A Trust-First Approach: Monique Berntsen on Why the Nordic Model Is Shaping the Future of Global Business
As global leadership teams navigate a Stagflationary Shock and the rapid onset of AI-driven disruption, the “Nordic Model” of business is emerging as a blueprint for resilience. Monique Berntsen, the newly appointed Head of Nordics at Brandpie, is at the center of this shift. From her base in Oslo, Berntsen leads the global consultancy’s expansion into Northern Europe, helping international scale-ups and complex organizations cut through market complexity to make high-stakes strategic choices.
With a career defined by leading brand and communications across multiple European markets, Monique is known for translating raw ambition into clear direction. In this exclusive interview, she explores why the Nordics are becoming a vital anchor for global leaders and shares the trust-first lessons essential for any business looking to “conquer” the region in 2026.
Quick Answer:
Monique Berntsen is the Head of Nordics at Brandpie, a global consultancy that launched its Oslo-based operations in early 2026. Berntsen argues that the Nordic Business Model—characterized by high social trust, values-driven pragmatism, and flat hierarchies—is the most effective defense against the current global economic volatility. By combining strategic depth with hands-on execution, she helps global brands align their culture and strategy to successfully expand into the €1.5 trillion Nordic market
Can you tell us about your professional journey and what led you to leading Brandpie Nordics?
I’ve built my career around environments where clarity matters.
My background spans technical, operational and commercial roles – from nursing and engineering into brand, communication and marketing leadership. While those disciplines may seem far apart, they’ve given me a unique perspective: in complex situations, how people understand, align and act is what ultimately determines the outcome.
I chose to move into brand and communications to work more directly with that dynamic, complementing practical experience with an MBA focused on strategy, innovation and business development. Over time, I’ve built and led brand, communications and marketing functions across organisations at different stages of growth, including scaling businesses across multiple markets and navigating increasing organisational complexity.
That experience reinforced a pattern I had seen across industries: the gap between strategic intent and actual execution is rarely a strategy problem. It’s an alignment problem. And alignment is fundamentally about clarity.
That realisation shaped my next chapter. I chose to work more directly with organisations navigating growth and change, through my own consultancy – and in parallel, together with Will Bosanko, CEO of Brandpie EMEIA, to establish Brand Rebels. We’ve known each other for several years and saw a clear need for a more honest forum for senior leaders to discuss brand, trust and organisational alignment.
Leading Brandpie Nordics is a natural extension of that focus, but at a different scale. The Nordic region operates with distinct expectations around trust, transparency and long-term value creation – and those expectations fundamentally shape how organisations need to lead, particularly through change. Brandpie brings global strategic depth in precisely those moments, and my role is to ensure that capability is applied in a way that is both locally grounded and commercially impactful.
What is the most common misconception among global business leaders when it comes to Nordic markets?
That they are straightforward to succeed in.
From the outside, the Nordics can appear stable, transparent and highly developed – which is true. But that can often lead to an underestimation of how demanding these markets actually are.
The reality is that Nordic markets place a premium on trust, and that trust is constantly tested – particularly in industries under pressure, like energy. Leaders are expected to balance commercial performance, regulatory expectations and societal impact simultaneously, and there is little tolerance for inconsistency.
In practise, that might mean being expected to explain not just what decisions are made, but why – to employees, regulators and the public at the same time.
Trust is not assumed. It’s built over time, and reinforced through alignment between what organisations say and what they do. At the same time, decision-making is often more distributed, which means alignment requires deliberate effort.
So while the barriers to entry may seem low, the expectations for credibility are high.
What are the most defining characteristics of the Nordic business model / style of leadership?
A combination of high trust, low hierarchy and long-term orientation – but also a strong ability to operate within complexity. Nordic leaders are used to navigating competing demands. Performance, sustainability and societal expectations are not treated as separate priorities, but as interdependent ones.
Furthermore, leadership is expected to be credible and accessible. Authority comes less from position and more from credibility on how decisions are made and communicated.
That created organisations that are often more aligned, but also more deliberate in how they move.
How does trust show up in day-to-day business leading in the Nordics?
In consistency – particularly when decisions become visible.
Trust is shaped by how leaders handle everyday situations, how openly they share information, how clearly they explain decisions and whether actions match what has been communicated. In practice, that means being transparent about decisions, clear about priorities, and consistent between internal reality and external messaging. Any gap between the two is quickly noticed.
So trust is not something you build through campaigns. It’s established through how leaders and organisations behave on a daily basis.
Why is consensus-driven leadership so successful in the region?
Because it enables organisations to navigate complexity more effectively. How? By creating ownership.
Many decisions in Nordic organisations can involve multiple stakeholders and competing priorities. By involving people early, leaders are able to surface different perspectives before decisions are finalised. That might mean slower initial progress, but it reduces resistance later. People understand the rationale behind decisions and are more likely to support implementation.
In practice, it can lead to fewer reversals and more stable execution over time.
How do leaders in the Nordic region navigate periods of business change?
By focusing on clarity before acceleration.
In periods of change, Nordic leaders tend to spend time aligning internally – ensuring there is a shared understanding of both the direction and the trade-offs involved.
That’s particularly important in environments where expectations are high and often conflicting. Without that clarity, organisations risk saying one thing and doing another – which quickly erodes trust.
Compared to more directive approaches, it may take longer to initiate change – but this way, it holds over time.
What in Nordic culture best informs global business trends? Any specific examples?
The ability to operate with multiple expectations at once – and to make those tensions visible.
In sectors like energy, Nordic companies have had to navigate commercial pressure, political scrutiny and societal expectations simultaneously. For example, balancing investment in new energy infrastructure with affordability and environmental considerations. That has shaped a more integrated approach to leadership and decision-making, where trade-offs are acknowledged rather than avoided.
We’re now seeing more global organisations face similar conditions – and the Nordic approach can offer a more practical model for operating in that reality.
What can global businesses learn from the Nordics’ strong emphasis on sustainability?
That sustainability needs to be embedded in decision-making – not positioned alongside it.
It becomes tangible in how companies prioritise investments, how they measure performance and how they communicate trade-offs. Organisations that are clear about why certain decisions are made – even when they involve compromises – tend to maintain credibility. Those that try to present everything as positive, often struggle to sustain trust over time.
Nordic companies have generally been early in recognising that sustainability is closely linked to long-term viability, not just reputation.
For companies considering expansion into the Nordic region, what are the most important dynamics to understand?
You are entering a market where expectations are high – and sometimes competing.
Success requires more than a strong proposition. It requires clarity in how you position yourself, how you make decisions, and how you communicate those decisions. Messaging that works well in more sales-driven markets can be perceived as overstated or lacking substance in the Nordics. There is a preference for precision over persuasion.
Internal alignment is also critical. If different parts of the organisation communicate different priorities, it becomes visible quickly and can undermine credibility.
How can global corporations best integrate into the region?
By combining global strength with local understanding – and by being consistent in how they operate.
The most successful organisations are often those that take the time to understand how trust is built in practise: how decisions are made, how communication is expected to work and how organisations engage with stakeholders.
That might mean adapting how strategy is communicated, how leadership shows up or how decisions are explained, without necessarily changing the underlying strategy.
Integration is less about entering the market, and more about earning credibility within it over time.
Monique Berntsen is Head of Nordics at Brandpie: brandpie.com
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