As Quiddly evolves from its hip teenage phase into an even cooler mature young adult, it’s time welcome our new CEO Johan Stéen.
With his extensive experience from large corporations like Maersk and Eden Springs, and strong skills in process improvement and project management, Johan is the perfect match to lead our expansion and further spread the fintech revolution across the Nordics.
We pour ourselves a cup of Darjeeling and hit the chesterfields to set the ambience for a conversation about the history, present and future of our beloved Quiddly.
Who is he and what does he bring to the table?
Johan is passionate about problem-solving and leadership. He holds a degree in Industrial Engineering and Management and has over 18 years of experience in leadership roles and specialist positions in sales, operations, customer service, distribution, and offshoring. He has been with Quiddly since 2021, serving in various positions such as Chief Sales Officer and Chief Revenue Officer.
An important lesson that I bring from my previous employment is the importance of establishing structures to enable flexibility. It might sound contradictory, but by creating a stable foundation and clear routines, we can make daily tasks more efficient and free up time for innovation and improvement.
– Johan Stéen, CEO Quiddly
During his eight years at Maersk Line – the world’s leading container freight company – he honed his skills in process improvement and project management. By applying Lean Six Sigma, they were able to improve processes and create the right setting for growth. As a Black Belt, he gained a deep understanding of how you can use both hard and soft tools to create change.
Johan is a strong believer in promoting personal responsibility within the organization. By delegating it and encouraging team members to take initiative, it’s much easier to maintain speed and deliverability, even when a company is growing rapidly.
Why did he join Quiddly?
It seems like only yesterday when we saw our founder, Jakob Carlbring, shaking hands with someone down in the courtyard at our former office. Later, we would learn that this was Johan, our new Chief Sales Officer.
In 2021, we were just four people with a vision; now, we have a team of more than 25 fintech rebels working hard to supercharge the industry with the best factoring and debt collection system possible.
I was enticed by Quiddly being a nascent company with lots of potential — a company where I could play a big part in driving change and creating growth. Entering a new business and finding solutions to new problems was an opportunity I simply couldn’t resist.
– Johan Stéen
Johan also mentions that he was fascinated by the concept of the group company, Blingdale, as an incubator supercharging learning within the company group and seizing opportunities on a whole different level.
When Johan first started, his focus was on establishing new connections with potential clients. One of the biggest challenges was to sell the vision while at the same time ensuring that we could live up to our promises.
As we have grown, his focus has shifted to creating the right conditions for our growing team. He underlines that he’s learned the importance of creating an environment where each and every individual has the room to be a star and contribute to success.
The greatest thing about working at Quiddly is the opportunity to be part of a passionate team that is always striving to create change and improvement. Working with such enthusiastic and ambitious people is a great motivator and inspiration for me.
– Johan Stéen
Peering into the crystal ball – what’s next?
Success is hard work, and we’re no strangers to that. We’ve experienced explosive growth since we wrote the first lines of code back in 2019, achieving a compound annual growth rate of 80%. With the appointment of our new CEO, we’re ready for the next chapter of Quiddly’s journey.
The future for Quiddly looks very exciting and promising. I’m so pumped to see that our team can now offer the best services to the Nordics as a whole. We’ve got so many new ideas on how to make our products even better. I’m looking forward to expanding to new markets and supercharging the factoring and debt collection industry with even more powerful tools.
– Johan Stéen
As part of accelerating innovation, Quiddly branched off part of its integration software in 2022 into a new company named Strawbay. This was to be able to focus solely on factoring and debt collection management in Quiddly, and give the integration part room to evolve into a strong independent business.
It’s always emotional for a founder when you’re passing the captain’s hat to someone else. However, there is no doubt in my mind that Johan is the right person for the job. I recognized his unique qualities from day one, and he has played a vital role in our success, proving to be an invaluable co-pilot during our rapid growth.
– Jakob Carlbring, CXO Quiddly, CEO Strawbay
Jakob, the co-founder who has been Quiddly’s CEO since the company’s inception, will remain at Quiddly, primarily focusing on coordinating internal processes across different departments to ensure an extraordinary customer experience. Given the strong synergies between Quiddly and Strawbay, Jakob will also assume the role of CEO at Strawbay to lay the foundation for a growth journey similar to Quiddly’s
As the new CEO of Quiddly, I am very much looking forward to steering the company and team forward towards our vision of transactional transcendence. I am convinced that we have the potential to achieve great things together and take Quiddly to new heights.
– Johan Stéen