Controlant strengthens executive leadership and simplifies operating model to drive growth
Following the successful closing of a $35 million funding round, Controlant today announced changes to its executive leadership as well as a simplification of the operating model to improve execution power and reduce costs.
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Highlights:
- Changes to the executive leadership with the appointment of Trausti Thórmundsson as co-CEO to lead jointly with Gísli Herjólfsson, now co-CEO, Erlingur Brynjúlfsson appointed CTO, and Áslaug Hafsteinsdóttir appointed COO.
- Reduction in workforce and management layers to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
- Initiatives to strengthen market positioning, and simplify operating model, with greater emphasis on an agile innovation process and partnerships.
Changes to the executive leadership
Trausti Thórmundsson and Gísli Herjólfsson to lead Controlant as co-CEOs
Trausti Thórmundsson has been appointed co-CEO of Controlant and will jointly lead with co-CEO and co-founder Gísli Herjólfsson. Trausti is a co-founder of the company and has served on the Board of Directors since 2007. As an experienced tech executive, Trausti has led business units in the US and in Iceland and managed advanced R&D teams at Conexant, Synaptics, and Google to develop commercially successful technologies.
Trausti will step down from the Board of Directors at the latest at the Annual General Meeting in 2025.
Áslaug Hafsteinsdóttir appointed Chief Operations Officer
Áslaug Hafsteinsdóttir has been appointed Chief Operations Officer and will lead Controlant’s operations including customer onboarding, service centers in Iceland, the Netherlands, and the United States as well as global customer operations. Áslaug joined Controlant in 2022 and most recently served as Senior Vice President of Operations. She has a 15-year track record as a leader in the software and data analytics industries.
Erlingur Brynjúlfsson appointed Chief Technology Officer
Erlingur Brynjúlfsson is appointed Chief Technology Officer, returning to a role he previously held, having served as Chief Strategy Officer in the interim. He will lead Controlant’s technology division, focusing on maintaining a strong technical foundation while exploring new technologies. Erlingur is one of the co-founders of the company and has built up its technical infrastructure since the beginning.
Søren Skou, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Controlant:
"We are pleased to appoint Trausti as co-CEO alongside Gísli in this new executive leadership structure. Trausti has brought valuable expertise and vision throughout his tenure on the Board, and we are confident that together, Trausti and Gísli will bring a disciplined approach to our commercial opportunities while strengthening company-wide foundations. With these changes, the Board is confident that the company is better positioned to execute its strategy effectively to drive more customer focus and agility in development of fit-for-purpose solutions, accelerating revenue growth in the coming years.”
Strategic initiatives and simplifying the operating model
Controlant is continuously developing its organization to meet market needs and is implementing several initiatives to align its strategic focus and simplify the organization.
New initiatives include strengthening market positioning, adopting a more agile innovation process, and emphasizing partnerships in the life-science ecosystem to serve a broader spectrum of the supply chain with real-time visibility solutions.
At the same time, Controlant is simplifying its operating model to create a leaner and more flexible organization, while improving efficiency and reducing costs. The company’s workforce is reduced by about 50 roles and management layers will be consolidated. Following these changes, Controlant’s global team includes 230 people centered at its five sites in Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, and the US.
Taken together, these initiatives will improve the company’s cost structure, agility, and customer-centric focus, supporting Controlant in achieving its long-term goal of sustainable growth.
Effective immediately, the Executive Team includes:
- Gísli Herjólfsson – co-CEO, interim CCO
- Trausti Thórmundsson – co-CEO
- Anna Karlsdóttir – CQO, Head of HR
- Áslaug Hafsteinsdóttir – COO
- Carsten Lützhøft – CPO
- Erlingur Brynjúlfsson – CTO
- Gudmundur Árnason – CFO
For further information, please contact press@controlant.com.
