Attensi executive Krister Kristiansen passes UK baton to Jamie Watson as he is promoted to Managing Director

Jamie Watson has been promoted to Managing Director of AI powered gamified training specialist Attensi’s UK office.

He has been with the Norwegian company for three and a half years, most recently holding the position of MD, Customer Europe. Watson takes the reins from COO and CCO Krister Kristiansen.

Attensi executive Krister Kristiansen passes UK baton to Jamie Watson as he is promoted to Managing Director

In a LinkedIn post, Kristiansen said: “It feels like a lifetime ago that I moved to the UK and opened the London office - eight years and many milestones back. The UK office has over this period become the epicentre of our commercial growth, and over the past 3.5 years, Jamie has been a core pillar to our success.”

He added: “He has consistently smashed targets, led with integrity, and become a trusted advisor and inspiring leader to our incredible team of gamechangers. His dedication, problem solving mindset, clear vision, and people first approach have shaped not just his direct team, but influenced the very culture and spirit of our UK operations. This promotion is so well deserved, and I can't wait to see how he takes the UK office to even greater heights. Let’s build this unicorn. Together.”

Watson commented: “I’m extremely excited and proud to don the cloak and take the golden baton from Krister Kristiansen as I take on the role of Managing Director UK. The last three and a half years have been a perfect pairing of truly elite technology, core Norwegian values and a huge amount of hustle from everyone involved.”

“As we step into this next phase I’m excited to work with the broader UK teams to ensure that we continue to use our platform to solve key customer challenges, deliver on our promise to teach learning a lesson and have a lot of fun in the process.”

Funding

Attensi recently secured in excess of $25 million in non-dilutive growth funding.  This was sourced from Ture Invest Partners, a direct lender in the Nordic region.

Trond Aas, Co-Founder and CEO at Attensi, commented: "This is great news for us as we invest further into our growth plans, particularly in the US market. There are several areas where the expected return on investment is very high."

The company has been developing AI training solutions and simulations, including the launch of the agentic AI conversational training solution RealTalk.

It is backed by main shareholders Viking Growth and Lugard Road Capital. Founder Odd Skarheim still retains a role as a board member and investor. With offices in Oslo, London, Boston, Cologne and Gothenburg, clients include Circle K, Hiscox, YMCA, London Business School, Boehringer Ingelheim and KPMG.  

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Key 2025 dates

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Wednesday, 3rd September: Winners announced at the 2025 RTIH AI in Retail Awards Ceremony, to be held at The Barbican in Central London.

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