The Transformation

What drove you to reimagine the GPA Unit so comprehensively? 

Let me begin with the origins of the GPA Unit. Everything started to take shape many years ago, in 2008, when I was about to complete my master’s studies at the Aarhus University School of Business in Denmark. At the time, I reconnected with my current partner and co-founder of the GPA Unit, Dr. Aurel Brudan, who also happens to be a family member. Back then, he was working in strategy and performance consultancy in Australia, while I was exploring ideas for my future and finalizing my studies in Denmark.

During our discussions, we identified the opportunity to explore maturity models for strategy and performance management systems. At that time, this was still a novelty. While such models existed in ICT (CMMI) and project management (P3M3), they had not been applied on a broader scale to strategy and performance. Academic research in the field was also limited.

In other words, it was a wide-open territory—almost like the Wild West—and a great opportunity to develop something that could evolve from a simple idea into a valuable service for organizations.

I integrated this concept into my master’s thesis, which later became the backbone of what evolved into the first performance measurement and management maturity model. A year later, in the fall of 2009, I moved to Australia and began contributing to the foundation of The KPI Institute. It was at that point, together with Dr. Aurel Brudan, that we formalized the first iteration of the strategy and performance management maturity assessment service—essentially version 1.0. 

For the next few years, not much happened with the maturity assessment service. It was available but had not yet gained significant traction. Things changed in 2015, when our first major project took shape: collaborating with a leading Nordic financial group headquartered in Finland, with a strong presence in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Interestingly, the very region where the idea was first conceived became the first to see its organizations benefit from the service it inspired. This was soon followed by other, smaller projects, each of which further validated the viability of what had initially been just a concept. 

At that point, I decided it was time to evolve the model. Over the course of a year, we transformed it from a basic measurement and management model into a comprehensive framework covering five core capabilities—strategic planning, performance measurement, performance improvement, performance culture, and employee performance—the same ones that exist today. By the end of 2016, version 2.0 was completed, and at the beginning of 2017, we launched the Global Performance Audit Unit—established as the strategy and performance audit division of The KPI Institute. From the start, this new version proved successful, especially in the Middle East, a region experiencing rapid growth and interest in strategy and performance. Our early projects were in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), followed by Saudi Arabia, where the launch of Vision 2030 created a strong demand for such frameworks.

Did you face any challenges? You mentioned the first project in 2015 as a milestone. Was there another turning point that ushered in the GPA Unit that we know today?

Of course, we faced challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a temporary stagnation as organizations shifted priorities from growth to survival. But from 2022 onwards, things picked up rapidly. By 2023 and 2024, we were scaling exponentially and began working with large clients such as the PIF, MODON, Red Sea Global, ZATCA, and STC. We also expanded globally, with projects in Ecuador, Indonesia, and interest from the U.S. and, recently, Canada.

This period also marked a shift in organizational needs. Initially, companies were focused on how to set up performance management systems. Over time, however, the focus moved towards how to mature those systems. At the GPA Unit, our role is to assess an organization’s current state, identify gaps, and design roadmaps for continuous improvement. The goal is to help organizations adjust and enhance their systems in a way that truly influences performance.

Recognizing the importance of a comprehensive approach, we transitioned from offering a single service (Version 1.0) to creating a dedicated division (Version 2.0). Now, with Version 3.0 in 2025, we are evolving into a fully standalone organization. This transformation is not just structural; it reflects our intention to present ourselves in the most relevant and impactful way for organizations, building on the knowledge and expertise gained over the past 15 years.

Fittingly, this next chapter is being launched in Saudi Arabia—a country that today leads not only in transformative real estate and infrastructure projects, but also in advancing modern approaches to business, strategy, and performance management.

The Pillars

You're building what you call a "performance excellence ecosystem." Walk us through what that means and how it differs from traditional consulting approaches.

I call it an ecosystem because the core purpose of our existence—the essence of our work—is assessing the maturity of strategy and performance management systems. And this doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The assessment services are central to what we do: they define our identity, guide our mission and vision, and embody the purpose we stand for.

Yet, to fully accomplish this mission, we realized we needed a much more comprehensive approach. What began as a niche, targeted service gradually expanded into a broad offering that, alongside an ever-growing portfolio of assessment types, also includes:

• Certifications and accreditations for building credibility and lasting systems
• Licensing for stronger market representation and 
• Thought leadership, for better clarity and understanding of the maturity assessment platform and knowledge usage

To achieve our purpose  and build the right foundations, we structured our work into 10 interconnected pillars:

