From cycler to CEO: Learning to lead from sports
Just as you can train to break records, you can also train to become a good leader. That's just one of the things that leadership and sports have in common. At this event, former professional cyclist and current CEO Alex Pedersen spoke on his journey from the bicycle saddle to the corner office and the connections between sports and leadership.
“It motivates me to put the right team together"
In this interview, Alex Pedersen talks about his career as a cyclist and how a career in elite sports influences his leadership style today. *This interview is available in Danish with English subtitles.
Turning sports into skills
CEO of Samn Forsyning, Alex Pedersen, has had a career as both a professional cyclist and a long-standing CEO. At this event, he shared how he has applied the skills and experiences gained from a professional sports career to his leadership role.
As part of the presentation, Alex also included anecdotes from one of his greatest career achievements: the 10-year journey to bring the start of the Tour de France race to Denmark in 2022 – an event that brought 1.6 million spectators out onto the Danish roads.
Inspired by Alex’s presentation, there were several questions from the audience. These ranged from recommending strategies to promote innovation in the public sector, how to overcome mental barriers as well as the critical role of team dynamics.
Meet the speakers
Alex Pedersen
CEO in Samn Forsyning and former professional cyclist
Since 1997, Alex has been a CEO in various sectors, including the media and sports industries (handball and cycling), and today he is the CEO of Samn Forsyning, which handles water and wastewater in Horsens and Odder municipalities.
Alex is also a former professional cyclist and has been a world, Nordic, and Danish champion in cycling multiple times. He was behind Denmark’s first professional cycling team, which participated in Tour de France in the year 2000.
Alex was also one of the two people who brought Tour de France to Denmark in 2022, a journey that began back in 2013.
Rikke Rønholt Albertsen
PhD Fellow at CBS Sustainability Centre
As a PhD Fellow at CBS, Rikke researches how organisations respond to paradoxical tensions, ambiguity, and uncertainty in relation to sustainability. She is also a member of the 2030 panel – the Danish Parliament’s advisory panel for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Rikke is also a former elite runner and has set the Danish record for the 400 meters. Today, she is a member of the Danish Olympic Committee and a board member of the Danish Sports Federation. She has also previously worked as a management consultant at Implement Consulting Group.
These insights were shared at a CBS Executive Education event
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