At Simon-Kucher, ‘fostering entrepreneurial spirit’ is something we live and breathe every day. In this personal reflection, Omar Ahmad, senior managing partner of our Copenhagen office, shares how entrepreneurship continues to shape his journey.
From his early days in a family business to launching and growing our presence in the Nordics, Omar’s story is a powerful example of how taking initiative, embracing risks, and working together can drive meaningful growth for ourselves, our clients, and our company.
“Hi everybody. I am Omar Ahmad, senior managing partner of the Copenhagen office, and I’m going to share my thoughts on how we, as a company, foster an entrepreneurial spirit.
The first thing I did: google entrepreneurship. I clicked on the Wikipedia page, which is usually the first or second hit, and started reading a bit. One quote stood out to me, and I think it’s a good foundation for what we’re talking about: “Entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values than simply economic ones.” I believe this is a great starting point for discussing our own values – how entrepreneurship can be a powerful force for driving growth. Not only for ourselves, but for the company, our clients, and their customers.
I’m the son of first-generation immigrants. My parents are from Pakistan and moved to Denmark. Like many Pakistani parents, they started their own business – usually in one of three or four industries. My father opened an oriental carpet shop. As the oldest son, I was expected early on to take over the family business. I still remember how, as a 12-year-old, my father had me standing at the front of the shop, selling carpets.
This was an interesting experience. I learned a little bit about pricing as well. As a side note: the best way to sell carpets? Increase the list price and offer a 50% discount. And I’ve used that knowledge a little bit in my tasks.
Obviously, I did not become a carpet salesperson. I think my parents are proud of me, nonetheless. Traveling with my parents, helping them open new shops, negotiating, buying – I got to know what entrepreneurship means. And I carried this knowledge to where we are at Simon-Kucher right now. I was one of the people who had, let’s say, come back to Simon-Kucher. I originally started in 2003, left in 2005, and returned in 2008. During that three-year break, I stayed in close contact with the company. One of the conversations we had was: “Why don’t you come back and take on an entrepreneurial role – be the first to open our Nordic office and lead our healthtech business there?” While there were a few other options, it was a no-brainer for me. I gladly took this initiative and drove growth for Simon-Kucher.
In 2010, we opened the first Nordics office. I was a one-man show. Fast forward to today, we’re close to 200 people across four offices in the region. One important lesson for me along the way: fostering an entrepreneurial spirit is not about an individual act, it’s about a team. And since those 10 years, I’ve had one of my colleagues, Andreas Jonason, do a pitstop via Copenhagen and successfully open an office in Stockholm followed by Helsinki. Matthias Liefner moved his whole family from Germany to Copenhagen to drive our Life Sciences business in the Nordics. And our experienced partner, Nicolai Eckert, joined us to fast-track our growth trajectory in Copenhagen and now Oslo.
I see the same spirit across Simon-Kucher. I see entrepreneurship in action across different topics and growth areas. We constantly hear about our digital focus, our transactional services’ new tools and methodologies, or even new markets and regions. And I think that entrepreneurship at Simon-Kucher is not just about partners. It spans from early-career roles to senior management.
So, what is entrepreneurship? It's about pushing boundaries, stepping outside of your comfort zone, and taking risks. It’s about being independent but still working as a team towards common goals. And it’s about being accountable, adaptable, and agile in how we move forward. By doing so, I truly believe that entrepreneurship becomes a key driving force for the future as we grow our company: for ourselves, for our clients, and for our people. It’s up to each of us to get involved, to ask solution-oriented questions, to take ownership, and drive initiatives forward – knowing very well that it is better to try and fail than to not try at all.”