Talent at scale: What Northvolt’s Collapse and Verkor’s Rise Reveal About Leadership Hiring in European DeepTech
How Two Battery Giants Took Opposite Approaches to Building Leadership Teams—And What It Means for Your Hiring Strategy
For this article, we examined two European DeepTech companies in the battery manufacturing sector: Northvolt, once seen as a rising star but now in restructuring and at risk of liquidation, and Verkor, a rapidly growing player.
We uncovered some important differences in how they scaled and built their leadership teams. Read on to find out more.
Europe’s tradition of excellence under threat
For decades, European manufacturing has been synonymous with precision, superior quality, and cutting-edge R&D. However, in today’s fast-moving manufacturing industries, speed has become the ultimate competitive advantage.
As the EV market boomed, Asian battery manufacturing companies shifted from rapid replication and learning capabilities to large-scale market applications and iteration. In contrast, Europe’s pace of adaptation has fallen dangerously behind. A report from Benchmark revealed that Chinese firms will own 30% of Europe’s production capacity by 2030 through their European gigafactories. In a rapidly evolving market, failing to keep up doesn’t just mean lagging—it signifies being left behind entirely.
In a previous article, we looked at 10 promising European Energy DeepTech companies that had recently raised between 30 and 100 million to determine whether they effectively complement their founders’ technical expertise with commercial leadership to overcome The DeepTech Commercialization Challenge in Europe. If you're interested in this piece 👉 Click here to read it.
Today, we're taking a closer look at two European Energy DeepTech companies in the battery sector that have raised billions. Once considered Europe's best hope for a homegrown electric-vehicle battery champion, Northvolt aimed to reduce Western automakers' reliance on Chinese suppliers. However, a series of issues—including the loss of a €2 billion deal with BMW, an overly ambitious expansion strategy spanning multiple battery types, factories, and continents, and a struggle to secure funding—ultimately led to its bankruptcy.
In contrast, Verkor, founded in 2020, is still on an impressive growth trajectory. Backed by Renault, the company has already secured more than €3 billion to build a 16 GWh gigafactory in France, positioning the company as only the third European battery manufacturer to construct one after Northvolt, and ACC-Automotive Cells Company.
The question for Europe’s DeepTech startups is no longer just about technical excellence—nor is it just about who you hire, but how you think about scaling your leadership team.
Who are the Founders?
Founding Teams: Size and Backgrounds
In our previous research, we found that DeepTech companies typically have an average of three founders and often dedicate more time to education, frequently pursuing a PhD. Here we find these two companies bucking these trends:
Northvolt officially reports two founders1, while Verkor launched with a notably larger founding team of six.
None of the founders hold a PhD, but all except one have a Master’s degree.
All except one have a STEM background.
They all stand out for their highly experienced profiles: an average of 21 years of professional experience pre-launching for Verkor's founders and 16.5 years for Northvolt's founders.
Two of Verkor’s founders and one of Northvolt's founders have prior entrepreneurial experience (including the CEOs).
All founders across both companies except one individual at Verkor have previous experience in the energy or battery industry.
Founder Roles in their Company
Currently, all Verkor’s founders hold executive positions (except one who has left), including key commercial roles such as Chief Customer Officer and Chief Partnership and External Relations Officer. This is particularly noteworthy because, in our previous research, we found no founders in our sample of the Energy DeepTech sector that took on a dedicated commercial role.
Following Northvolt’s recent bankruptcy, both founders have stepped down from their previous leadership positions—one as CEO and the other as CEO of North America. Until a new CEO is hired, the current company leadership consists of a Chief Financial Officer, a Chief Operations Officer, and a Chief Restructuring Officer.
A Tale of Two Companies: Analyzing Northvolt vs. Verkor Talent Strategies
We analyzed employee growth at both companies over comparable four-year periods:
Northvolt (2018-2022): 137.5% annual growth rate
Verkor (2021-2025): 74.17% projected annual growth rate
We attribute this difference partly to the opening of Northvolt's first gigafactory in Skellefteå, Sweden which led to a significant increase in FTEs between 2021 and 2022. In contrast, Verkor’s first complex isn't ready yet and is expected to become operational in 2025, with plans to create between 1,500 and 2,000 jobs by 2030 (which would still mean it would take much longer to reach 3,000 employees than Northvolt).
Northvolt’s rapid FTE expansion was driven by an ambitious vision to scale up production fast. The first gigafactory wasn’t even fully operational before the company began launching new ones. They didn't want to build one big gigafactory, but six simultaneously, across multiple continents, and with distinct objectives (See the graph below). Meanwhile, they tried to diversify their portfolio by developing various battery technologies, including Lithium-ion cells, Sodium-ion cells, and Lithium-metal cells, among others. It was growth on all fronts, during the height of the ZIRP world.
Potentially influencing this ambition was Tesla's success and culture where a few key leaders had previously gained experience. According to a former Northvolt employee, many key leaders, formerly at Tesla, carried over its corporate culture, applying timelines and goals almost unachievable. It is said that the former Founder and CEO (ex VP Supply Chain at Tesla during important scale-up years 2011-2015) wanted to create the Swedish Tesla.
However, strategies that work in one environment don't necessarily translate seamlessly to another. Cultural differences also play a role—European work culture tends to emphasize work-life balance, and structured schedules rather than the high-intensity, round-the-clock work ethos seen in some China or U.S.-based tech companies.
