Rikke Møller Fastø

Danmarks Nationalbank

“I have learned that it is important to say ‘yes’ to the opportunities that are given to you and not to listen to the fear of not succeding or not being good enough yet.”

Name: Rikke Møller Fastø
Title: Head of HR
Company: Danmarks Nationalbank
Degree: MSc in Human Resource Management

  1. Introduce yourself, and share a fun fact that makes you unique!

My name is Rikke Fastø, I am 32 years, and I hold a Master in Human Resource Management from CBS.  A fun fact about me is that I often have an extra shirt in the office because I’m clumsy and from time-to-time spills food on my clothes. 

  1. What does a day in your life look like as a Leader of HR at Nationalbanken?

A typical day for me involves quite a few meetings with various people, including employees, colleagues from across the organization, top management, and external partners. Most of my time is spent setting a direction for the team, aligned with top management and other departments of the organization, in order to guide and motivate the employees, so that we’re all working towards the same goal.

  1. What motivates and excites you the most about your career path and the leadership position you hold?

As a leader it motivates me to make a positive impact for the organization and to see my team succeed. I find a great motivation in developing the organization and developing the employees in the team. Good teamwork excites me, because it allows us to use the diverse strengths and expertise of every team member and that creates open communication, smart solutions and helps us being more creative.  

  1. Share with us the biggest lessons you learned on your journey to where you are today.

I have learned that it is important to say “yes” to the opportunities that are given to you, and most important not to listen to the fear of not succeeding or not being good enough yet. When a manager brings you a new assignment or a new career opportunity, they are often more sure that you are able to succeed than you are yourself. Most of the time I have experienced that I can do more than I think I can, and otherwise it has always been a really important learning opportunity.  

  1. Tell us about a (female) role model who inspired you to become the leader you are today, and how (s)he impacted you personally or professionally.

There is a lot of great female role models out there. The most important female role model to me is my grandmother. She has an amazing drive to make a difference for the people around her, and that has driven her into an impressive career within politics and labour unions. She is from a time where most women were stay-at-home-moms, but she decided that she wanted something different. I have always been impressed with her courage to choose a different path than the one that was expected. I often think of her, when I find myself in situations where the easiest way isn’t the right one.  

  1. If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, or to other young female students today, what would it be?

My best advice would be to dare to speak up about your dreams and career ambitions. I think many young people, especially women, are a bit afraid to speak up about their ambitions, but it is so important that you manager and other key people within the organisation knows, so they can support you in your dreams. 

  1. How do you see STEM education shaping the future?

The future holds a lot of complex challenges and STEM educations are crucial in solving global challenges, navigating in digital transformations and making sure that decision making is data driven.

  1. Why is it important for you to promote diversity and inclusion within STEM?

I know that diversity and inclusion makes us better at being creative and solving problems. I think it is important that STEM taps into a broader talent pool, to make sure that we have an even more capable workforce to solve the future challenges. 

  1. What steps do you see that your company taken to promote a more diverse and inclusive workplace? 

We are continuously working with the work culture, to make sure that it is inclusive. Within the last year we have trained all managers in including leadership. Besides that, we are using data to make sure that we have a diverse representation within management and teams.