As the new CEO of ECCO, Steen Borgholm would rather win as part of a team, full of good players, than being the only lauded individual.
Having just returned from a business trip to Russia, Steen Borgholm sits himself down on the soft leather bench at Café Sko, close to ECCO’s Headquarters in Bredebro. It’s an early Friday morning and smiling, he says:
“I hope that you can photoshop my picture afterwards, because I only had a few hours of sleep.”
During his 17 years with the company, 42-year-old Steen Borgholm, has had a steep career path. As a young boy it was never on the cards that he would one day become CEO of a multinational company, with more than 20,000 employees.
“I dreamt of becoming a professional football player. I played football four times a week, and practiced at home in the garden on days off training. Both my parents are school teachers but I actually don’t ever remember bringing home my schoolbooks. Football was my one and only interest, and I was determined to become good at it,” says Steen Borgholm.
However, time would show that his football boots would be replaced by business shoes, when he realised where his talents were most obvious. Steen Borgholm’s interest in ECCO was seriously aroused back in 2000, when he saw a job advert for ECCO in Indonesia.
“My wife and I have always enjoyed travelling in Asia, so we thought that we had better try it out. I went through several job interviews but I actually didn’t get the job in the end. Looking back, I think that was alright. It was early in my career, and I was still quite green,” he says.
However, within a week Steen Borgholm received a call from the former CFO of ECCO, who asked if he would like to be his Executive Assistant, and he happily accepted the offer.
Since then he has accepted several new challenges within ECCO.
“I clearly remember when I started in Switzerland for ECCO Accessories. I was asked to ‘look into the business’ and see if we could do things differently. I managed to send my recommendations but what I wasn’t prepared for at all, was the fact that they ended up asking me to carry out that plan. I was a bit surprised - what did I know about design of handbags? For me it was like dealing with ladies’ lingerie! I accepted the challenge, even though I admit that I was out of my comfort-zone,” he says laughing.
A new direction is set
As of 24 May 2017, Steen Borgholm officially takes over the role of CEO for ECCO.
“My most important task is to future-proof ECCO, in an unpredictable and ever-changing world. Also, to respect what has created the success that we have today, but understand that continuing to be successful going forward, asks for something new. As an organisation, we need to react faster to market needs to stay relevant for the consumer,” says Steen Borgholm.
“I’m aware of the perception that people externally may have towards a new CEO; thinking of it like a person who on his own will drive ECCO forward. ECCO shouldn’t ever be the kind of football team like F.C. Barcelona, who plays well if Messi is in the game and bad if he isn’t. We should play more like the Bayern Munich team (my favourite team) where you have a stable and super squad, full of good players, playing to win the Champions League every year.”
As the interview continues Steen Borgholm elaborates on how ECCO should implement new initiatives. He sees the key to success lies within its employees.
“It’s in my belief that if we succeed in encouraging our employees to have self-driven motivation, then, as a company, we will get much more out of it. Of course it will demand both delegation and empowerment within the organisation from the Management Group. This is one of the things that I would like to put in focus,” says Steen Borgholm.
“People might fear that as a former CFO who has now become a CEO, it’ll all be about planning 12 months ahead - administration systems and bureaucracy. However, I only have an ambition to make things easier, simpler, and faster.”
See Steen Borgholm’s full CV here:
http://group.ecco.com/en/about-us/cv-steen-borgholm
About ECCO
ECCO is one of the world’s leading shoe brands combining style and comfort. ECCO’s success is built on products with a great fit and top-quality leathers. ECCO owns and manages every aspect of the value chain from tanneries and shoe manufacturing to wholesale and retail activities. ECCO’s products are sold in 88 countries from over 2,000 ECCO shops and more than 14,000 sales points. ECCO is family-owned, founded in Denmark in 1963, and employs more than 20,000 people worldwide. www.ecco.com