1. Research & Innovation: It serves as the foundation that drives the future of performance excellence through academic research, business insights, surveys, and new methodologies. It will be guided by a Scientific Advisory Board to ensure that the GPA Unit remains future-ready and continues to provide thought leadership globally.
2. Standards & Accreditation: Starting in 2025, this will formalize our role as the authority in strategy and performance management systems maturity and excellence. Its call to action is “Driving maturity, certifying excellence.” Through this, we will certify organizations, assessors, trainers, and advisors. 
3. Training & Coaching: Delivered through the Performance Excellence Academy, this pillar equips professionals to use our framework effectively. It includes certification programs for assessing performance management maturity and practical tracks that simulate implementations, and ensures specialization in each of the five capabilities. It also covers assessor accreditation, ensuring a strong global pool of trained experts.
4. Assessments (PerforAssess): The heart of the GPA Unit’s authority, where methodology meets technology. This pillar houses our structured services: Self-Check, QuickScan, Diagnose, and Certified Assessments. Together, they provide organizations with a pathway from self-discovery to full external certification.
5. Awards & Recognition: This pillar celebrates and endorses excellence. We honor organizations, teams, assessors, trainers, and partners who exemplify maturity and impact. Recognition includes organizational awards, professional awards, and inclusion in the Performance Excellence Hall of Fame, reserved for those who achieve Level 5 maturity. This pillar builds prestige, sets benchmarks, and motivates excellence across industries and countries.
6. Insights & Media: Our communications and PR platform. It encompasses The Ladder magazine, newsletters, news portals, podcasts, videos, event coverage, and social media campaigns. This pillar ensures the GPA Unit has a strong public voice, boosts visibility, and shares research, events, and achievements. It is the storytelling glue that connects all the other pillars.
7. Knowledge Hub: A dedicated repository that gathers academic papers, case studies, podcasts, and other resources. It serves professionals seeking to expand their knowledge and provides global access to performance excellence insights.
8. Events: A convening platform that includes the Performance Excellence Forum & Awards Gala, along with executive dinners, webinars, and future gatherings.
9. Network: This pillar is focused on global expansion. Through the GPAU Ambassadors Network, we will license local partners, create community chapters, and build practitioner groups. This ensures localized delivery while maintaining global standards. The network has tracks for both individuals and organizations, creating a broad platform for international collaboration.
10. Connect: The unifying pillar, with the motto: “Together, we raise the standards of performance excellence.” It develops a global community through national and regional chapters, practitioner circuits, and online forums, fostering peer-to-peer learning and engagement.

Together, these ten pillars form the GPAU Performance Excellence Ecosystem. They reflect the journey we have taken over the past decade and a half, the position we hold today, and the ambitious vision we carry into the future: to be a global authority that shapes strategy and performance management maturity.

The Vision

Where do you want the GPA Unit positioned in five years when organizations think about performance excellence?

Our ambitious vision requires a broader acknowledgment of our organization’s efforts, and one of the steps we’ve already taken is the creation of the GPAU Institute for Standards and Accreditation. Its role is to drive maturity, certify excellence, and ensure that we uphold the way we position ourselves and the way we are perceived at the global level. 

Looking ahead, I don’t want us to just be considered an authority in five years—I want us to be universally recognized as the authority. To achieve this, we have taken concrete steps. Namely, we developed the first GPA Unit Standard. Inspired by ISO 9000 but dedicated to recognizing maturity and excellence, GPAU-IS 91000 certifies and accredits strategy and performance management frameworks from this particular perspective.

Why is creating a standard so important to your vision? What do you aim to accomplish by doing this?

GPAU-IS 91000 was not created in isolation; it is grounded on the backbone of our ongoing research. I am personally in the final stages of completing a PhD focused on strategy and performance management maturity assessments and their impact on organizational performance. My partner and GPA Unit Co-Founder, Dr. Aurel Brudan, dedicated a significant part of his doctoral research to studying the importance and benefits of integrated performance architectures. In parallel, we have published multiple academic and business research articles in collaboration with GPA Unit members and partners. Our research agenda continues to expand, exploring topics such as the state of performance maturity in Saudi Arabia, across the wider region, and on the global stage. 

All this expertise—academic research, business practices, and fieldwork—reinforces our legitimacy. It provides us with the credibility to establish global standards for strategy and performance management systems maturity and to define what excellence means in this particular field. Of course, we acknowledge that this is an ongoing journey, requiring continuous refinement, further research, and broader implementation.

One of our most trusted partners in this journey has been, and will continue to be, The KPI Institute—the organization from which the GPA Unit first emerged. While we have now evolved into an independent entity, The KPI Institute remains a vital global partner, working alongside us to advance these practices worldwide.

Of course, achieving this will require us to grow our team further. Five years from now, I envision the GPA Unit as a strong, vibrant, and global organization—one that not only delivers impactful services but is also a wonderful place to work. Ultimately, it’s not only about the services or the organization; it’s about the people behind it all: the colleagues, partners, and friends who make this vision possible. Together, we will build both excellence in service and excellence in culture.

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The Impact

How will the GPA Unit’s transformation change the career path for performance excellence professionals? What new opportunities are you creating?

