Julia Stephan
Last updated on: 8. December 2025
What does it take to lead in tech today? For Fotoware CEO Anne Gretland, the answer is simple: show up every day with purpose and people at the center. In this article, she shares six guiding principles that have shaped a culture where inclusion drives innovation and success.
When Fotoware CEO Anne Gretland appeared on the Equal Inspired Podcast recently, one message stood out clearly: effective leadership means showing up every day. Her approach to leading in tech combines purpose, psychological safety, fairness, creativity, and lived values, all grounded in a belief that people drive innovation and success.
READ MORE: Leading with purpose: CEO Anne Gretland on Equal Inspired Podcast.
These principles shape how Fotoware hires, builds teams, experiments, grows, and makes decisions. They're also the reason the company has become a recognized Great Place to Work and an example of strong, inclusive culture in the tech industry.
Below are six of Anne's guiding principles for leadership. These philosophies she consistently returns to, and the practices that have shaped Fotoware into a workplace where inclusion fuels performance and innovation.
1. Lead with purpose and people at the center When Anne's career in Tech began at Microsoft in the late 1990s, the industry was still very product focused. She quickly realized that her strength wasn't coding but translating technology into human value, and she internalized what really drives success and innovation: people.
READ MORE: ODA Inspiration Day 2025: Leading the change in tech
Purposeful leadership starts with understanding how technology can make a meaningful difference in people's lives, for customers and employees alike. Connecting innovation to human needs is what gives technology its true power.
This people-first mindset has stayed with her throughout her career. At Fotoware, she leads with a clear sense of purpose: to build a workplace and product that empowers others to achieve more.
2. Create safety so people can do their best work Psychological safety is one of Anne's non-negotiables as a leader. For people to bring their best ideas forward, they must feel safe doing so.
Inclusive leaders build that safety by setting expectations for respect, calling out inappropriate behavior, and leading by example. In practice, this means listening to every voice in a meeting, acknowledging contributions, and supporting colleagues who take creative risks.
- If you let bad behavior go unaddressed, it spreads. Leaders and colleagues must stand up for inclusion and safety. I want people to look forward to coming to work and feel safe on all levels.
Anne Gretland, CEO, Fotoware
Creating psychological safety is a continuous effort and it's one of the most powerful ways to pave the way for innovation.
3. Hire for potential Anne has built an intentional hiring process at Fotoware that focuses on fairness, representation, and potential. This way, Fotoware has achieved over 40% women across the company, with 50% representation in leadership roles, numbers that are far above the tech industry average. This didn't happen by accident.
- Research shows men are more often hired based on future potential, while women are hired based on their previous experiences. In Fotoware we consciously look for potential in women and those who haven't held leadership roles before.
Anne Gretland, CEO, Fotoware
Fotoware also removes names and photos from applications to reduce unconscious bias and increase diversity in interviewing and hiring. For certain male dominated roles, like developers or finance, Fotoware will invite every female applicant to interview.
Especially as technology and AI changes recruitment processes, it's important to keep the human touch at the heart of hiring.
- AI can't read between the lines. You have to talk to people, understand their motivation, and see their potential beyond what's on a CV, Anne Gretland, CEO, Fotoware.
4. Overcome self-doubt and embrace failure Many people who don't originally come from the tech industry hesitate to take opportunities because they fear not being technical enough or making mistakes. Anne's message to them, and to leaders everywhere, is clear: take risks, try, fail, and try again.
Leaders set the tone for how their teams handle self-doubt and failure. By normalizing experimentation and framing setbacks as learning opportunities, they give others permission to do the same.
Practical ways to apply this include:
Sharing your own learning moments openly.
Rewarding curiosity and effort, not just results.
Encouraging preparation and resilience, being ready to dust yourself off and try again.
When leaders show courage in the face of self-doubt, they empower others to step forward with confidence too.
5. Break routines to spark creativity and inclusion Routine creates comfort, but too much comfort can limit creativity and connection. For Anne, innovation often starts by doing something different than how it's usually done. To foster innovation and inclusion one needs to regularly disrupt habits that make teams think and act the same way, even if it's as simple as changing where a meeting takes place.
- I wish people would ask me more often, Should we just go to Paris?' It's about breaking patterns and trying new things. That's when the magic happens, Anne Gretland, CEO, Fotoware.
This mindset translates into a culture that welcomes new ideas and celebrates different perspectives. Spontaneity and diversity are key ingredients for creativity.
- Diversity isn't just about numbers, but about building exactly the kind of company, the work environment we want: one that learns from different experiences and ways of thinking.
An
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