Three Danish CEOs: Welfare, trust and complaining can be a competitive advantage

Ask rich and poor alike, in Denmark the result will be the same. Poll after poll shows that the Danes are the most satisfied people in the EU, and plenty indicates that this widespread satisfaction also exists among the country’s top business leaders. This is the evidence of three in-depth interviews which Monday Morning has carried out with Stine Bosse, group CEO of the Nordic countries’ second largest insurance company, TrygVesta; Carsten Bjerg, group CEO of the world’s leading pump manufacturer, Grundfos; and Lars Larsen, owner of the bedding giant Jysk.

They make no secret of the fact that the Danish culture of trust, the generous welfare system, and the Danes’ love of dismantling hierarchies is a great advantage to their businesses. And, contrary to what you might expect, they don’t feel particularly troubled by Denmark’s high taxes.