― At the end of the day it all comes down to trust.

Christian joined Stratema as an analyst in 2019. He was poised to move rapidly through our ranks from early on. And why hold back?

 

”In my previous job, in Denmark, I was also in M&A. But the focus was there on the seller side. It was in fact in connection with a transaction that I met Lars of Stratema, who represented the buyer side. I had been working in Denmark for seven years and was looking to return to Norway, so I was delighted to get an offer from Stratema, not least because Stratema works with both the buyer and the seller side.

It is also a plus for me that it is not a very large firm. Senior management is available and accessible. This is one of the attractions of working at Stratema. You are given real responsibility, but you know that there is always someone nearby to lend a hand and provide guidance. You develop rapidly in such an environment. One of my favourite aspects of the job is that there is always so much to learn, especially since I work on the technology side. After all, there is a technology aspect to every industry. One day, you may be delving into the role of technology in the financial industry, while the next day brings a new understanding of drivers and opportunities for health and care businesses. So being well-informed is of course a key aspect. But it is not enough. You also need certain social skills. And that lies at the heart of M&A – to get the parties to understand each other and to want to move forward together. I believe that Stratema can be a highly effective lubricant in this regard when we give it our best. That we get people to trust each other. I find that genuinely interesting. You can have an army of lawyers drafting heaps of detailed documents covering every conceivable scenario. But at the end of the day it all comes down to trust.”