About me

I'm Johan Berndtsson, co-founder turned board chair, based in Varberg.

When the dot-com bubble burst in 2002, a small group of us got laid off. Six months later, we started inUse. Fifteen years later, we sold it: about 100 people, one of Scandinavia's most influential design and strategy agencies, with clients like IKEA, AstraZeneca, and Volvo Trucks. Along the way we created From Business to Buttons, a conference that drew Steve Wozniak, Al Gore, and over 1,000 attendees, built on a clear vision but almost no budget.

In 2021, I co-founded Ambition Group with Jane Murray and Cecilia Brunemark, two former colleagues from inUse. Ambition is a consulting firm in UX, product, CX, and leadership, with a learning platform and community, Ambition Empower, alongside. We're around 30 people and 35 MSEK, profitable every year. I was CEO for the planned five years, handed over to Nathalie Tindsjö on 1 June 2026, and remain chairman.

I've spent 30+ years asking the same question, in pharma, automotive, energy, agriculture and defense, among others: what actually creates value for customers, and how do you turn that into goals that guide decisions?

I chair and advise companies that want to grow and are serious about understanding their customers to get there, with measurable goals, clear priorities, and discipline to follow through. I've built companies, run them, and sold one. I know how to read a P&L, push for margin, and help a leadership team agree on what actually matters. Two things have consistently driven that work: finding the angle that lets a company stop competing on equal terms, and building presence and mindshare without an outsized budget. At inUse, that conference was part of how we did both. At Ambition, our training platform Ambition Empower and our leadership network do the same job.

Current portfolio: Chairman at Touchtech (listed FashionTech), Ambition Group (design, product, and CX consulting and training), and Nära Hem AB (residential construction & renovation). Board Member at Vizcon/Bygghub (construction SaaS) and Styrelseakademien Halland (the Halland division of the Swedish Academy of Board Directors). From summer 2027, I might have capacity for one additional board mandate. Sector matters less than ambition.

If you're building something serious in south/western Sweden, and you're looking for a board chair who'll challenge your thinking on customers, goals, and growth, reach out. Conversations welcome now.