BrazilAmdi Hansen reflects on PA Consulting's growth in Denmark
PA Consulting’s Danish operations have seen a year of solid financial growth, while making a number of key appointments in preparation for heightened demand in 2019. The firm’s national leader for Denmark Amdi Hansen spoke to Consultancy.eu, explaining that PA is seeing higher demands in financial services and in the public sector, due to digital disruption.
Global innovation and transformation firm PA Consulting presided over a year of record growth in 2018. The global professional services group reported strong growth, outpacing the global consulting market significantly over the duration of the year, booming by 14%.
The firm’s success also translated to a global success story, particularly in the Nordics where PA holds three offices, in Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen. In the capital of Denmark, PA employs 160 people, and speaking to Consultancy.eu, Amdi Hansen explained that the firm has enjoyed a solid year while making key improvements in its innovation capacity.
The Danish country head of PA Consulting Group stated; “Management finds that this year’s results for Denmark are satisfactory. The strengths of our client base have developed positively and the continued focus on building stronger client relations within our target markets expect to pay off on the financial. In terms of development we have further strengthened our innovation and strategy competence as well as our capabilities within risk and compliance. We will continue to provide clients with ingenious solutions to their challenges.”
Throughout 2018, PA delivered on a number of key innovation and transformation projects across Denmark. These included assessing number plate recognition to help BroBizz expand its business in parking and ferry crossings, partnering with Copenhagen FinTech to create a report explaining how incumbent financial institutions and FinTechs can forge successful partnerships, and crafting a high-profile statement on the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority’s regulation of Danske Bank.
Looking forward, Hansen identified the most important offerings for PA’s portfolio in Denmark in 2019 and 2020 as agile, innovation, cost-out work, contract management, financial crime and financial technology (FinTech). In anticipation of these key areas, the consulting firm also successfully boosted its talent pool in 2018, with the recruitment of a number of new members last year.
“We have recruited a wide range of specialists in 2018,” Hansen expanded. “With businesses in Denmark needing more innovative solutions to help fight FinCrime, Richard Grint, an expert from the UK office, joined us in Denmark. Elsewhere, Jon Plate, an innovation and implementation expert, is now leading the insights and strategy team in Denmark, working with clients to plan platform strategies and ecosystems. We also added Morten Ib Ingstrup (AI and blockchain) and Kenneth Studsgaard (data transformation in the public sector) to the team.
Looking ahead
In terms of the firm’s future human capital strategies, PA Denmark is also stepping up its efforts to meet with PA’s global diversity and inclusion ambitions. Hansen noted the company’s Danish wing has a “very ambitious” ‘Women in Consulting’ programme, while offering a number of special network opportunities for men and women on maternity/paternity leave – in keeping with Denmark’s leading position on parental leave.
Commenting on his broader expectations for PA Denmark, Hansen concluded; “Management expectations for 2019 are for a continued focus on implementing the strategy and operating model… PA in Denmark is leading in helping clients develop their agility and related business models and we foresee that market to continue growing in 2019. From a sector perspective we are seeing higher demands both in financial services, not least within compliance work, and in public sector due to significant investment in systems and new technologies.”