How did each Company Build their Operational Leadership Teams?
To avoid comparing apples and oranges, for the rest of this piece we focused on Northvolt's operational leadership from 2018 to 2021, a period when the company expanded its workforce to 1,000 employees. Since Verkor also just reached ~1,000 employees (albeit 1 year slower) we can make better direct comparisons.
Two Radically Different Talent Strategies
We analyzed the timing of the hiring of leaders by checking when individuals were introduced to their new positions. Not surprisingly, Northvolt's and Verkor's hiring strategy appeared to be influenced by funding rounds, with respectively 90% and 78% of recruitment happening within three months before or after securing new funding.
One of the most striking differences between the two companies is how they built their leadership teams:
Northvolt: 90% of leadership hires were external
Verkor: 78% of leadership roles were filled through internal promotions
Additionally, leadership tenure at Northvolt was much shorter (1.5 years on average, vs. 2.2 years at Verkor), and Northvolt experienced a 37% churn rate, 76% higher than Verkor’s 21% churn rate.
This is a striking difference in how the two companies approached their talent strategy. Of course, each approach comes with its own set of advantages and challenges. For example, while internal promotions are generally better for organizational knowledge and motivation, hiring externally brings fresh perspectives and more observable indicators of ability, such as prior work experience or education.
But could this be a contributing factor to the current issues at Northvolt? Certainly. It's no surprise that when you're a young organization and hiring 100-150 employees per month, you're taking on additional risk. Productivity loss, inefficiencies, and issues with integration and communication all abound.
There are plenty of organizations that have successfully scaled through these kinds of challenges. Much fewer, though, in a space as complex as battery manufacturing. We're not here to judge - Northvolt is still a European pioneer, and its current struggles may yet be overcome. Whatever the case, it has already deeply influenced the industry's development and future trajectory. The real value lies in understanding the lessons from its challenges, ensuring that future players can build upon its experience to navigate the complexities of manufacturing.
These findings also raise important questions about external leadership hiring: How effectively are roles being structured? How well are hiring processes designed to assess and integrate new leadership members? Ultimately, how does an organization’s recruitment strategy influence long-term leadership success? Speaking of … if you're a DeepTech company and you're looking for a leader, our expert Elena can help you 👉 elena@thebigsearch.com
Experience and Background of Operational Leaders (Current & past)
Operational leaders stand out for their highly experienced profiles (17 years+ for both companies) and academic-heavy profiles (min. 5 years of studies in STEM fields). Furthermore:
It's worth noting that none of Northvolt's leaders have a background in energy corporations, often coming from the battery/EV departments of automotive companies.
63% of Northvolt’s leadership have deep expertise in energy or battery technology, compared to 78% at Verkor.
Only 2.7% of total operational leadership across both firms have previous DeepTech energy experience in a startup/scaleup environment.
The latter point highlights a crucial challenge we have already discussed: the limited talent pool in the European DeepTech sector, including within battery manufacturing. Before Northvolt, very few talents had the necessary expertise and institutional knowledge to scale up a complex manufacturing business.
Lessons for DeepTech Companies: Build Leadership Teams Sustainably
Northvolt’s rise and fall is a cautionary tale for Europe’s DeepTech sector. While its financial struggles may yet be resolved, the lessons from its hiring strategy should not be ignored. Bringing in external talent for leadership roles must be done with precision. Too often when hyperscaling, leaders are hired without a well-defined Ideal Candidate Profile, leading to mismatches that appear to address immediate gaps but ultimately hinder long-term success.
Verkor’s approach—steady scaling, internal promotions, and deep expertise in energy and battery technologies—may provide a more sustainable blueprint for future European battery startups.
If you choose to rely on external hiring, execute this thoughtfully and strategically. Every hire you make has the potential to accelerate or decelerate your business. And think about how much capacity you have to properly onboard and integrate a new person, before committing to making too many hires at once.
However, navigating this journey doesn’t have to be a solo rodeo. See where we’re going with this? 🙂
Key Takeaways
External recruitment represents 90% of Northvolt's leadership hiring, while internal promotions account for 78% of Verkor's leadership hiring.
Verkor has a churn rate of 21%, while Northvolt’s stands at 37%.
Overall, 63.6% of the churn rate stems from external hires.
None of the founders hold a PhD, but 87.5% have a Master’s degree and 87.5% of them have a STEM background.
Two of Verkor’s founders and one of Northvolt's founders have prior entrepreneurial experience (including the CEOs).
63% of Northvolt’s leadership have a background in deep energy or battery technology, compared to 78% at Verkor.
Only 2.7% of the total leadership across both companies had experience in DeepTech energy startups/scaleups.
Northvolt's and Verkor's hiring strategies appeared to be influenced by funding rounds, with respectively 90% and 78% of recruitment happening within three months before or after securing new funding.
Areas such as manufacturing, supply chain, production, technology, or factory design account for 70% of Verkor's total headcount, and 88.5% of Verkor’s job openings are in these operationally heavy roles.
We were also surprised to find that Northvolt is still hiring (54.2% of job openings are in operational roles) while the company is currently trying to improve its economic situation to avoid liquidation at the end of 2025.
If you like this article, then you’re in luck! We have a few more interesting pieces lined up for the rest of the year!
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Some sources cite four by including members of Vargas Holding but since these individuals aren't consistently recognized as founders across sources and don't list themselves as such on LinkedIn, we have chosen not to include them.