Ella Björnsdottir

Ella Björnsdottir is a global leadership strategist, executive coach, and keynote speaker whose career reflects more than two decades of international impact across corporate strategy, people development, and cultural transformation. With experience spanning Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and North America, she has consistently worked at the intersection of leadership, performance, and purpose, helping organizations align people and strategy in times of growth, complexity, and change. Her work is grounded in a deep understanding of human behavior, organizational dynamics, and the belief that sustainable success begins with strong leadership and culture.

As the Chief Executive Officer of Valhalla, Ella leads a consultancy offering strategic implementation, executive coaching, leadership training, people and culture development, communication advisory, keynote speaking, and C-level recruitment. Under her leadership, Valhalla supports executive teams and boards in developing action-oriented strategies that translate vision into measurable results. Her approach emphasizes clarity, accountability, and alignment, ensuring that leadership principles are not theoretical, but actively practiced across organizations operating in a global business landscape.

Prior to Valhalla, Ella served as Chief Human Resources Officer at Controlant, a global leader in digital transformation for pharmaceutical supply chains. As a member of the executive team, she played a central role in shaping organizational strategy, talent development, sustainability, and cultural alignment. During her tenure, Controlant scaled its workforce from 110 to 550 employees within two years, supporting global COVID-19 vaccine distribution while maintaining strong governance and people practices. She also led the implementation of equal pay certification, ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 standards, and contributed to achieving a silver EcoVadis rating in 2024, placing the company among the top 15 percent globally for ESG management. Her work at Controlant highlights her ability to integrate growth, responsibility, and long-term value creation.

Ella’s expertise in leadership development was further shaped through her global roles at Marel and FranklinCovey. At Marel, she co-designed and implemented the company’s first global leadership development program, delivering training and coaching across business units in a complex, matrix organization. Her work focused on behavioral development, communication, cultural intelligence, and change management, supporting leaders at all levels, including executive board members. Earlier, as Senior Global Consultant and Keynote Speaker at FranklinCovey Education Worldwide, she traveled extensively delivering leadership programs, workshops, and keynote sessions based on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and The Leader in Me framework. She played a key role in implementing whole-school leadership transformation models across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, impacting thousands of educators, leaders, students, and families.

Beyond the corporate and education sectors, Ella brings a uniquely diverse professional background that strengthens her leadership perspective. She spent eight years in broadcast television as a host and producer, creating and leading a nationally recognized program that reached wide audiences and amplified human stories. Earlier in her career, she also worked in education as a teacher and consultant in natural science education, contributing to curriculum development and leadership culture within schools. This combination of media, education, corporate leadership, and executive advisory work has given her a rare ability to communicate with clarity, authenticity, and influence across industries and cultures.

At the core of Ella Björnsdottir’s work is a commitment to empowering individuals and organizations to reach their full potential. Her leadership philosophy emphasizes trust, psychological safety, cultural intelligence, and conscious leadership, ensuring that leadership and culture are owned by leaders at every level, not confined to HR functions alone. Through her current work, board involvement, and global advisory roles, she continues to shape the future of leadership by helping organizations build environments where people, purpose, and performance move forward together. As global leadership continues to evolve in 2026 and beyond, Ella’s impact stands as a testament to the power of principled leadership grounded in humanity, strategy, and long-term vision.