So I built a big spreadsheet analysing variables like: great places to raise kids, work as a woman in tech, global mindset, innovative, and that would have plenty of water and less climate impacts. You got it! Scandinavia was at the top. The choice between Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and others was a tough one. It came down to climate change projections, innovation, geopolitics, and EU citizenship options. My grandfather having been a full-blooded Swede might have had some subjective influence too.
When Europe finally opened airports after COVID, I threw the kids and mom onto the first flight to Europe and upon landing, started the search for the company of my dreams. And along came this incredible Nordic-based consultancy specialising in design, strategy, data, cloud and integrations and looking to build their sustainability practice. I fell in love with Solita and courted this beautiful company at the Data Innovation Summit in 2021. Two years later, the honeymoon with Sweden, Solita, and Scandinavia is still going strong and Solita just renewed my work permit which we celebrated as a Solita family.
Why Sweden
I have lived all over Asia, Europe, and the US and a lot of people ask me ‘why Sweden’ and why not go back to Big 4 consulting. I could write an enthusiastic book on both points but will try to be succinct.
‘Why Sweden’ – did I mention wanting quality of life, and a great place to raise kids with good education, safety (compared to most countries), lots of family support and community. Not to mention the connection to mother nature, water, and forests. Plus only a couple hours by plane to most places.
I also see Sweden as an incredible place to be an entrepreneur with plenty of incubators and a start-up culture. The level of respect for women in business is higher and more thoughtful than anywhere else that I have lived and worked in the world which is a good number of countries. In my time at Solita, I have had the great honour to share with other women, my journey and tricks of the trade in navigating career and personal life as a woman and mum in tech.
Why not Big 4 consulting
I worked for Deloitte, EY, and KPMG and loved every minute of it when I was single and then as a newer mum. But as a single mum and sustainability entrepreneur, Solita provides infinite opportunities for industry and service innovation and is wonderfully flat to paint your own Picasso with clever colleagues supporting you along the way.
At Solita, I have worked with steel companies, non-profits, manufacturers and transportation companies in the past two years with full autonomy to dive deeper into long-term relations and value propositions. Most significant has been working within industries that have some of the heaviest environmental footprints and where our work would make a meaningful contribution. The intrinsic part of our work is what feeds many of us Solitans and keeps us motivated day in & day out.
Solita as a workplace
Did I mention fun? Constant laughter and an ability to be just the way you are, sailing trips, and conferences to unite as a multi-country consultancy. During the holidays, I told my colleagues that I was infatuated with ‘lussebulle’ so they got me a costume (picture below). I have never been in a company where I felt so appreciated, protected, and empowered as here at Solita.
My colleagues and I grab rooms once a day to brainstorm and reflect on new ways to VOOD – create value out of data or VOOSD – value out of sustainability data. CSRD, Battery and other passport legislation is driving more sustainability efforts in companies but what turns me on the most is turning sustainability data into a profit for my clients via data marts, product passports, transparency, ecosystem data share, and more productisation and business model innovation.
Care to join our community of diverse, talented, perfectly imperfect people? Check out our open positions.
