Architect and CEO: SLA's Mette Skjold on Leadership Training, Organizational Culture, and Collective Success
By Julia Gamolina
Mette Skjold is CEO and Senior Partner of SLA, a renowned Danish nature-based design studio working with landscape architecture, urban design, and landscape-led planning. The studio has projects worldwide, from Toronto and Milan to Shanghai and Abu Dhabi.
Mette joined SLA in 2010, became CEO in 2011, and partner in 2013. Under her leadership, SLA has grown from 30 employees to an interdisciplinary team of 130 architects, anthropologists, biologists, lighting designers, philosophers, and urban planners. In her interview with Julia Gamolina, Mette talks about bridging the built and grown environments and guiding an organization towards collective success, advising those just starting their careers to set goals for themselves that reflect their personal values.
JG: I really admire SLA’s mission of creating places for all life. With this in mind, what is top of mind for you as we head into this new year?
MS: A priority for me will be improving how we measure the impact of our nature-based designs. Internally, we are working to deepen our understanding of our projects’ effects on carbon emission, biodiversity, social inclusion, well-being, stormwater management, economic risks, and so on. What happens when we create spaces with more nature and less paving in an urban space, roundabout, or an entire industrial site? How do these designs perform in a life cycle analysis? And what are the long-term values of the natural processes they initiate? By establishing baselines and monitoring change, we and our clients really push the boundaries of what nature-based design can achieve. To keep evolving as a profession, we must be more data-focused and aware of our impact. Honesty and transparency are essential to this process.
Gellerup New Nature Park, Aarhus, Denmark. Photography by Rasmus Hjortshøj.
‘The Social Spine’, before and after, Copenhagen. Photography by Laura Stamer.
What are the two or three most important things for all of us looking to design with nature to be thinking about?
The built environment presents numerous challenges that cities face today, and nature-based design is essentially the only discipline capable of addressing these holistically and cost-effectively. Thirty years ago, when SLA was founded, the world wasn’t listening, but that has changed. Today, our nature-based approach is being sought after from the very start of projects — often even before the building architects get involved. Nature-based design is not an afterthought or a beautification of buildings; it is a complementary discipline bridging the built and the grown environments.
That is also why we are an interdisciplinary organization with in-house biologists, anthropologists, planting specialists, and lighting designers as well as architects and planners. Having biologists on our team has expanded an important relational dimension of our work. We often have our biologists create biodiversity baselines for our projects, even if we do not always get paid for them from the client, because they develop and expand the value proposition of our designs. When they return from field studies describing a rare bird or unique ecosystem, we intuitively relate deeper to the site. When you relate to a site, you subsequently want to take care of it. This seemingly banal realization has proven quite powerful — not just for us but also for our clients.
“I’ve always been intrigued by how to explain and convince developers and stakeholders of the unique value that architects bring to shaping cities and physical environments. To do that, I needed to understand their business models, incentives, and perspectives — essentially, the client side of the table.”
Now let's go back a little bit — you're one of the few architects I know that also has business training. What were you looking to further when you pursued your business degree?
About three or four years into my career, I led a team of twelve people on large urban planning projects. That’s when I realized that my core expertise as an architect was creating comprehensive plans and making all aspects come together — ensuring green corridors, accessibility, coastal protection, maximizing sea views, all of this. However, as a leader, I struggled to delegate effectively, often expecting others to approach tasks as I did without guiding them properly. I realized I needed tools and training on leadership and team dynamics, which led me to start a Master’s in Leadership and Innovation at Copenhagen Business School.
Another motivation was bridging the gap between architects and non-architects. Many people undervalue the role and value of architects. I’ve always been intrigued by how to explain and convince developers and stakeholders of the unique value that architects bring to shaping cities and physical environments. To do that, I needed to understand their business models, incentives, and perspectives — essentially, the client side of the table.
