Martin Thomsen

Following his retirement from his position as chief of the Danish Emergency Management Agency, Emergency Service and Staff Colleges in January 2023, colonel Martin Thomsen established the independant company thomcon|consultancy.

Martin joined in May 2003 the UN as a consultant and expert, as a member of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team (UNDAC), where he has responded to incidents in Sri Lanka (Tsunami 2004) and the flooding following torrential rains in Albania (2010).

Martin is furthermore an EU High Level Coordinator at the European Commission within the European Civil Protection Mechanism for reinforced cooperation in Civil Protection assistance interventions (MIC) since March 2004 and an EU Multifunctional Civilian Response Team member (Civilian Crisis Management) of the Council of the European Union (CEU/CRT) since January 2006.

Martin has served as Head of Mission for the DEMA-team on mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina following torrential rains in 2014. He has furthermore served in the United Nations (UN) as Head of Department at the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo from 2000 to 2001 and as EU Observer on a monitoring mission to Omsk Oblast, South-western Siberia, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1991 to 1992.

In 2005 he joined the Board of Directors in Lanka Software Foundation. In March 2007 he joined the new SAHANA Transition Board of Directors, tasked with the reorganisation of the organisation, paving the way for the inauguration of the NGO; Sahana Software Foundation (SSF), which board he joined in March 2009. He furthermore serves as a member of the SSF Executive Committee for Financial Oversight, and was from 2010 to 2012 the Foundation Secretary, to be appointed Vice Chairman of the foundation in May 2012, and have assumed the responsibility as the Chair of the Board of Directors at theSahana Software Foundationsince since 2013.

As a manager of executive teams Martin has initiated and managed organisational restructuring, headed strategy development and goal setting processes, including monitoring activities, as well as growing and winding down businesses.

Martin has developed, initiated and managed organisational changes and human resource development inclusive Operational Efficiency and LEAN processes, HR Policy, Appreciative Inquiry, performance and development review systems for individuals and groups.