Transforming software engineering into a strategic business capability
Executive Profile
I am a senior software engineering leader with over two decades of experience building organizations, platforms, and cultures that turn technology into measurable business outcomes.
At Carlsberg, I scaled Software Engineering from 20 to 125+ professionals across 15 nationalities, authored the governance and quality frameworks used globally, and delivered digital platforms supporting billions in revenue. My work was highlighted by Satya Nadella in his Build 2024 keynote as an example of innovation at enterprise scale.
Today, as head of Scientific Computing at Carlsberg Research Laboratory, I lead the AI-native research transformation — aligning scientific discovery, AI, and software engineering to accelerate innovation.
Leadership Highlights
- Organizational Scale: Built and managed a global engineering organization of 125+ with annual turnover well below market average.
- Governance & Culture: Established the Software Engineering Quality Handbook and People Resources framework, defining roles, expected behaviors, and career paths across Carlsberg Digital.
- Developer Experience: Unified global engineering on GitHub Enterprise, deployed GitHub Copilot at scale, and embedded DevSecOps as a core practice.
- Platform Delivery: Oversaw the creation of cross-market digital platforms (e.g., CS+), linking engineering excellence directly to commercial growth.
- Innovation at Scale: Brought AI into engineering practices early, balancing autonomy with alignment to improve both developer productivity and security.
Current Focus: Scientific Computing
At Carlsberg Research Laboratory, I am driving the next evolution:
- Designing AI-native research systems built on adaptive agentic architectures (AAA)
- Scaling HPC, genomics, and DNA modeling (AWS HealthOmics, Evo2)
- Establishing a Capability Maturity Model for AI in research
- Building the foundation for digital twins in lab environments
This role builds directly on my strength: aligning cutting-edge technology with organizational strategy and measurable outcomes.
Value I Bring
- Strategic Leadership: Proven ability to connect board-level objectives with engineering execution.
- Scaling Organizations: Track record of building teams, roles, and culture that scale across geographies.
- Governance with Agility: Expertise in creating frameworks (rules, standards, behaviors) that enable innovation instead of blocking it.
- Business Impact: Every initiative tied to revenue growth, time-to-market acceleration, or innovation outcomes.
- Global Mindset: Comfortable leading distributed, multicultural teams in complex enterprise environments.
References & Recognition
- Mentioned in Satya Nadella’s Build 2024 Keynote for GitHub Copilot adoption at Carlsberg: Carlsberg unifies development on GitHub and accelerates innovation with Copilot
- Speaker at Copenhagen DevOps Conference 2024 (Gaia platform keynote): From DevOps to Platform Engineering: How Gaia Transformed Our Approach to Infrastructure, Alignment, and Developer Experience
- Author of widely read articles on developer experience, platform engineering, and AI in software engineering: birkholm-buch.dk
