Lena Vikander, founder of Vikander Advisory

Strategic advisory for founder-led businesses

Clarity in complexity.

I help founders and leadership teams set a clear direction at a turning point, then build it into how the business runs.

Let's Talk

A plan only changes a business when it changes how the business runs.

Once the plan is signed off, the team goes back to the same meetings, the same reports and the same numbers they had before. Nothing about how the work gets done has changed, so nothing else does either.

My work covers both sides. A clear direction, grounded in the real numbers of your business. Then the operating systems that carry it into the work, handed over to your team to own.

Every engagement has a fixed fee and a defined scope, agreed before work starts. No hourly billing.

Client reference

Lena has a sharp commercial read and a practical understanding of AI. She taught me how to use AI properly in my business, then helped me build a pitch to senior executives grounded in trust, not hype. They came back asking for a formal proposal. Her guidance made a real difference.

Terry Kumar, Director, ABOVE Gym

Services

Three ways to work together

Set the direction, build it into the business, then keep it on course. Most clients start with the first. Each can stand on its own.

i.

Strategic Direction

A structured engagement that turns the financial, operational and strategic reality of your business into a committed twelve-month direction. Each phase produces a named artefact you own.

  1. Phase 1
    Reality ReportWhere the business actually stands, the risks it carries and where the pressure sits.
  2. Phase 2
    Operating Architecture MapHow the business runs today, and how it needs to run to deliver what comes next.
  3. Phase 3
    Scenario BoardThe options in front of you, tested against your numbers before you commit to one.
  4. Phase 4
    Strategic Direction PlanA twelve-month blueprint with clear priorities, owners and milestones.
Where to start

Reality Check

Phase 1 on its own, delivering the Reality Report. If you continue to the full engagement within 90 days, the fee is credited in full.

For returning clients

Refresh

Twelve to eighteen months on, the Operating Architecture Map and Scenario Board are re-run with current numbers.

ii.

Operating Systems

Writing the strategy down is the easy part. Making it run is the work.

I have spent most of my career as the operator accountable for the result. I can walk into any part of a business, see how the work actually flows, and rebuild it so it delivers what the direction asks for.

Wherever the plan depends on the business working differently, that is where I work. I design how it runs, set it up with the people who will run it, and stay until it holds.

Then I hand it over. It belongs to the business and keeps running without me.

Often follows Strategic Direction. It can stand alone when the direction is already clear and the gap is in execution.

iii.

Ongoing Advisory

Independent counsel over time, as a monthly arrangement. Open to new clients as well as those who have completed a Strategic Direction engagement.

For leadership teams

Advisory Programme

A monthly advisory relationship. Regular working sessions, a sounding board for the decisions in front of you, and accountability on the plan.

For founder-led businesses

Advisory Board

For businesses without a formal board. I chair or sit on an advisory board that brings a regular board rhythm, independent challenge and accountability on the plan. Governance without the cost of a statutory board.

An advisory board gives advice. It does not make decisions for the company, and its members are not directors. Accountability stays with you and your board of directors.

Fixed fee, defined scope, agreed before work starts. Ongoing advisory is a fixed monthly fee. Fees in AUD, exclusive of GST.

Who I work with

Founder-led businesses at a turning point

  • Growth has outpaced the structure that got you here.
  • A significant decision is coming, and the numbers do not yet give a clear answer.
  • The leadership team is growing and needs a shared direction and rhythm.
  • The business needs governance, but not a statutory board.

About

Lena Vikander

Eighteen years inside global and multi-site organisations, fifteen of them leading operations. My career runs through SIXT, H&M, public service and private companies, in senior roles accountable for performance, governance and the delivery of strategy.

Most of that time I was the person accountable for delivery: results, cadence, margin and the team. It taught me that strategy rarely fails for lack of ambition. It fails when decisions are unclear and the structure does not support them.

I have worked closely with CEOs, COOs and leadership teams, and led national operating performance across multi-site businesses, delivering measurable EBIT improvement alongside gains in quality and customer performance.

Every engagement starts with your actual numbers. The analysis uses structured analytical capability built specifically for this work, and what you receive are artefacts you own.

A clear picture of reality, the courage to name the trade-offs, and the discipline to commit to a direction. That is what I bring.

Contact

Let's Talk

Every engagement starts with a confidential conversation about where the business is and what is in front of you. Email me directly and I will reply personally.