Paal Leveraas

Entrepreneur, coach, team developer, writer, business owner

Birth date: 26.11.1960

Address: Kongsberggata 3, N-0468 Oslo, Norway

Phone: +47 98216666

Email and web:

  • paal (a) leveraas.no
  • www.leveraas.no
  • www.ahafactory.no

About Paal

Paal is an experienced coach and team coach with 15+ years in editorial positions in media. He runs Leveraas AS and Aha! Factory AS, a coach training company with activities in three Nordic countries.

Paal is probably one of the best connected business executives in Northern Europe, with a vast network in both the IT, media and people skills industries.

From his own leader positions, business oriented journalism and reporting, hard gained entrepreneurial experiences, and consulting and coaching work with business clients, he has gained an in depth understanding of how business works and what strategic and professional challenges today’s leaders face.

He has coached and mentored a great number of business leaders individually and worked with numerous teams.

Paal is father of three daughters (8, 17 and 22) and one son (20), and when he’s not working or spending time with his family, he likes to keep fit by running, cycling, working out and cross country skiing from his winter home in the Norwegian mountains.

He lives and works in Oslo, Norway.

VISION

Changing the world, one system at a time

EDUCATION

  • Agder DH (University of Agder), June 1983 – Systems Analyst and Programmer
  • Coaches Training Institute, 2004-2005 – Co-Active Coaching Curriculum (Certified Professional Co-Active Coach – CPCC)
  • Center for Right Relationship, 2006-2009, Organisations and Relationship Systems Coach Curriculum (Certified 2009 – ORSCC)

EXPERIENCE

CEO | Aha! Factory AS – May 2007 – Current

Aha! Factory was founded in May 2007 with the purpose to deliver tools and training concepts for teams and organisations and build a pool of consultants/coaches trained in similar methodologies. Aha! is the Nordic partner for Center for Right Relationship and Norwegian distributor of the web-based Ensize toolbox. Aha! Factory is owned by Leveraas AS, Digital Insight and Galapagos Coaching.

Senior Advisor | Movation AS | Jan 2007 – Jan 2008

Movation was jointly owned by Telenor, Fast, BIrdstep, Opera, Nera Satcom, Radionor and Comperio. Its business idea was to be an incubator of innovative projects and use its owner’s competence, skills and global network as a foundation for growth and development. I was one of a team of four senior advisors in Movation, but pulled out in January 2008 as a result of focusing on building up Aha! Factory.

Founder and CEO | Leveraas AS | 2004 – current

Leveraas AS has been my operating company entity for delivering coaching, team building experiences, workshops, consulting services and other activities related to developing companies and their people assets.

Through Leveraas AS I’ve delivered services to a vast range of companies, including Telenor, DnB Nor, IDG, ABC Startsiden, mobileAxept, Noom, Movation, Astra Zeneca and several others.

Communications Manager | Den Norske Dataforening | Oct 2001 – Jan 2004

Half of my time in Pressekanalen (see below) were spent on one client, Den Norske Dataforening (Norwegian Computing Society), were I effectively filled the role as spokesperson and PR & communications manager for the society. One of the major challenges I handled was arranging the Society’s 50th Anniversary Celebration (Rosing 2003), a grand gala dinner with the Crown Prince of Norway, the Prime Minister, several other ministers and more than 400 other guests from the Industry.

CEO | Pressekanalen AS | Oct 2001-Jan 2004

Pressekanalen (The Press Channel) was a PR bureau focusing on cost effective communications with the media for small and medium sized companies in the IT industry.

CEO – Editor in chief  | digi.no | Jan 1996 – Oct 2001

In the start of 1996, I started the company Internett Kanal 1 (Internet Channel One) with a partner. Its business idea was to create a plethora of web based niche news sources and communities. It was slightly ahead of its time, but we managed to establish digi.no, Europe’s first Internet  Only news outlet, focusing on the IT Industry. digi.no is still the market leader in this segment today, now owned by media publishing house  Aller. I held every thinkable position in the venture, from caretaker to CEO, and I was also the one responsible for exporting the concept to other countries, namely Finland, where digitoday.fi still publishes its news.

Editor and project leader | Scandinavia Online | Jun 1995 – Jan 1996

Scandinavia Online was originally owned by Telepost, later a Telenor company. I was hired as project leader and editor of this dynamic internet portal that later gained a stock market value of of several billion, before crashing with the dot-com-crash. I’m proud to say that SOL still exists, alive and kicking.

Bureau Chief Northern Europe | IDG News Service | Jan 1995 – Jun 1995

IDG News Service is the “Reuters” of global IT Industry news. I held this exciting position for six months, based in London. Illness in close family forced me to return to Oslo much earlier than planned.

Journalist -> Editor -> Editor in Chief | Computerworld Norge | Aug 1985 – Jan 1995

In 1985 the Norwegian version of International Data Groups Computerworld was in its infancy, and so was my professional career. I had the pleasure of participating in the fabulous growth of this IT industry news source for ten years, the last five of them as Editor in Chief.

QUALIFICATIONS

  • In depth business understanding
  • Executive coaching
  • Team coaching
  • Relationship systems coaching
  • Group Dynamics
  • Media relations
  • Cultural diversity
  • Assessment tools, including DISC, 360-analysis, Team Diagnostic, Work Environment Evaluations and more.