Rasmus Ankersen

In his first book, ‘The Gold Mine Effect’, he explores how some countries and cities develop a disproportionate amount of top talent. In his second book, ‘Hunger in Paradise,’ he describes how successful organisations can remain so by eliminating complacency.

In ‘Hunger in Paradise’, Rasmus goes deeper into the hidden dangers of success. Drawing on behind-the-scenes access to elite sports teams and global companies, he examines how market leaders lose their edge, why performance standards quietly decline, and how leaders can build cultures that protect ambition even at the top. The book has become a powerful reference point for organisations seeking to sustain performance in complex and competitive environments.

Rasmus has been hired by well-known global brands like Facebook, Google, LEGO, Boston Consulting Group, Microsoft, Roche, Astra Zeneca, Coca-Cola, Cisco and many more to share his research on how to build high performance organisations.

He is also a football executive and, for almost eight years, held the position of Chairman of FC Midtjylland and co-director of football at Brentford FC, both of which are known as some of the world’s most innovative football clubs, especially recognised for their use of big data to drive decision-making.

During his time in professional football leadership, Rasmus operated at board level within high-stakes, results-driven environments, helping shape long-term strategy, recruitment models and performance systems. Both clubs gained international recognition for challenging conventional thinking and using data to build competitive advantage against financially stronger rivals.

Rasmus looks at real examples of leadership, team, and high performance from a different perspective, finding patterns, examining the big data, and realising that the extraordinary is often surprisingly normal and imitable. He delivers real, tangible lessons to audiences with verve, enthusiasm, and wit, covering everything from incentives to big data to recruitment.