Norlys names CTO of consumer-facing telecoms-to-energy arm

Kristian Hjort-Madsen (Source: Norlys)

Danish service provider Norlys has named Kristian Hjort-Madsen as the chief technology officer of Norlys A/S, the consumer-facing company it is setting up as part of a group-wide reorganisation.

Hjort-Madsen will have overall responsibility for the end customer business’s IT function and digital transformation. He will also serve as head of a new shared services organization which covers the entire Norlys group following the restructure.

Hjort-Madsen has been employed as a strategy advisor by Norlys for a number of months and previously served as commercial director at financial services group Alm. Brand. Before that he was IT director at pension provider PFA and director of technology at financial technology outfit BEC.

“It must be simpler to be a Norlys customer. Customers expect simple, digital solutions, and we want to set new standards for that. With his extensive experience in carrying out similar transformations in the financial sector, Kristian Hjort-Madsen is the right person to solve this task,” said Claus Flyger Pejstrup, recently named as CEO of Norlys A/S.

“Norlys must succeed in giving customers good, simple and intuitive experiences across channels and products. We must be a much more data-driven company, among other things by using AI more actively. And then our digital platform must be a competitive advantage that supports our overall strategic goals,” said Hjort-Madsen.

The appointment comes as Norlys announced a reorganization that will see its consumer-facing activities grouped in a single company, Norlys A/S.

Norlys, which owns fibre networks covering much of the country as well as ex-cable operator Stofa and recently acquired mobile telco Telia Danmark, is bundling consumer-facing energy and telecoms activities together to meet a broader range of household-level needs, according to the company.

Norlys said that the shift will require the thorough digitisation of its business, with new self-service solutions and more data-driven insight into consumer behaviour and needs.