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Mette Laursen is founder and CEO of LinKS - Leadership in the Knowledge Society - and a board member of various organizations.

Education
Laursen graduated from the University of London in 1990 and earned a Master's degree in economics from Copenhagen University in 1992. She was awarded a Rotary International Scholarship in 1984.

Career
Laursen worked in the Budget Department of the Danish Ministry of Finance from 1992 to 1995 and as a supervisor at Ernst & Young from 1995 to 1999 with responsibilities in strategic planning for Scandinavia together with human resources and knowledge management.

In 1999, she founded LinKS - Leadership in the Knowledge Society - at the urging of a number of governmental and private groups who saw a vacuum in the area of continuing leadership training for executives in a knowledge-based society. LinKS designs network-based leadership programs for executives in collaboration with the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania and provides strategic advice in collaboration with LinKS alumni worldwide. Lars Kolind is a member of the board.

As a women's leader
Despite the high degree of equality between the sexes in Denmark, Laursen openly credits her ambitiousness along with her willingness to work with allies as one of her strengths. She is often invited to speak at international conferences.

Commercial positions
Laursen has been a member of the board of a variety of companies, including Arkitema, one of the largest architectural firms in Denmark, and Novo Genesis, a Swiss-Canadian biotechnology company. She was formerly co-owner of the Danish-Chinese architecture studio de Grønne Byer (Green Cities).

Government positions
Appointed by the Danish Ministry of Industry, Laursen is a member of the board of INDEX - Design to Improve Life, and appointed by the Danish Minister of Culture, she chairs the board of the Betty Nansen Theatre.

She hosted the Index conference, which brought together multiple ministries, foundations and organizations, and facilitated many different initiatives, for example "Branding Denmark", and orchestrated a sustainable Green Growth Strategy at the Danish Ministry of the Environment. In 2012 she acted as host at the annual Technoport climate change conference.

NGO participation
Laursen is an ambassador for ActionAid and Kvinder for Indflydelse i Afrika (Women for Influence in Africa) at the Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke (Association for International Cooperation).

Internationally
Outside Denmark, she holds the position of Scandinavian Trustee in Al Maskari Holding, UAE.