborative and accountable meritocracy with no jerks.
3. Insisting on Measurable Customer Success as a higher priority than anything else.

The company now has > 700 people, > 2,850 customers, > 60 industries and 5.4 million users, and we outpaced the industry every year for 5 years straight, growing 99% CAGR. Most importantly our customers, and users, in 185 countries and 31 languages, are really using our applications for objectively assessing, promoting, training, recruiting, developing, and compensating their staff. Therefore we have an astounding renewal rate.

What makes me most proud is that there are still no jerks and no politics in our company. We truly hold each other accountable for constant Kaizen-like improvement and excellence. We take pride in respecting the individual, and are a combination of Navy SEAL like execution, McKinsey thoughtfulness and rigor, Southwest Airlines luv, and operational execution and have a lot of fun in doing it. I respect everyone, and their commitment to success is humbling.

It's hard to beat us. Often I get an unsolicited comment from someone in our global workforce that I'm the toughest boss they have ever had, and yet, it's the best place to work. I have an insanely dedicated board that is available to me at short notice for any length of time I can justify, and always they care and add value. Our customers continue to surprise us in their ingenuity and commitment to drive their organizations for engagement, accountability and results.

I have a Masters of Science from Stanford Graduate School of Business, in California, where I was a Sloan Fellow, and an undergrad from Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. My favorite classes were in new ventures, economics, psychology, statistics (game theory is fun), programming (dbase 2 and Pascal..!) and studying consumer behavior. I am lucky, and work hard to get luckier. I am often wrong, but seldom in doubt.

Home Town

Copenhagen, Denmark - Now adopted a new home in Silicon Valley, USA, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Other Interests

Playing Squash (fast, hard, intelligent and surprising), hiking, thoughtful, ambitious, and great books, painting, movies and architecture, my family and surprising, passionate, loving, loyal and game changing friends across the world.