TOMMY KJÆR LASSEN, PhD
Keynote Speaker · Author · Leadership Philosopher
Tommy Kjær Lassen is a Danish author, business educator, and keynote speaker who brings classical and existential philosophy — Kierkegaard, Løgstrup, Buber, Levinas — into the practical realities of modern leadership. A former pastor with a Master’s in Theology and an Industrial PhD from Copenhagen Business School, he teaches Business Ethics at Niels Brock Executive’s MBA program and lectures at Copenhagen Business School. Through his consultancy STAY HUMAN, he argues that in a world optimized for speed and data, a leader’s real edge is judgment, presence, and the ability to truly see another person.
His Approach
— Judgment over process — leadership can’t be fully systematized; situational judgment (dømmekraft) matters as much as frameworks.
— Ethics as starting point — following Løgstrup and Levinas, responsibility for the other precedes any management system.
— Presence as a leadership skill — attention itself, not soft add-ons, is where trust and meaning are built.
— Recognition drives performance — people are motivated by genuinely being seen, not by simulated engagement.
“Stay Human – the most professional thing you can do is be human.”