Welcome to our latest meet the team blog

Welcome to our latest meet the team blog. Today we introduce Espen Grepperud who joined Bedford in October 2022. Espen is Professional Services Director for the Nordics and in his spare time, he loves all kinds of outdoor activities, playing music, food & wine and being together with family and friends.

What made you consider joining Bedford?

Together with David Hagetoft, I founded Nordic Anaplan Partner, Bluesprint in 2018, which was acquired by Bedford in October 2022. We immediately saw the benefits of being a part of Bedford: the general policy, the strong professionalism around Anaplan and our common DNA. We shared a strong cultural fit with Bedford Consulting, having known the team for many years, and we were delighted to join forces with Bedford to continue our Anaplan growth together.

What are you most proud of?

I’m proud to be a part of an organisation with exceptional team spirit, the willingness to cooperate, and the high-quality solutions we deliver to our customers. Also, the policy is that we should never take short-term profit at the expense of a long-term relationship with the customer.

What’s your favourite part of working at Bedford?

Working together with highly motivated peers to create solutions for our customers that give them value – that’s meaningful!

Describe Bedford in 3 words

I would like to pick more, but since I can only choose three: Quality, innovative and friendly.

What’s the company like? How would you describe the team culture?

It is open and polite, and I appreciate the team spirit and the eagerness to share information and skills. For example, when I started, it was challenging with the language, particularly the different abbreviations, and I sometimes took a long time to express myself. My peers showed patience, willingness to share and politeness, which I’m grateful for. Thank you, guys!

How would you describe a typical day?

I have internal meetings and discussions with the other PSDs, the Pod Leaders and my manager. I work closely with customers when they need help staffing projects with Bedford resources, but I also act as a discussion partner about Anaplan in general to ensure the customer gets maximum value.

What’s the most important skill that someone will need to succeed in your role?

Structure, diplomacy, humility, knowledge about Anaplan, commercial mindset and experience of the world our customer lives in are valuable skills.

What is the biggest challenge that someone in this position would face?  

It is essential to be able to handle conflict and difficult situations, even when you feel frustrated, and you just want to do your best for your customer.

What have you learned in the last six months? 

A lot, but I will highlight what I have learned about working in a non-Scandinavian company where most communication must be in English.

Why do you stay at Bedford? 

Because it is rewarding to help customers, my colleagues give me energy, which makes it fun to work!

To meet some other members of the Bedford team, click here.