Iben is a strategist and business development expert with a passion for design. Iben plays a key role in shaping SOM’s global business strategy, including its approach to client engagement, market intelligence, and expansion into new markets. She works closely with SOM leadership to energize and streamline the firm’s marketing and business development approach worldwide.
Being effective at business development is about approaching a client with a genuine curiosity about their background, their needs, and their desires—to approach them as a whole person who is interesting to us beyond simply their ability to hire us. It’s about building long-lasting, authentic relationships with our clients and collaborators.
Before joining SOM, Iben was a Director at Gehl, where she focused on strategic partnerships and investments. Prior, she served as Business Development Director, Americas at BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, leading business strategy during a period of rapid growth. Iben has also worked for the Columbia University GSAPP, Steven Holl Architects, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Urban Land Institute (ULI).
She is an active member of ULI and previously served as the co-chair of the ULI New York Women’s Leadership Initiative. Iben is fluent in Danish and English, and can often be found trying new recipes and exploring Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.