Cimbria Capital - 2020 New Year's Letter

By Brian V. Iversen, Founder and Managing Partner of Cimbria Capital

In early 2004, four years after immigrating to United States, I had completed my undergraduate degree in finance and accounting and landed my first full-time position as an accountant in the aviation service industry. Much can be said about the aviation service industry, but few would refer to it as glamorous. Since I was hired via a friend who was helping me get my first real job in my new country, the position I received was undefined. It was so undefined that I had neither an office nor a cubicle in my new professional home on the north side of Fort Lauderdale International Airport. Instead, I was asked by a friendly but weary accounting supervisor to pull up a chair across from her desk. A desk situated in a 250 sq.ft. office space (read: rundown shed) also occupied by two other employees.

As a recent Danish immigrant with an accent thicker than the one I still carry, I was a fish out of water and was surely viewed as such among the baggage handlers and airplane fueling staff in this South Florida airport. I assume my technical accounting skills at that time were sound, but my efforts towards becoming accepted by my new colleagues had little to do with my academic abilities. In other words, I had to earn the team’s esteem by applying myself in ways that had little to do with the reasons I had been hired.

Over the coming weeks and months, I did what I advise others to do today: Show up on time, be respectful, work extra hours if needed, solve problems diligently, work independently and be resourceful, but also ask for advice and collaborate. I spent the first months in my new position organizing records and learning the ways and methods already deployed in my new company’s accounting and operational functions. Some days I was cleaning and organizing workspaces and closets with old files and paperwork. I completed the required work, not just to show my colleagues that I valued the position and the opportunity, but because I saw no other way to gain the respect of the existing organization. Now, a little later in life, I also know that my approach was the only available route to triggering lasting change, since lasting change cannot be accomplished without the buy-in and respect of coworkers and teammates.

I eventually received my own desk and the team allowed me to ask more probing questions and propose changes when I identified inefficiencies from those answers. My tenure’s proudest accomplishment was to create and implement a digitalized labor planner that allowed for rapid-changing work schedules for our 90-person field staff. An efficiency and cost savings tool that was used for years after my departure (somebody hopefully improved it by now!). 

The moral of my story is that participation and execution are everything if you wish to transform, improve, or develop new habits; And when you have ‘earned your opinion’ (read: earned the team’s respect!), allow yourself to make a difference by proposing modifications, enhancements, and efficiencies to existing and old approaches; And be a relentless believer in your own ability to apply and implement positive change.

I believe that each of us, in our professional capacities, can make a positive change to the businesses we work with if we apply old-fashioned discipline such as (a) being on time, (b) respecting our colleagues, and (c) appreciating the values of the companies that gave us the opportunity to work. Understanding and gratitude for ‘what came before us’ are necessary tools in any quest to improve, make better, and interrupt.

I am celebrating my 20th anniversary as an immigrant to United States this year. I am along with my team also celebrating the fifth anniversary of Cimbria Capital, an investor in private companies and a manager of human capital. Cimbria is in its capacities applying similar discipline as the one I applied 16 years ago in my first full-time role, sitting on the opposite side of somebody else’s desk. We embed ourselves in the business processes and listen to the incumbents before we invest capital in companies and people; and before we determine how to best add value to existing business models and value propositions. But when we have ‘earned our opinion’ and apply ourselves as principals, we do so with intensity to ensure optimal outcomes and success for the companies we work with and the investors who placed their trust in us.

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Cimbria Capital’s investment team now spans 16 business and industry experts, including our Operating Partners and Senior Advisors, and nearly 50 Senior Consultants throughout 7 countries via the Cimbria consulting platform. 

I am very proud being a member of Cimbria’s team and of the milestone already reached. But nothing compares to the excitement of the future. We are welcoming a new decade with a readiness to reach additional milestones and to further strengthen Cimbria’s position as a change-maker in water, agriculture, renewable energy, and resiliency. In other words, we are just getting started.

With this in mind, I wish all of you – friends, colleagues, business partners, and investors - a prosperous and happy 2020. We at Cimbria thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to updating you on our progress and developments in the new year via our website, newsletters, and LinkedIn.

Happy New Year!

Brian V. Iversen, Founder and Managing Partner, Cimbria Capital