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Klemens Hjartar

Senior PartnerCopenhagen

Leads tech and advanced-analytics performance-based transformations, building capabilities at scale in large organizations in both B2C and B2B environments

Klemens is the global leader of McKinsey Technology. As an experienced transformation leader, he has created performance-based partnerships with digital leaders of prominent companies to lead digital transformations in technology, media and telecommunications, financial, advanced industries, and private-equity sectors.

Klemens brings deep expertise in business strategy, technology modernization, dealing with legacy IT architectures, agile organizations, M&A, technology enablement, innovation, and performance management in addition to product portfolio and technical-enablement issues.

Examples of Klemens’ recent client work include the following:

  • managing the digital-transformation program for a multi-country banking institution by leveraging their driving towards a “one-platform” organization. The bank is currently recognized as the leader in consolidating operations and IT platform across countries
  • driving the strategy of a leading P2P payment solution by obtaining 80 percent market penetration; now one of the most downloaded mobile apps
  • managing a turnaround of a global advanced-industries organization—including direct product cost-out, performance management, major cash-flow improvements, and a 30 percent fixed-cost reduction
  • designing the work on a multi-year transformation of a large telco private-equity buy-out in Europe, transforming it into a top performer in the industry and a telecommunications-relay service champion
  • leading the strategy for one of the most innovative mobile companies in Eastern Europe, that has now taken 25 percent profitable market share and net-promoter score leadership
  • leading the digital strategy for a global telco including overall financial ambitions and operational implementation
  • driving a multi-year “Agile at scale” digital transformation in a telecom and media company by creating an organization targeting customer satisfaction, revenue, and reducing operational costs by 50 percent

Klemens has co-authored the book Fast Times: How Digital Winners Set Direction, Learn, and Adapt, an expert guide for senior executives who want to understand what really matters in digital business and what it takes to win.

Published work

A data leader’s operating guide to scaling gen AI,” McKinsey & Company, September 2024

A new dawn for the technology officer,” McKinsey & Company, September 2024

Opportunity knocks for Europe’s digital consumer: Digital trends show big gains and new opportunities,” McKinsey & Company, June 2022

Open-source e-commerce: The next wave of value for the enterprise,” McKinsey & Company, October 2021

What’s next for digital consumers,” McKinsey & Company, May 2021

Crushing coronavirus uncertainty: The big ‘unlock’ for our economies,” McKinsey & Company, May 2020

The CIO’s moment: Leadership through the first wave of the coronavirus crisis,” McKinsey & Company, March 2020

Fast Times: How Digital Winners Set Direction, Learn, and Adapt,” McKinsey & Company, February 2020

The CEO’s new technology agenda,” McKinsey & Company, November 2019

‘Tech for Good’: Using technology to smooth disruption and improve well-being,” McKinsey Global Institute, May 2019

A tale of two agile paths: How a pair of operators set up their organizational transformations,” McKinsey & Company, February 2019

Danish Manufacturing—winning in the next decade, McKinsey & Company, January 2016

Past experience

Price Waterhouse Coopers
Consultant

Education

Aalborg University
MSc, industrial management