Astrid Riber Poulsen

We’re curious: can you tell us a little of your origin story before joining Creative Force.

I have a pretty different background compared to many others in my role today. I studied accounting in college and started my career in finance as an auditor at a large consulting firm called Deoid. I spent around six years there.

After that, I made some changes in my life. I had kids, started thinking more deeply about what I wanted professionally, and moved to EY, another large consulting company. I continued with auditing for about a year, but then stepped into a finance manager position at a marketing events company. They were starting a new venture in the UK and needed someone to lead that project. I was only there for eight months, but it was a great experience building something from the ground up.

Then EY reached out again. I said I’d return if I could split my time between auditing and internal projects. That was the start of something new for me. I became deeply involved in internal transformation initiatives, especially after EY merged with two other firms. There was a lot of focus on aligning systems, planning audits differently, and improving internal processes.

Over time, I became HR responsible for our department, then for a larger part of the business. I worked on shifting how we approached peak periods, trying to move work earlier in the year. I also led recruitment efforts and helped implement a new ERP system across the Nordic region. Eventually, I started working more closely with our COO in Denmark, and later at the Nordic level, helping optimize operations across countries.

So, yeah… that’s the short version of a long story!

You were clearly thriving at one of the big firms. What made you take the leap to join a startup?

I think we had built a lot of great things by then, and I was asking myself, what’s the next step? I’m the kind of person who gets excited about opportunities where I can build from scratch. With most of my roles, I was the first one in that position. I created the role, shaped it, and built the structure around it.

When I met Thomas and Tejs, I really liked their energy and the idea of being part of something from day one. In large companies, culture and processes are very set. Changing things takes a lot of time and buy-in. At Creative Force, it felt like an open space where new ideas could take root quickly. I believed in the project and told myself, why not try something new and see where it leads?

What was the biggest surprise in your first year moving from a big company to startup life?

The pace of change. In a large organization, making a change is like steering a huge ship. Decisions take time and are slow to roll out.

By the end of my time at EY, I realized how much I enjoyed the opportunity to build functions from the ground up within an organization. The startup environment doesn’t just allow for that kind of rapid creation — it thrives on it. Everything moves quickly. You make a decision one week, and by the next, you might already be iterating on version two. There’s an energizing mix of autonomy, ownership, and minimal bureaucracy. If you’re wired for that kind of pace and creativity, there’s nothing quite like it. I was more than ready to dive in, and once I did, I found that I truly loved it.

Now that you're a few years in, what still gets you out of bed in the morning?

It might sound like something everyone says, but I truly mean it: the team is my biggest motivation. There’s such a strong sense of engagement here. People support each other, and there’s this shared mission. That kind of energy is rare.

Being surrounded by people who give their best every day makes me want to do the same. I feel a strong responsibility to contribute to that environment from the employee perspective and help shape the culture in meaningful ways.

What’s your vision for the employee experience at Creative Force?

I hope that everyone who works at Creative Force feels that they are part of the company’s success. That they are valued, that they understand their role, and that they feel their contribution really matters.

I want people to feel purpose in what they do. To feel like their work is meaningful and aligned with a bigger mission. Because when everyone feels that way and knows they’re being invested in, we create a workplace where people can truly thrive. That’s what unleashes an organization and allows a company as a whole to do great things.