Martin Sköld left the Stockholm School of Economics after 24 years to become Executive Chairman of the board at Hups. Here's the story and why this matters for how companies compete.
Martin Sköld leaves academia for Hups
Martin Sköld has spent 24 years at the Stockholm School of Economics, researching innovation and operations management. On June 1st 2026, he stepped into a new role: Executive Chairman of the board at Hups, a Swedish SaaS company and Transformation Management System (TMS) that helps teams manage flow, drive improvement, and sustain change across their organizations.
This is not a career change for its own sake. It comes from a specific belief: competitiveness no longer depends mainly on how much knowledge organizations create. It depends on how well they turn that knowledge into practice, at scale.
"I considered leaving academia for a long time. But I never found an alternative that matched what Stockholm School of Economics offered me, until I discovered this unique opportunity at Hups." Says Martin Sköld.
Who is Martin Sköld?
For two decades, Martin has been one of Sweden's leading researchers in innovation and operations management with close ties to Scania and Swedish industry. He has written two bestselling management books. His book, Dubbelt Effektiv (Modularization), has sold more than 30,000 copies. His most recent book, Mästarklass (The Master Level), sets out four principles for combining efficiency with customer value.
Martin is also Chairman of the board of Vedum Kök & Bad and Kvänum Kök.
The Gap He Wants To Close
Martin’s research career gave him a close view of a recurring problem: companies know what good theory looks like, but struggle to make it happen everywhere in practice, consistently, at scale. Knowing theory is not the same as putting it into practice.
"Niklas has truly inspired me, both as a person and through the way he has built this company over many years. He shows how research-based knowledge can be implemented in practice" Says Martin Sköld.
This is also the problem Hups was built to solve. Combining our expert knowledge and a SaaS platform, Hups helps companies carry management knowledge into daily work, so teams do not need to wait for an external expert to walk them through it each time. Training alone does not build capability. People build capability by doing the work, with the right support close to them.
Many researchers have conducted highly rigorous studies over long periods of time, but fewer actively use their research to influence organizations in practice. Martin will now be one of those unique researchers helping to bridge that gap.
“Martin Sköld’s appointment as Executive Chairman marks a strategic milestone for Hups. We are taking an important step towards building an international, professional board. With Martin's unique competence and experience, we are also expanding our core offering to include modularization. To me, modularization and operational excellence naturally go hand in hand. With Martin on board, we strengthen our ability to support our customers across their entire value chain.”
Says Niklas Modig, Founder and CEO at Hups.
About Hups
Hups is a Swedish SaaS company and Transformation Management System (TMS) that helps teams manage flow, drive improvement, and sustain change across their organization.
Read more about Hups product offering here.
For more information, please contact:
Carl Wadmark, Chief Marketing Officer, Hups
Tel: +46 (0) 707791938
Email: carl.wadmark@hups.com
For inquiries about our product, please contact:
Gustaf Folkmar, Head of Partnerships , Hups
Tel: +46 (0) 700459123
Email: gustaf.folkmar@hups.com
