Ingela Nordenhav: What I wish more growing companies understood sooner

Meet Ingela Nordenhav – a global brand and transformation leader with a track record of shaping companies, cultures and commercial outcomes.

A senior executive turned board professional, Ingela Nordenhav has led international organisations across Europe, North America and Asia – from global brand repositioning to large-scale product launches and complex organisational change.

Her leadership spans marketing, digital transformation, commercial development, culture-building and strategic governance.

From board to brand

• Repositioned a global industrial brand and launched one of the most iconic, internationally awarded B2B campaigns of the decade.

• Led large-scale product launches across 100+ markets – aligning marketing, sales and product organisations worldwide.

• Helped a listed company grow from SEK 400M → 2.2B as board member – driving long-term strategic and organisational progress.

INSIGHT by Ingela Nordenhav

Below, Ingela shares one of the most overlooked truths in scaling organisations – a perspective every founder and leadership team should internalise early:

“What I wish more growth companies understood earlier”

Many growth journeys begin with a handful of brilliant minds – driven by courage, energy, and conviction. Their values and behaviours shape the company’s early culture. Growth comes quickly: more clients, more employees, more complexity. Everyone works hard, spirits are high.

But inevitably, the founders can no longer maintain daily contact with every team member. Informal alignment fades. Managers are hired, structures are built, and the original closeness disappears.

This is the critical point. Unless values and behaviours are made explicit, lived, and reinforced, new and unintended norms will take root. And when that happens, companies risk losing what made them special: the founder’s intent, the soul of the brand, the culture that once set them apart.

The Lesson

Values cannot stay implicit. As the company scales, they must be:

• Defined – written down clearly

• Discussed – shared, and understood across the organisation

• Lived – embedded in behaviours and decisions every day

• Reinforced – reminded, recognised, and rewarded consistently

Culture does not preserve itself. Without conscious effort, it drifts. With discipline, it becomes the anchor that sustains growth, attracts talent, and protects the essence of the business.

Don’t leave your culture to chance. Guard it. Shape it. Scale it.

Insight by Ingela Nordenhav, Senior Advisor at Advisory on demand