HR Business Partner Day 2025 (Aarhus)

Rethinking the HR Business Partner model and core competencies (CASE)

By Michel Ruiz, Head of People Business Partnering, BESTSELLER

Michel Ruiz from Bestseller introduces us to they have rethought their HR Business Partner delivery model and role. This model caters for the difference between the different business units. The HR Business Partner profile is therefore tailored to each business unit by reviewing needs and competencies required. In some units, the partner’s focus is on more operational deliverables and in other units more strategic advisory.

Michel also shares how they identified a set of competencies for HR Business Partners and how they narrow these competencies to specific HR Business Partner profiles for a business unit.

Finally, Michel will reflect on key insights on competence development across the HRBP community.

Bridging the Gaps: Unlocking the HR Business Partner’s Role in Closing the Strategy-Execution Gap

By Jens Christian Foged from Business Model Excellence Institute

In this interactive session, Jens Christian Foged from BME Institute shares insights and perspectives on how to close the strategy-execution gap. The complexity of organizations is high, and many transformations still fail in implementation – often because there’s a gap between the company’s strategic intentions and the competencies and capabilities within the organization. Drawing on his extensive international leadership experience, as well as years of facilitating and developing senior specialists, project managers, and leaders in global organizations, he zooms in on the critical role of HR Business Partners in bridging this gap. Together, we will explore the meta-competencies required to succeed in the future.

The Contextual Leader: Empowering HR Business Partners as strategic advisors

By Dr. Torben Nørby from People & Performance

Torben will share insights from his extensive career in leadership and organizational development. Drawing from his impressive experience and his PhD dissertation, Torben has authored the book “The Contextual Leader”, which he will also introduce during the session. This book serves as a practical guide for leaders and organizational developers, providing tools to understand and influence the context to support the organization’s goals and strategies. Torben emphasizes the importance of HR Business Partners as strategic and valuable advisors to the leadership team and will highlight the necessity for HRBPs to understand and align with the organizational context to effectively support and enhance leadership efforts. 

How to use AI in your HR Business Partner role 

By Claus Nygaard from Claus Nygaard & Partners

In this session, Claus Nygaard zooms in on what AI means for the HR Business Partner role, both as a way to reduce transactional workload and as a lever to increase your strategic impact with leaders. Claus demonstrates how AI can streamline everyday HRBP tasks such as drafting and refining communication, summarising and translating texts, preparing meeting briefs, creating slides, and structuring processes, so you free up time for the work that creates value in the business.

A core theme is how HRBPs can use AI to spot and translate business pain points into relevant HR actions, making HR initiatives easier for leaders to adopt because they connect directly to their priorities.

Through practical prompting examples, simple AI agent setups, and creating a HRBP case, Claus shows how AI can support decision preparation, strategic workforce planning, and change efforts in organisations shaped by new technology.

You’ll leave with hands-on examples and a clear framework for moving from operational support to a more strategic, business-aligned HRBP role using AI.

Claus Nygaard, Professor, AI-advisor and CEO

Claus Nygaard is an internationally recognized expert in organizational strategy, learning, and artificial intelligence. With a cand.merc. in Strategy, Organization, and Leadership from Copenhagen Business School and a PhD focused on strategic collaboration in the Danish manufacturing industry, Claus brings nearly 30 years of experience bridging research and practice. He has led more than 120 executive workshops, taught over 1,000 hours of leadership development, and published extensively – with more than 150 articles, books, and reports in Danish, Swedish, German, and English. Claus is the founder and CEO of Claus Nygaard & Partners, where he advises organizations on how to strategically implement and leverage AI through keynotes, workshops, automation, and training programs. His approach combines deep strategic insight with practical, hands-on solutions for navigating the AI transformation. He is also the founder and Executive Director of LiHE – Institute for Learning in Higher Education, where he collaborates with universities worldwide to transform higher education through learning-centred pedagogy. In addition to his executive work, Claus is visiting Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga and an External Lecturer at Aarhus University. His work is guided by agile methodologies, positive psychology, and a strong commitment to creating sustainable impact through learning and innovation. 

Ghina Septia Filiana, Chief HR Business Partner GRUNDFOS

Ghina Septia Filiana is Chief HR Business Partner for Global Product Development and Global Solutions Marketing at GRUNDFOS. She has a strong background in strategy and organizational development, with experience in leading people processes, supporting organizational growth, and implementing learning initiatives across diverse, multicultural environments. Ghina is committed to building agile, people-focused organizations and partnering with leaders to foster engagement and innovation. Her approach emphasizes aligning business priorities with human potential to create sustainable impact in a global context.

Milena Stawowski, Chief HR Business Partner, Industry GRUNDFOS

Milena Stawowski is an experienced HR partner and leader who helps connect people strategies with business objectives. As the Chief HR Business Partner for the Industry Operations Leadership team at Grundfos, Milena works as a trusted advisor, focusing on talent development and enhancing leadership quality. With extensive experience in global organizations, Milena knows how to make HR a strong partner as a key driver of transformation. She is passionate about creating practical, sustainable HR solutions that deliver measurable results.

Michel Ruiz, Head of People Business Partnering, BESTSELLER

With over 12 years at BESTSELLER, Michel Ruiz leads People Business Partnering, aligning HR strategy, leadership development, and organizational design with business priorities. His background spans talent development, HR business partnering, and people management, driving initiatives that strengthen capabilities and long-term growth. He combines strong business insight with a forward-looking HR perspective, focusing on learning, innovation, and future skills.

Torben Nørby, CEO & Co- founder of People & Performance

Torben Nørby is CEO and Co-founder of People & Performance, an HR consultancy organization, helping organizations maximize their business performance by supporting e.g. their recruitment, leadership development and commercial excellence. Torben has an extensive career behind him with experience from the Royal Danish Army, Dansk Supermarked Group and Danfoss. He has a master’s in business and management research as well as a Doctorate in Business Administration, Leadership Context, Leadership Effectiveness and Organizational Performance – both from Henley Business School, University of Reading.

Jens Christian Foged, Partner & Advisor, Business Model Excellence Institute

Jens Christian is Senior Partner and CCO of the Business Model Excellence Institute (BMEI) and a Master Excellence Instructor and he has trained & mentored hundreds of leaders and core employees in top tier Danish and International companies. The first part of his career he spent with A.P. Moller – Maersk, including 10 years opening and scaling offices across Europe, Western Africa and Asia, most recently as Area Managing Director for Maersk Logistics in South Korea & Japan. Following his full-time MBA from IMD, he worked as senior management consultant. Before becoming a Partner in BMEI, he held various leadership roles with a focus on scaling and financing growth companies and bridging transformation and innovation gaps in top-tier organisations. Jens Christian is also an active Board Member, Advisor and Executive Mentor to leaders and other business professionals.

*No show fee

By registering for this event, you also accept NOCA’s conditions regarding the no-show fee. In order to give the most members the opportunity to participate in the event and to protect ourselves against food waste etc., we need to know if you are participating, otherwise we can give your place to someone else.

Therefore, if you cancel after the deadline on December 1st at 12:00 CET or do not arrive on the day, you will subsequently receive a charge of 500 DKK.

Should you be prevented, you are always welcome to send a colleague in your place and thereby avoid paying a no-show fee. Your colleague just needs to pick up your name tag upon arrival at the event.