Why Detecon decided to partner with Ascend

Tell us a bit about yourself Lars!

I have been working with Detecon for 23 years, helping global telecom operators, OTTs/ hyperscalers and Industry Clients to develop and drive future-proof business. Having lived and worked in over 40 countries worldwide, I consider myself as a global citizen. This makes it particularly exciting for me establishing Detecon’s hub for the Nordics in Stockholm, a truly multicultural city and, paying a tribute to my Swedish roots.

Detecon is a partner to Ascend – could you tell us about how that happened?

For me, this journey started August 2020 when I received a phone call from Ralf Pichler, our CEO. He had participated in an Ascend Business simulation run by Petter at Ascend a couple of years earlier before he joined Detecon. Both stayed in touch to ponder on mutual possibilities of Ascend and Detecon working together. Ralf therefore asked me to reach out to Petter and pick up the dialogue.

Getting in touch with Petter, it turned out that we were both on vacation in Dalarna, 5km from each other – which is rather close considering the size of Sweden. So, we decided to meet up for a fika in Petter’s kitchen and ended up in an opportunity driven can-do discussion on “how can we – Ascend with Detecon – create impact together”. The mentality and attitude at Ascend is to try things out and we agreed that if there is a suiting opportunity, we could take on together – we should explore this partnership and see where we end up!

Already 2 months later, we won the perfect project opportunity where Ascend and Detecon leveraged each other’s experience and knowledge. This was also the first chance to get to know each other in action, test the partnership and create proof points. Since that first project, we have established a joint funnel of impact and projects together – learning about each other and developing the partnership as we go.

Why do you choose to partner with Ascend?

Together, we have the possibility of winning deals and projects we would not get otherwise. We complement each other in a good way, with Detecon having in-depth tech knowledge and a global presence, whereas Ascend is having expertise in change and business transformation with an agile mindset and a truly Swedish flavor.

We can learn a lot from each other. Ascend has an inspiring openness, agile mindset, and great curiosity to learn and try new things, being a north star among consultancy companies when it comes to agility, resilience, and entrepreneurship. “Talking business” is a natural part on all levels of the organization – not only the management levels but also among younger consultants. Additionally, there is a strong will to change, adapt and evolve with continuous development and dynamics. Everyone is involved in developing the way forward for Ascend, embodying the meaning of “inclusive” and agility.

I think in-depth knowledge is one thing but the (digital) transformation of our customers requires getting their “heart and mindset” on board of their journey. This is where Ascend is exceptional. Customers have a big trust in Ascend that they will be able to create real impact that “sticks”. For me, Ascend is the partner of choice in Sweden and beyond. Together with Ascend, we can create larger impact and real change and, in addition to this our customers and consultants are having fun!