St. Kjeld’s Square, Copenhagen. Formerly an oversized roundabout, St. Kjeld’s Square is now a Copenhagen landmark for nature-based cloudburst protection combined with recreational spaces, biodiversity, and new infrastructure. Courtesy of SLA.
How did the CEO role at SLA come about? What are your priorities in your role this year?
I joined SLA in 2010 as a freelancer working with business development and competitions. I mainly focused on Norway where SLA had already established quite a strong market position after winning the competition for the huge task of designing Oslo’s harbor front, Bjørvika. Later, in 2011, when the then-managing director resigned, I considered stepping in temporarily. I didn’t know however that the Board had already consulted the team, and my colleagues had pointed at me for the role. Apparently many had said, “Mette has a business degree; why don't she do it?” To me, that was the best possible start, having loyalty and trust from your colleagues. This is still essential to me in 2025, to nurture an organizational culture of trust, transparency, learning, and sharing.
“Set goals for yourself that reflect your personal values. Otherwise, you can get carried away easily by the goals and ambitions of others.”
Looking back at it all, what have been the biggest challenges? How did you both manage through perceived disappointments or setbacks?
It's challenging to grow an organization at every step. Growing from thirty to sixty employees was a challenge. Expanding again from sixty to one-hundred meant hiring people for our executive team who were more competent in their roles than I’d ever been. One of the biggest challenges has been understanding how to identify the next people in the organization who not only have the right skills but also understand SLA’s culture.
A personal challenge for me was stepping into the role of CEO. I am an architect at heart, and it took me time to embrace the title and balance my identity as both CEO and architect. Over the years, I’ve come to see that while architects may not fit the traditional CEO template, they might be the best leaders for architectural studios. This insight helped me concentrate on becoming a good leader and focus on the business and culture of the organization.
The studio functions as an interdisciplinary team of people working at the intersection of nature, people, and design. In total, SLA employs 130 architects, anthropologists, biologists, lighting designers, philosophers, and urban planners. Courtesy of SLA.
Curiosity and interdisciplinary collaborations are central to all SLA’s work. Courtesy of SLA.
Who are you admiring now and why?
Sir Partha Dasgupta, a Professor of Economics at Cambridge University, is a big source of inspiration for me. From 2019-2021, he led a groundbreaking analysis of the financial value of nature and biodiversity for the UK’s Ministry of Finance. The resulting report, “The Economics of Biodiversity,” connects decades of research and shows how our BNPs, livelihoods, and well-being all depend indisputably on nature and the biosphere. And how there is an urgent need for systemic change.
In 2023, I had the great honor of meeting him at Cambridge. He is a fantastic person — very humble and kind. We strolled through the university gardens, discussing both cow parsley and the need for economic and societal transformation. I asked him about his biggest “aha moment” while out to present his analysis. One insight he shared was that big financial institutions already understand their reliance on nature — that they all gain from the same source, namely nature, and realize they cannot continue as they do. If you don’t know Sir Partha Dasgupta, I would recommend this short introduction on the NY Times’s YouTube channel, brilliantly narrated by actor Alexander Skarsgaard.
What is the impact you’d like to have on the world? What is your core mission? And, what does success in that look like to you?
In SLA, our core mission is to create pioneering nature-based designs that benefit our clients, people, and nature itself. Success for me as a leader is enabling others to succeed collectively and share achievements.
One of my strongest experiences of success was the first time we won a big climate adaptation competition for Hans Tavsen’s Park in Copenhagen. The proposal brought together diverse expertise — from hydrology to plant design — and the entire studio had given everything we had. When we won, the excitement was electric. I’ll never forget the moment when everyone stood up in the studio to applaud each other – it was really a collective victory.
Finally, what advice do you have for those starting their career? Would your advice be any different for women?
My best advice for anyone starting their career is to make a choice and commit to it fully. Dive deep into it to learn all you can, and you’ll resurface with new clarity. And set goals for yourself that reflect your personal values. Otherwise, you can get carried away easily by the goals and ambitions of others.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.