News Article | 29. september 2022
On 3 October, Flemming Joseph Jensen turns 60 and, on the same day, marks his 30-year anniversary at Sjælsø Management. His driving forces throughout have been integrity, commercial acumen and value creation, but above all, he believes it is about people.
It was not exactly a given that Flemming Joseph Jensen would move to Copenhagen and spend half his life in the property sector. Born and raised in Nørre Vorupør in Thy, he stayed in his home area and qualified as a banker at Sparekassen Thy at just 19. But the capital beckoned, and he was soon headhunted by one of the bank’s corporate clients, Sjælsø Gruppen, where in 1992 he joined as only the 13th employee.
“The property sector appealed to me because I could use my commercial instincts and negotiation skills to create value. Property is also about financing and cash flow. And there were lots of interesting people,” he says about the career change.
At Sjælsø Gruppen he first served as Investment Director and right-hand man to one of the founders, Torben Rønje. Alongside this, he completed a bachelor’s degree in law and started a master’s degree, which he never finished. Sjælsø Gruppen was busy, expanding and growing into several countries. The company was listed in 1998 and, in 2006, was valued at just under DKK 7 billion.
The founders later stepped back, and Flemming Joseph Jensen became CEO in 2007, at the very beginning of the financial crisis. It soon gathered pace, and the years that followed were marked by firefighting, cost-cutting rounds and capital raising. The company had almost made it through the crisis when, in 2013, Sjælsø Gruppen had to throw in the towel and file for bankruptcy.
Flemming Joseph Jensen found it hard to accept that contractors, developers and others involved in the many ongoing and planned projects could be hit by a negative domino effect. In cooperation with the largest creditor, FIH Erhvervsbank, he therefore chose to continue the project development and construction management activities under Sjælsø Management, bringing around 30 employees with him.
“I am very proud to have had the opportunity to ensure that so many planned projects were completed. That meant we could start from a platform where we had maintained a high level of quality and credibility. I have learned to clean up after myself,” he says.
Sjælsø Management completed most of Sjælsø Gruppen’s ongoing developments, including projects in Gyngemosen in Søborg, at Teglholmen and at Margretheholmen by Refshaleøen.
In 2019, he added Balder Denmark to his professional responsibilities, and today he is CEO of two companies with around 180 employees reporting to him. In his view, the key ingredient in that set-up is a high level of trust and the ability to delegate.
“I am good at delegating and trusting people, and that also helps them grow with the task. So I can feel confident the business is running even if I am in a different office that day. And it also helps that the company cultures in the two businesses are similar, so I do not have to be two different people,” he says.
You do not become wiser just because you become a manager Just as important is the ability, from time to time, to stay quiet:
“You do not become wiser just because you become a manager. You might just be right more often because people do not challenge you as much. You have to be careful about that. For example, in a round-table discussion it is about staying quiet until everyone has spoken, so you do not end up getting in the way of new ideas being put on the table.”
New ideas and delegation will also be important in the coming years, as the focus increasingly shifts towards sustainability, ESG, proptech and digitalisation.
“These are not areas I am an expert in myself, but they are important to prioritise highly, and then it is about teaming up with the right colleagues and partners.”
There is no doubt that the property sector is still educational and exciting for Flemming Joseph Jensen.
“Even though I have been in the property sector for thirty years, there have not been two identical months. I have learned from a wide range of different roles in my career, and there have been crises along the way. First the financial crisis, then the coronavirus crisis, and now the energy crisis. You have to stay sharp. Large sums and significant values are at stake, and it is always people we are dealing with. Everything must be thought through and done with respect for those involved,” he concludes.
He also highlights the human aspect as the most important lesson from the past thirty years:
“As a leader, you have to remember that no matter what you decide, or what your capital base is, it all has to be executed by people. You have to trust them, and they have to trust you. If you can ensure satisfied employees and satisfied customers, value creation almost takes care of itself. Human relationships mean everything, both professionally and privately,” he emphasises.
In his private life, he is partnered with Susanne Joseph Schou, whom he married in 2015. They have four children in a blended family. In his free time he spends time with friends, family and cycling, as well as at their summer house back home in Nørre Vorupør, close to his three siblings.