This transformation brings unique opportunities: specifically, the potential to create new roles within organizations. We know the internal audit function is well established, but what we are contributing to developing can be seen as an extension of it.

Organizations will be able to educate certain stakeholders to become assessors of their own strategy and performance management systems. By using methodologies developed by the GPA Unit or derived from them, these internal assessors can evaluate where the organization stands against best practices and identify areas for further maturity improvement. 

When certification is required, the GPA Unit will be there to provide global standards and accredit organizational maturity. At the same time, companies will also have the option to manage parts of this process internally.

This is why we created the GPAU Performance Excellence Academy. The academy’s purpose is to train, certify, and authorize professionals to apply our methodologies through structured programs that combine theory with practice. Learning will be reinforced through training, coaching, and supervised support during initial deliveries. In this way, the academy not only educates internal stakeholders but also creates new opportunities for consultants and independent assessors to complement their expertise and expand their business opportunities.

You're building multiple levels of certification and accreditation. How do you see this professionalizing the field?

Being an assessor means being recognized as an expert in strategy and performance management maturity. This requires robust knowledge across the five core capabilities: strategic planning, performance measurement, performance improvement, performance culture, and employee performance. From this foundation, professionals can embark on a structured learning journey:

• Professional Certification: This is the entry-level certification focused on theoretical understanding.
• Practitioner Certification: Based on simulated assessments, this certification is available for each of the five capabilities. One can become a certified practitioner in a single capability, several, or all five.
• Accredited Assessor Path: This recognition progresses through four levels: Specialist, Senior, Expert, and Master Assessor. Advancement requires both knowledge of theory and practical experience, with each level demanding a proven number of completed assessments.

This pathway ensures that accreditation is not only about understanding the theory, but, more importantly, it is about consistently demonstrating the ability to apply theory in practice by delivering meaningful results. 

For consultants and professionals, this creates powerful opportunities. It allows them to deliver services both internally and externally, while enabling GPA Unit to license the framework globally. Through local partners and ambassadors, services and content can be localized to fit different markets. Meanwhile, certification, education, and accreditation will remain centralized to ensure consistency and quality.

By building this structure carefully, we ensure that every assessor accredited by the GPA Unit upholds a high standard of quality. This, in turn, strengthens the brand, reinforces credibility, and guarantees the reliability of our services worldwide.

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The Future

What part of the GPA Unit’s transformation are you most excited to see in action? 

What makes this transformation truly exciting is that it’s not about developing just one component: we are advancing on multiple avenues at once. Every component is fascinating in its own way, and what I enjoy most is seeing how all the pieces of the puzzle are falling into place.

Week after week, important milestones were reached. Like bricks stacked one over the other, we were building the pillars of the GPA Unit ecosystem. It has been incredibly satisfying to watch assessment services, complementary components, and different initiatives not only take shape but also integrate—culminating in a coherent system with practical relevance.

Developing the assessment toolkits under the PerforAssess brand has been particularly rewarding. The branding work, the creation of new tools, and the ability to see how these will be applied in practice are immensely satisfying. 

Then there are the smaller but equally important pieces: launching the Leading Voices podcast series, designing the Performance Excellence Webinar Series, and developing The Ladder magazine. The Ladder, in particular, is a metaphor for the scale used in maturity assessments, and supporting the development of the concept, structure, and editorial vision has been a deeply enjoyable process.

All of this, of course, requires hard work, late nights, and a lot of silent reflection. Much of the journey involved visualizing, designing, and iterating, and then turning those ideas into reality (i.e., logos, branding elements, structures, and formats). The satisfaction is even greater when these creations are validated almost immediately by the market and when they demonstrate not only conceptual strength but also real business viability.

This past year has been extraordinary. While we were creating and shaping this ecosystem in the background, the business was simultaneously moving forward in exciting ways. I cannot say that I had envisioned all of this in detail years ago, but it came together in the most meaningful way possible.

And none of this would have been possible without the extraordinary team we have assembled. Many of these ideas existed before—some dormant, some only partially explored—but it was the team’s dedication, creativity, and execution that brought them to life. I deeply value these colleagues, and I hope they will remain part of the journey ahead as we continue to build around this strong core.

How do you envision the GPA Unit’s impact once it accomplishes its lofty goals?

Ultimately, we hope to “put a dent in the universe,” at least within the field of strategy and performance management maturity assessment field by creating something that did not exist before: a structured roadmap for organizations to understand where they stand and what they need to do for continuous improvement and achieving performance excellence

This vision could even create new roles inside organizations, such as internal strategy and performance maturity assessors or auditors. These would bring a higher degree of understanding and rigor to the way organizations manage and mature their systems.

What lends credence to all of this is the combination of academic research and practical experience. Several of our team members are deeply engaged in academia while simultaneously connected to the realities of business practice. This dual perspective ensures that everything we create is both conceptually sound and practically relevant.

We look forward to what the future holds for us!