It starts with a deep belief: putting the customer first Isn’t just a strategy—it’s the only way to build something lasting. Every decision, every conversation, and every plan should reflect a commitment to what’s best for the client, even if it means sacrificing short-term wins. That belief drives him every day.
For Niels Thomsen, Chief Revenue Officer at Alexander Thamm [at], the question is always, “Why?” Why does this matter to the customer? Why will this make a difference? These aren’t just business questions; they’re the foundation of his approach to leadership and growth. He sees his role not just as someone who sells solutions but as someone who ensures every offering has a purpose—a clear, measurable way to solve real challenges.
With a passion for building trust and creating long-term value, Niels is focused on more than hitting revenue targets. He looks at the bigger picture: how every part of the system, from lead generation to contract value, works together to drive sustainable growth. For him, leadership means being authentic, answering the tough questions, and leading teams with a focus on delivering what matters most—real results for clients.
The Leadership Journey
Niels serves as the Chief Revenue Officer at Alexander Thamm [at] driven by a deep belief in the transformative power of technology to help individuals and businesses reach their fullest potential. His passion for technology has been a lifelong journey, sparked by a childhood moment in second grade when he confidently told his teacher, after being scolded for spelling errors, “One day, a computer will do it for me.” This early optimism about technology’s possibilities has shaped his perspective ever since.
For Niels, technology is neither inherently good nor bad—it’s how it’s used that defines its impact. He views AI as a powerful tool that empowers people and organizations, enabling them to focus on creativity, relationships, and meaningful work by taking over repetitive tasks, optimizing processes, and driving innovation. His career reflects a commitment to using AI not just as a driver of business success but as a way to navigate a rapidly changing world and unlock new opportunities for society. [at] embodies this vision. Founded in 2012 by Alexander Thamm without external funding, the company has grown organically from a small team of five to a 500-strong group of experts. With its roots in the automotive industry, [at] has built a reputation for understanding real-world challenges and delivering impactful, practical solutions.
This mission resonates deeply with Niels. The company’s dedication to creating tangible value and addressing complex challenges makes [at] a natural home for his vision and leadership. Being part of a company that drives both business success and meaningful industry evolution inspires him daily.
From Vision to Value
Niels’ career has been shaped by a pivotal realization during his early days working in analytics and IoT: technology is only as valuable as the problems it solves. At a time when organizations were questioning the very necessity of IT departments, Niels saw an opportunity to redefine the conversation. It wasn’t about selling technology like IoT—it was about identifying specific business challenges and building compelling cases for how technology could address them and deliver measurable value. His approach has always started with one question: “Why?”
By focusing on the use case rather than the technology itself, Niels developed strategies that resonated across organizations. Whether optimizing processes, reducing costs, or creating new revenue streams, he emphasized tying solutions directly to business goals.
This shift from “what the technology does” to “why it matters” earned buy-in from technical teams and executive leadership alike, paving the way for real, impactful outcomes. At [at], this philosophy is at the core of everything he does. The company doesn’t just provide AI and data-driven solutions; it ensures that every project answers the “why” with a clear, actionable business case. This focus on business outcomes has been a driving force behind both client success and sustainable growth.
Niels views leadership much like coaching a soccer team, where every player must excel in their role while understanding how their contributions fit into the broader strategy. Whether it’s a striker, midfielder, or defender, success depends on alignment and adaptability.
He often draws inspiration from players like Leroy Sané of Bayern Munich, who, despite being an attacker, will sprint back to defend when the team needs him. In the same way, Niels fosters cross-functional collaboration in business, ensuring that sales, marketing, and customer success teams work together seamlessly. For him, it’s not just about individual excellence; it’s about commitment to the bigger picture and achieving collective goals.
Embracing Customer Obsession
A recent example comes from Niels’ work. As an AI company, they have witnessed a massive shift in the market. AI is no longer a unique selling point; even rappers are entering the field! This change forced the team to take a step back, reevaluate their strategy, and rethink how they could stand out in an increasingly crowded space.
About six months ago, Niels and [at] made a bold decision: to go “all in” on Agentic AI. Instead of just talking about its potential, the focus shifted to actively delivering real-world solutions in this area. The company began selling and implementing Agentic AI products and services that provide tangible value to clients.
This new focus has already paid off. Today, Niels and his team have more than 30 Agentic AI projects running successfully, and the results speak for themselves. This shift not only reinvigorated their positioning in the market but also demonstrated how Agentic AI can create a real leap forward in empowering people and businesses.
The key, Niels believes, is embracing a mindset of “customer obsession”—an approach inspired by Amazon’s success. It’s all about putting the customer’s needs at the center of every decision and prioritizing what’s best for them, even if it means sacrificing short-term revenue for long-term relationships that create real business value. Sometimes, being truly customer-obsessed means saying, “We’re not the right choice for you.” While that may seem counterintuitive, helping customers find the best solution—whether it’s with the company or not—builds trust, credibility, and relationships that often-come full circle. It also requires listening closely to the customer’s pain points, understanding their challenges, and creating solutions that address their specific needs. By focusing on solving real problems and delivering measurable outcomes,
Niels and his team create partnerships that are not only sustainable but also mutually beneficial. Ultimately, Niels sees no need to reinvent the wheel. As Jeff Bezos famously emphasized, being relentlessly focused on the customer leads to long-term success. For him, this means always striving to deliver value, fostering trust, and building relationships that stand the test of time.
