Who Owns BTS?

Henrik Ekelund founded Business Training Systems in Stockholm in 1986 with backing from Scandinavian consulting investors. The original product was the bespoke business simulation, a facilitated exercise that put executives inside a working model of their own company's economics rather than in front of a lecturer. That hands-on methodology became the brand's identity.

Through the 1990s the firm expanded across the Nordic countries. It entered the United States in 2001 and listed on Nasdaq Stockholm the same year, using public capital to fund international expansion. North America eventually became its largest market.

From 2005 the brand grew partly through acquisition, absorbing boutique consultancies and learning firms that added leadership assessment, sales performance, and digital learning capabilities. The name shortened from Business Training Systems to simply BTS as the service line widened.

Ekelund ran the firm for 36 years before handing the CEO role to Jessica Skon in 2022. Under her leadership the brand has repositioned around AI: helping clients move strategy execution to frontline teams and adding AI-driven coaching through the 2025 acquisition of Silicon Valley platform Sounding Board. The 2025 purchase of Brazilian consultancy Nexo deepened its Latin America footprint.