Oscar Dieden

Describe your role and what it is that you do overall and on a day-to-day basis.

I am Chief Revenue Officer at X Shore, a 100% electric and smart boat manufacturer based in Sweden. My role is diverse; generally, I work with the entire customer journey from A to Z, ensuring X Shore's revenue, service, and business goals are met. This means working closely with the Head of Marketing, Head of Sales, and our after service and customer care department, pushing them in their next steps, aiding in strategy, and exploring how they can grow their respective department and work towards common goals.

What interested you about the field/company/role you are currently in?

Ohh, where to start! Boating has always been a big part of my life, spending all my summers in the archipelago. Therefore, when given the opportunity to join X Shore, a company creating the future of boating with a deep environmental focus, the temptation was too great to resist. It was a no-brainer to take the job. In addition to this, joining a young company with less than ten employees fit me as a person, and I was excited to jump in at the deep end.

Why did you choose to study your subject area at SSE?

Firstly, I have worked within the retail industry since I was 14. I have always been fascinated by the relationship between psychology, marketing, and branding and how they cohere with the customer journey. Secondly, the retail industry is in the middle of disruption. The consumer experience is evolving from a purely transactional process to a deep relationship with several touchpoints in addition to the traditional stores. For those two reasons, the choice was obvious to study Retail Management.

How did your time at SSE help guide you to the career journey you have embarked on?

I believe that the environment at SSE and the Student Union (SASSE) helps you grow as a person. It is unique and inspiring that you get the opportunity to fail, learn and test your limits all within one building. Subsequently, SSE taught me the meaning of hard work and helped me dare to take risks and tackle challenges with curiosity.

What path did you take from graduation to where you are now?

During my Bachelor's degree, my old colleague and I created a company that was a part of SSE Business Lab, which I sold parts of in August after my graduation.

Shortly after graduating, I had a minor life crisis and questioned what I wanted to do with my life. I applied for some jobs and was signed for an internship at Google and was also supposed to start at Linkedin in Dublin, but none of the offers felt entirely right. Instead, I started inviting people who inspired me for a coffee or lunch. Every day for roughly three months, I had a coffee or lunch with someone new, basically being cliché and searching for that gut feeling of what I was supposed to do next.

In December, I met with an acquaintance who had joined X Shore a couple of weeks prior. We started discussing X Shore, and 15 minutes later, he asked me if I was interested in a job. It felt right, so without hesitation, I said yes. A few days later, after having interviews with basically the whole company (3-4 people), I started working at X Shore without really knowing what the role entailed.

Following your time studying, do you have any words of wisdom or advice you would like to share with our current students?

Have some fun, go to SASSE events and meet people! The network and the people that you will encounter are awesome.

I also would say not to put too much pressure on yourself. You are only human, and you need to try different things in order to find your way; there is no one correct path in life. When in doubt, the process of elimination is an efficient path forward. I have never learned what I want to do in my life, only what I don't want to do, by experiencing different roles and directions. Trying a few internships and jobs taught me a lot about what directions I was not interested in, which made it way easier to jump feet first when given an opportunity that felt right.

What are three words that sum up your time at SSE?

Inspiring, hectic, social.