Jette Andersen – the Director Who Makes the Whole Work

As Director at Kjær Knudsen, Jette Andersen has a workday filled with variety – from finance and HR to IT, projects, and strategy. She describes herself as a jack-of-all-trades with an eye on the big picture, but also as a team player who values collaboration with colleagues. In this interview, Jette shares more about her work, what drives her, and what gives her energy in her free time.

What do you do at work?

– I’m a bit of a jack-of-all-trades. I’m responsible for our bookkeeping and finance, budgets, salaries, and all administration together with our accounting assistant. It involves everything from ordering office supplies, talking with the landlord, reviewing cleaning services, insurances, and ongoing ad hoc tasks. In addition, I’m involved in all of our projects. Once a month, we go through all cases together with our construction and project managers. That’s when we get a status update on finances, challenges, collaboration, and more.

– Together with our estimator, I also review bids and help assess if there are any risks that should affect the price, and what the profitability profile should look like.

– Right now, I’m working with our communications and marketing manager on reviewing our visual identity and how we should communicate going forward. I’m also involved in our HR area – reporting to Sweden, workplace injuries, insurance matters, and more. In collaboration with our production director, I work on strategy and how we can best drive Kjær Knudsen forward. Fortunately, we have engaged colleagues who help find the right direction. At the moment, our workshop manager also reports to me, so I’m involved in tools and operations as well.

– I take part in recruiting new white-collar staff and have ongoing conversations with employees, including performance reviews. I participate in board meetings, management seminars, and monthly reports with the leadership team – which also requires a fair amount of preparation. I’m also involved in all our IT, and in the past six months I’ve spent a lot of time implementing a new financial system.

What is your most important quality?

– I’m good at juggling many tasks at once. I keep track of the finances and can see how everything is connected. I really value working with all my colleagues at KK – we have different areas of expertise and can always learn something from one another.

What are you passionate about in your free time?

– I train a form of crossfit 2–3 times a week. It’s always outdoors, whether it’s –10 or +30 degrees. Rain, snow, and storms don’t stop us – only thunder can cancel a session.

– We also have a fantastic summer house by the Isefjord that I especially enjoy with my husband. Our two adult daughters and their partners often visit, and luckily we also have friends who like to stop by. I love spending time with family and friends.

– I also enjoy walking and watching sports – especially handball, since I’ve played a fair bit myself. Football is a constant topic of discussion here at Kjær Knudsen, and it’s no secret that Brøndby is my team.

Who is your biggest role model?

– Oh, I don’t really have a direct role model, but there are people I think have done really well. Margrethe Vestager, for example, is incredibly skilled and inspiring.

– In the handball world, Anja Andersen has meant a great deal for the development of women’s handball – I can’t help but admire that.

We see the outside – but who are you on the inside?

– I’m also just a person who sometimes gets emotionally affected. If I see someone isn’t doing well, it impacts me.

– I’m very solution-oriented, and when I can’t find a solution, that can be difficult to handle.

– I appreciate humor and think it’s important that we can laugh at work too. I also enjoy deep conversations and value presence, sincerity, and honesty.