A Strategic Approach to Sales and Pricing
A great example of Niels’ approach is the RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) implementation currently underway, using Agentic AI systems. Niels and his team are implementing it internally to support their own sales process, demonstrating the power of practicing what they preach.
The goal is to use Agentic AI to handle approximately 65% of repetitive and time-consuming tasks in the sales process, freeing up the team to focus on the remaining 35%—the human element, where creativity, empathy, and strategic thinking are critical. By automating the dull and repetitive work, Niels enables his team to prioritize what truly matters: delivering business value and becoming even more customer-obsessed.
This implementation highlights how technology can transform revenue strategies. It’s not just about efficiency; it’s about enabling smarter decision-making, improving the customer experience, and allowing the team to focus on building meaningful relationships.
When it comes to pricing, Niels follows a thoughtful approach. The first step is understanding the cost of delivery—what is the actual cost base? Without a clear grasp of the underlying costs, it’s impossible to set a price that ensures sustainability.
Next, Niels considers the market price and, more importantly, what the customer is willing to pay. This involves understanding their pain points and the perceived value of the solution being offered. For Niels, pricing isn’t just about numbers—it’s about aligning the price with the value delivered to the customer. Finally, Niels always returns to the “why.” Why should customers choose the company? What specific value does it deliver to them? By framing pricing as part of a collaborative journey, Niels shifts the conversation from a transactional mindset to one of partnership. It’s about showing the customer that they are in this together, working toward a shared goal of solving challenges and creating measurable business impact.
One example of this was when Niels ventured into IoT, moving beyond the shop floor and into retail by connecting refrigerators for a large beverage provider. This shift posed numerous challenges: the need for devices to enable connectivity, a strategy to penetrate the market at scale, and buy-in from regional stakeholders.
To address these risks, Niels identified a trusted provider for the devices and became their largest customer, ensuring he had the influence and scale needed without owning them outright. At the same time, he worked closely with regional stakeholders to assess and address local requirements, such as the number of coolers needed in different areas. By proactively monitoring risks and switching focus between regions as needed, Niels kept the project on track and delivered results.
This experience taught Niels the importance of “leadership over management.” Leading through vision and adaptability, rather than controlling every detail, is essential for managing risk and navigating new revenue opportunities. The foundation of building strong relationships with key stakeholders, according to Niels, is customer obsession. It’s about being fully committed to understanding their needs, challenges, and goals. This starts with physical presence, being there when it matters, and always being reachable. Availability builds trust.
Listening is another critical component. Niels is a firm believer in Robert Fischer’s advice on negotiations: don’t speak too much; listen. By truly listening to stakeholders, he uncovers insights that allow him to create joint value, a win-win for both parties. It’s about showing them that their success is as important to him as his own.
Lastly, Niels believes that integrity is non-negotiable. Maintaining the highest level of integrity in every interaction ensures that stakeholders see him as a trusted partner, not just a service provider. When trust is combined with mutual value and open communication, it becomes the foundation for long-term, meaningful relationships that drive business development.
Approach to Driving Growth and Building Trust
Niels holds a master’s degree in economics and political science, which has profoundly shaped his approach to leadership and revenue growth. His background in economics has provided him with a strong understanding of how markets function at both the micro and macro levels, covering concepts like willingness to pay, aligning customer benefits with organizational goals, and understanding market dynamics. For Niels, it’s all about creating mutual value that drives growth.
His statistical education complements this by equipping him to analyze data, uncover actionable insights, and develop strategies that are not only well-informed but also executable. As Niels believes, a great plan is only as good as its implementation, and his focus is on driving results through clear, actionable strategies.
Growing up in the Nordics has also had a lasting impact on Niels’ leadership style. In Nordic culture, there is a deep-seated trust in people, shaped by the educational system and societal values. He has carried this fundamental trust into his leadership philosophy. Niels views himself as a leader, not just a manager. While a manager focuses on spreadsheets and oversight, a leader walks alongside or even in front of their team, inspiring and guiding them toward a shared vision.
Political science has added an important dimension to his perspective, helping Niels see organizations as political entities shaped by human dynamics. This enables him to navigate complexities, build trust, and drive alignment within teams and across stakeholders.
For Niels, integrity is everything. Staying true to one’s values and beliefs is the foundation of success, especially when it comes to building trust in negotiations or client relationships. As Niels sees it, deals are closed between two human beings, not just two companies. Trust is the glue that holds everything together. If integrity is compromised, trust is inevitably lost, and with it, the foundation for any lasting partnership.
Niels is deeply committed to his belief in technology and AI, holding that it should always help people become better versions of themselves. This principle guides his approach to negotiations and relationships, ensuring that the solutions provided genuinely add value and align with the customer’s best interests.
