Stuhr & Svalgaard
Read more about our experience, background and education
Stuhr & Svalgaard
We are both passionately committed to our work and the people we encounter.
We have worked together in a variety of network contexts and projects over the years. Our close cooperation began in 2008, when we codesigned and taught several programmes at the Danisco Leadership Academy in Europe, the US and Asia. At the same time, we were also colleagues at IMD, an international business school located in Lausanne, Switzerland. At IMD we were involved in both the MBA programme and intensive leadership development programmes for global companies. Later, we both moved to INSEAD, where we are now part of the same professional community, including in the ICC (INSEAD Coaching Certificate) programme. For a number of years, we have been cocreators in Group Relations International, where our main focus has been the organization of an annual silent retreat in Denmark. We are both passionately committed to our work and the people we encounters
For the past many years, we have mainly worked abroad. Now, we wish to put our accumulated experience to work in Denmark. We want to bring it all to bear in one location and one course – and we want to make time for learning; time for engaging with and in the processes that this type of work promotes and facilitates. In our search for the right place to realize this vision, we came across Inspiratoriet on Samsø. This place has all the qualities we were looking for: nature, beauty, silence, aesthetic qualities, fresh air and a slow pace. This is where we decided to pull together everything we have learned from our work around the world.
Mette Stuhr
I hold an MA in International Business from Copenhagen Business School (CBS) (1993) and an MA in Strategic HRM from the Newcastle Business School (1994). Shortly after, I earned my certificate in Organizational Psychology from Institut for Gruppeanalyse (Institute for Group Analysis) in Copenhagen.
After a few years as a leadership development consultant in several organizations, including Confederation of Danish Employers and Danish Industry, I continued my career as a leadership development executive and, subsequently, as vice president in a global organization, where I spent several years developing and implementing a portfolio of leadership development programmes at every level of leadership in the organization. My work has always revolved around developing responsible and efficient leadership in processes involving individuals, groups and organizations. Concurrent with my corporate career, I was attached to IMD business school in Switzerland as consultant in the MBA programme and bespoke programmes for international companies.
In 2007, I left my corporate career and established my own company. Drawing on experience from a wide range of projects and roles, I spent some time exploring what seemed most meaningful to me and where I felt I could make a difference – not just for others but also for myself. Since 2009, I have been part of a professional community at INSEAD in France while also working as a lecturer, consultant and executive coach in a wide range of programmes in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the United States. Since 2017, I have been an adjunct professor at INSEAD.
I am married and have two sons in their early twenties, both full of curiosity and focused on finding their own path in life.
"I am interested in seeing how we can hold on to our core and identity – as individuals, employees and leaders – when we enter into and help cocreate strong communities, both in our work and in other aspects of our lives. MY Space – Mobilizing Potential is close to my heart and represents everything that I wholeheartedly believe will make a difference: ‘enabling all of us to activate our full potential in a responsible and meaningful way."
Lotte Svalgaard
I hold an MA in Psychology, specializing in Organizational Psychology, from the University of Copenhagen (1995).
After a few years as a leadership development consultant in the financial sector and in an international consultancy firm, I founded my own company in 2001. At this time, I also became an external lecturer in the MPO (Master of Organizational Psychology) programme at Roskilde University (RUC). As an independent consultant, I have had the privilege of working with gifted and talented colleagues in strong professional communities and with countless interesting client companies and individuals in leadership development programmes, as a coach and supervisor and as a consultant to groups and organizations that need help to manage change and challenges. After being attached to IMD in Switzerland for many years, I changed to INSEAD in France where I still spend part of my time today.
Since 2008, I have been a partner in Action Lab, where we design and implement programmes based on business-driven action learning. In the work communities I am a part of, I am motivated by working with good people who help me grow and develop on both a professional and a personal level and who share my passion for making a difference for people in organizations – a difference that they notice in their daily lives. A key focus for me is what I call mindful choices: managing to remain mindful and aware of each other and ourselves in our daily work.
In 2015, I submitted in my Industrial PhD dissertation on that topic, and in 2019, I released the book The Elephant in Room, which deals with how we can all improve our capacity to remain true to and act on what we notice.
In 2022 (after 21 years …) I left MPO. It is time for me to open some of the doors I would like to open – and to make time and room for engaging with what emerges.
I have three daughters, who are all embarking on their own adult lives and making their own experiences through studies and work.