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#156 | Lead by Example or Lose the Best: What A-Players Actually Need From Their Leaders w/ Svante Horn @Scandinavian Data Centers
Published 1 week, 5 days ago
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▶︎ #156 | Lead by Example or Lose the Best: What A-Players Actually Need From Their Leaders w/ Svante Horn @Scandinavian Data Centers
Join your host, Aleksandra Lemańska, for a refreshingly candid episode of the Leman Tech Leadership Podcast as she sits down with Svante Horn, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Scandinavian Data Centers — a company on a mission to become the energy node, data node, and heat node of their communities, building green, high-performance data center infrastructure across the Nordics.
In this episode, Svante brings a non-linear career story — from Morgan Stanley M&A to fixed income sales at Merrill Lynch, through the 2008 financial crisis and a winding "desert wandering" phase — that ultimately led him to one of the most capital-intensive, slow-moving, and purposeful industries of our time. The conversation unpacks what it really takes to attract and retain A-players in a world where top talent no longer tolerates environments built purely for squeezing profit, and where purpose has become as powerful a recruitment tool as compensation. Svante shares his three non-negotiables for leaders who want to keep exceptional people: lead by example without exception, embody the company's purpose authentically, and earn — not just hold — the respect of your team.
The discussion also dives into the epidemic of wasteful meetings, the overlooked cost of putting the wrong people in leadership roles, and why the coming AI revolution may be the best thing that ever happened to skilled humans who know how to orchestrate, connect, and build trust. Svante draws a memorable parallel between mentorship and proprietary AI data models — the rarest, most valuable knowledge is what never makes it online. And for anyone sitting at the crossroads between a corporate career and the entrepreneurial leap, Svante offers some of the most grounded, honest advice you'll hear: timing matters, and it's never too late.
✔︎ Mentioned in the episode:
Jim Carrey on Security (and Regret)
https://www.amazon.com/Art-War-DELUXE-Sun-Tzu/dp/9388369696
✉︎ FOLLOW SVANTE ON: ⤵︎
LinkedIn: @svantehorn
✉︎ FOLLOW ME ON: ⤵︎
LinkedIn: @aleksandralemanska
TikTok: @aleksandra_lemanska
X: @lemanskills
Startup Community Poznan: @startup-community-poznan-scp
www.lemanskills.com
Join Leadership Pulse! https://lemanskills.com/pulse/
Join your host, Aleksandra Lemańska, for a refreshingly candid episode of the Leman Tech Leadership Podcast as she sits down with Svante Horn, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Scandinavian Data Centers — a company on a mission to become the energy node, data node, and heat node of their communities, building green, high-performance data center infrastructure across the Nordics.
In this episode, Svante brings a non-linear career story — from Morgan Stanley M&A to fixed income sales at Merrill Lynch, through the 2008 financial crisis and a winding "desert wandering" phase — that ultimately led him to one of the most capital-intensive, slow-moving, and purposeful industries of our time. The conversation unpacks what it really takes to attract and retain A-players in a world where top talent no longer tolerates environments built purely for squeezing profit, and where purpose has become as powerful a recruitment tool as compensation. Svante shares his three non-negotiables for leaders who want to keep exceptional people: lead by example without exception, embody the company's purpose authentically, and earn — not just hold — the respect of your team.
The discussion also dives into the epidemic of wasteful meetings, the overlooked cost of putting the wrong people in leadership roles, and why the coming AI revolution may be the best thing that ever happened to skilled humans who know how to orchestrate, connect, and build trust. Svante draws a memorable parallel between mentorship and proprietary AI data models — the rarest, most valuable knowledge is what never makes it online. And for anyone sitting at the crossroads between a corporate career and the entrepreneurial leap, Svante offers some of the most grounded, honest advice you'll hear: timing matters, and it's never too late.
✔︎ Mentioned in the episode:
Jim Carrey on Security (and Regret)
https://www.amazon.com/Art-War-DELUXE-Sun-Tzu/dp/9388369696
✉︎ FOLLOW SVANTE ON: ⤵︎
LinkedIn: @svantehorn
✉︎ FOLLOW ME ON: ⤵︎
LinkedIn: @aleksandralemanska
TikTok: @aleksandra_lemanska
X: @lemanskills
Startup Community Poznan: @startup-community-poznan-scp
www.lemanskills.com
Join Leadership Pulse! https://lemanskills.com/pulse/