Tom Børre Mythen

Role and responsibilities

Tom Børre Mythen is the CTO (Chief Technical Officer) in Sicra's leadership team.

He is responsible for overseeing Sicra's partner program, internal IT, employee skill development, and overall responsibility for the teams.

Stig and Tom realized they shared several common values regarding leadership and business.

– After several good meetings with Stig, we decided we wanted to work together. Finding others who are genuinely committed to trust-based leadership is not easy.

One of the things that convinced Tom to join Sicra was their strong emphasis on a good working environment.

– Often, you find people in the industry giving grand speeches but not doing much else. Sicra puts their money where their mouth is. It's not uncommon for leadership teams to receive coaching. At Sicra, all employees receive coaching from Mia. Everyone is equally important!

Education

He has a solid education with several degrees.

– My first dose of higher education was as a computer engineer at Gjøvik University College (NTNU), but I quickly realized I needed to learn more.

Tom therefore continued his education and trained as a civil engineer in technical cybernetics at NTNU Trondheim.

– An important experience was also the officer school for the Army's signal corps at Jørstadmoen outside Lillehammer. There, I learned a lot about leadership and handling partly "unwilling" conscripted personnel.

To motivate people who lack intrinsic motivation, you have to dig deep into the leader's toolbox, he says.

Work and leadership experience

– I started as a programmer at Tandberg Data in Kjelsås in 1992. Eventually, I became the leader of the software group.

He further explains that he was headhunted to ASK. Since then, he has held leadership roles in companies like Sceen Media.

– We developed a touchpad product based on Linux with great targeted effort. When 9/11 happened, the investors got scared and withdrew their support.

– That's the story of how we almost launched the first major touchpad product on the market. This was 8 years before the iPad came!

In addition to this, he has held leadership roles in companies like Strax AS in Copenhagen and Securinet AS in Lillehammer.

The military and Mythen Consulting

For the past 11 years, Tom has been self-employed and owned his own consulting firm.

– I was hired into the Eidsiva system for 7 years. There, I was hired as a project engineer responsible for building fiber centers and infrastructure.

– For the past 4 years, I have been hired as a total project coordinator on classified ICT projects in the Cyber Defense.

Hobbies – HI-FI and training

– I enjoy building my own high-end HI-FI music system. I've spent at least a six-figure sum on components and parts.

Tom believes that a good high-end music system brings out entirely different qualities in the music.

– It feels like you have Kari Bremnes right in your living room! With a glass of red wine and good friends, you get a complete evening that few can match.

Training is also an important passion for him.

– My twin boys and I like to compete on who can lift the most weights and do the most repetitions. We have a friendly competition going on and are good at building each other up.

– We share tips on technique to achieve the best possible progress and avoid injuries.

Fun fact: Tom maxes out at 140 KG on the bench press. Not a weak old man, in other words!

Tom's great-grandfather had a motto that the Mythen family lives by to this day.

– It doesn't matter what you work with, as long as you do it in the best possible way. It's a bit like when Americans say "go big or go home."

It's a philosophy he shares with the talented people at Sicra.