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. 

Dilemmas in the HRBP role when living a new HRBP delivery model (CASE)

By Michelle Cecilia Svensson from Topsoe

Michelle shares learnings and insights into the next steps on Topsoe’s HR Business Partner delivery model. The focus for the HR Business Partners is strategic and customer centric.You might have heard about the model which was introduced at our NOCA HRBP Conference in 2024. As always when you move from a vision and model to daily life, Michelle and her HR business partner team have met different dilemmas and challenges. She will open these up for us and hear how they continuously focus on where it matters most for the business. You will learn about how Topsoe handles these dilemmas and what they are focusing on now.

How to use AI in your HR Business Partner role 

By Claus Nygaard from Claus Nygaard & Partners

Claus’ session offers practical demonstrations of how artificial intelligence (AI) can support HR professionals in their daily work. Claus Nygaard structures his presentation around four types of AI solutions, each moving from simple to more complex applications. He will also touch upon security, ethics and the human touch, answering some of the natural questions forming when talking about AI in HR. Furthermore, he will highlight broader applications of AI in HR – beyond recruitment technologies. He will showcase some of the AI agents he has built to e.g. draft e-mail responses, transcriptions, and prepare briefings, notes and research questions ahead of back-to-back meetings. Claus will question the adoption of HR in organizations – and if HR or IT should be the leaders of this transformation – calling to experimentation with and testing of practical tools and how they could work for you. 

Michelle Cecilia Svensson, Director, Head of Global HR Business Partnering, Topsoe

Michelle is an experienced HR leader with over 15 years of experience in strategic HR, talent development, and international leadership. She currently serves as Head of Global HR Business Partnering at Topsoe, where she is part of the Global HR Leadership Team. In this role, she oversees global HR business partnering, regional HR Heads, and the Global Talent Acquisition team – leading more than 20 colleagues across Denmark, the U.S., India, and China. Previously, Michelle held several senior HR leadership roles within Topsoe, driving initiatives that supported the company’s global growth and green energy transition. Earlier in her career, she spent more than five years at Maersk Oil, focusing on recruitment strategy, employer branding, and HR operations for highly specialized functions worldwide. Michelle holds a master’s degree in international business communication from Copenhagen Business School. She is recognized for her strategic mindset, strong people leadership, and ability to build collaborative, high-performing global teams.

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. 

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.