Tina Hørbye Christensen profile – The Victory Magazine

COMPANY

NIRAS A/S

TITLE

Chief Financial Officer

NIRAS A/S

CEO

2023

THE MOST IMPACTFUL CFO TO WATCH IN 2023

Tina Hørbye Christensen

NIRAS A/S

The role of CFOs has evolved beyond traditional financial management to become strategic leaders driving financial success and sustainability in organizations around the world. CFOs play a crucial role in shaping the financial strategy, managing risks, and driving growth for their companies, while also ensuring financial transparency and compliance. Among the esteemed CFOs making a significant impact in their respective organizations, Tina Hørbye Christensen, the CFO of NIRAS A/S, has emerged as a standout figure. With her exceptional financial acumen, leadership skills, and strategic mindset, Tina Hørbye Christensen has as the CFO and responsible for global business support been supporting the business in driving NIRAS A/S’s financial success and contributing to the company’s overall growth and development.

NIRAS A/S is a Danish engineering and consulting company that provides services in the fields of infrastructure, construction, environment, energy, and development consulting. NIRAS A/S works on a wide range of projects globally, including in areas such as water and wastewater management, renewable energy, urban development, transportation, and climate resilience, among others. The company has offices in multiple countries and serves clients worldwide. And, as the CFO Tina Hørbye Christensen has played a pivotal role in overseeing the financial management and strategic planning of the company.

Journey so far at NIRAS

As the Group CFO for the NIRAS Group, Ms. Christensen is tasked with overseeing the group support functions, including Finance, IT, People Development, and Communication. With 59 offices in 34 countries and experts engaged in projects across over 120 countries, Ms. Christensen’s ambition is to position NIRAS as a global business partner that drives value for the company and its employees through efficient operations, tools, and processes.

Ms. Christensen and her team aim to excel in their areas of expertise and work closely with the business to implement customized solutions. Currently, their primary focus is on continuously enhancing NIRAS’ attractiveness as a workplace for young professionals and candidates in their areas of expertise. Additionally, Ms. Christensen places a strong emphasis on effective onboarding for new employees and acquired companies, as well as leveraging digital tools and processes to optimize efficiency within the business.

When Ms. Christensen was about how NIRAS A/S under her leadership prioritizes its investments and allocates resources towards various projects and initiatives, she shared – “Our primary focus for investments is in areas such as sustainability, green energy transition, digitalization, and employee development, and as an organization owned by the NIRAS ALECTIA Foundation, our investments are guided by the foundation’s purpose of promoting a more sustainable world”. She continued – “As per the Foundation Charter, profits generated by NIRAS are reinvested into the company to further its growth, foster educational development and progress of our employees, and enhance the global recognition of Danish engineering companies”.

Moreover, talking about how she ensures effective management of financial risks, she shared – “We have a governance and risk management process, where we work to systematically identify, record, analyze and mitigate our risks. This is done by a Risk Steering Group reporting to the Executive Management team”.

All the financial operations carried out are digitized, and with Ms. Christensen and her team working toward upgrading themselves, they are looking forward to looking into the application of AI in their financial operations. This step is mainly being taken up in pursuit of working towards having an assigned Centre of Excellences that monitor new technologies to discuss and decide which and how they can be used at NIRAS A/S.

Building a Better Tomorrow, Starting Today

Ms. Christensen and her team in the finance department are currently implementing a business partnering approach, transitioning from transactional accounting to becoming trusted advisors to the business, with a focus on business-oriented reporting. They are actively developing new skills in digitalization and business understanding to support this shift.

In order to attract and retain employees, Ms. Christensen and her team have implemented various programs aimed at enhancing their competences. They have also introduced increased flexibility in work arrangements, recognizing that it is a motivating factor for employees when choosing a workplace. NIRAS has a longstanding tradition of accommodating such flexibility, and Ms. Christensen and her team have taken steps to clarify these options in line with the growing interest.

In 2022, NIRAS saw a 9% increase in overall employee count, and Ms. Christensen and her team are proud to report that they have maintained high employee satisfaction levels and a relatively low employee turnover throughout the year. Despite the competitive job market, they have successfully attracted over 600 new colleagues.

As of the conclusion of 2021, a decision was made to allocate 13% of NIRAS’ yearly profits for the next decade towards supporting the green energy transition. This endeavor has commenced on a positive note, with strategic appointments, cross-cutting market development initiatives, and tasks focused on offshore wind, biogas, electrification, and Power-to-X. “I eagerly anticipate following this compelling and crucial journey, with the hope that we will play a significant role in driving the transformation of society towards a greener and more sustainable world”, Tina Hørbye Christensen concludes.

On a Personal Level

Ms. Christensen is happily married to her loving husband, Thomas, and together they have two wonderful children, Alma, aged 15, and Magnus, aged 12. Their family shares a strong passion for traveling and engaging in thrilling activities like skiing, snorkeling, diving, and exploring new adventures. Ms. Christensen places great importance on spending quality time with her family and friends, making precious memories together. She values her relationships and strives to use her free time to create meaningful experiences with her loved ones.

In terms of education, Ms. Christensen holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the prestigious Copenhagen Business School. She has also completed an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) program from the same renowned institution, further enhancing her knowledge and skills in the field of business.