In late April, Denmark, one of the first countries in Europe to shut down due to the spread of COVID-19, gradually began reopening its economy and society. Twenty-five percent of Danske Commodities employees were back in the office after working from home since March 12th. Another 25 percent will be allowed back on May 18th under strict guidelines.

In less than 10 years, Helle . Kristiansen rose from employee #35 to become CEO of Danske ... [+] Commodities.

From Day 1, I insisted on business as usual, says CEO Helle stergaard Kristiansen of working from home. It was a rather unceremonious and unsentimental way of observing the one-year anniversary of her appointment as the first female CEO in energy trading, but these areunique times. Calling the digital capabilities at DC (as the company is known) our special superpower, Kristiansen says employees were working from home within two days.

We quickly established trading desks in the homes of our traders to ensure the safety of our people while doing our part to keep the energy supply balanced and stable.

To monitor the level of activity, which actually increased, she asked for data on how many trades were done each day. I didnt want to accept that we couldnt do tomorrow what we did yesterday.

Kristiansen, who says she takes her job very seriously but not myself because then you become too constrained in life knows about achieving results. Hired in 2010, she drew on her banking background tostart the companys risk and compliance department and later its treasury department. Within four years, she had become DCs chief financial officer, and in 2018 founder and then-CEOHenrik Lind asked her to handle the sale of the company.

I had never sold a company before! she says laughing. After 12 months of constant travel, investor presentations, and due diligence, the company was sold to Equinor for $400 million euros. While Lind, whom she considers a mentor, had confidence that she ultimately would be successful, Kristiansen says, Starting as employee #35 and taking a rather small company to one of the biggest players in energy trading in Europe, and now Australia, and also entering the U.S., Ive also done a lot of things in developing myself. I took an executive management program with INSEAD and joined a couple professional boards, especially in IT, to bring some knowledge into DC.

Helle stergaard Kristiansen on top of Danske Commodities headquarters in Aarhus, the second ... [+] largest city in Denmark.

Since assuming the role of CEO,Kristiansen has had a clear vision of how she wanted to implement her leadership style. I changed the name from senior management group to senior leadership. It was not [just] a matter of wording. Its because I want leaders; I dont want managers. We have a lot of young talent and they dont want to be micro-managed. I wanted leaders that could inspire them, develop them, give them responsibilities, and support them in their professional but also their personal lives.

That philosophy is part of DCs culture. When Kristiansen, a mother of three, says that it is possible not only to have children and a family, as well as a career, she emphasizes, This is not a womens discussion; its a discussion around talent. Acknowledging the low numbers of women in the energy sector, she says, If we dont tap into 50 percent of the talent pool, do we get the right [people] and the best competencies? Im concerned about our competitiveness as a company and as a sector, if we dont improve the rate [of womens participation].

Under her leadership, DC has undertaken a number of initiatives to achieve that goal from rather small changes in employer branding changing the wording of job ads where 95 percent of the words were considered masculine and photos featuring young men in blue shirts looking at computer screens to promoting from within.

Its a challenge, but its important to have women in the company and then grow it from there. Were trying to get more female talent in the company, not with forced Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), but by making sure we offer a working environment and a culture that welcome diversity and thrive upon it.

The company offers a graduate program, as well as a pre-managerial program, where participants are assigned a mentor, and Kristiansen,who holds a masters in business administration and auditing (cand. merc. aud.),runs a mentoring program for young women in finance and technology at university to show we exist in those areas and women have a place in our sector.

DC offers not just an attractive maternity package, but also four months paid paternity leave. In a company with an average age of 33 and a workforce that is 75 percent male, Kristiansen points out, This is not cheap, but when my directors or VPs have a man and a woman in front of them, I dont want them to hire the man because theyre afraid the woman will go on maternity leave.

Kristiansen mentions two female employees who recently were promoted during their pregnancies, despite the fact that the company had to find interim solutions while the women were on maternity leave.

It wasnt a hard choice because they were the right ones for the position. We have to look long-term [at an employees career] to find long-term solutions, a decision she says sends a signal to other women in the company that it is possible to have children and a career in DC.

Helle . Kristiansen presenting Danske Commodities quarterly financial performance. In 2019, the ... [+] trading company produced a revenue of USD 11.2 billion.

Creating the strongest possible workforce is important in giving a competitive edge to a company with ambitious plans for the future. In the U.S., energy trading is very much based on data and quantitative models and thats exactly where we come from. Its actually deeply rooted in our DNA to expand our business model to new markets. Equinor has ambitions in the U.S., where DC could support those ambitions within green energy and the transition [to] renewables, where we are very strong in Europe. We can use the experience we have here and take that to the U.S. while the market matures in that direction.

As Kristiansen looks back on her first year as CEO, she says frankly, Youre always concerned when you get acquired by a big company like [Equinor], but we have managed to put ourselves in a situation where our employees honestly believe that being part of Equinor is a benefit for DC as a company. We have been able to explore the synergies between our two companies, and still have agility and independence at the same time, so were actually in a much stronger position than we were a year ago. Im really proud of finding that balance.

This acquisition has been a success.

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