Alexander Lystad | CTO, Visma | Top 30 EMEA CTOs 2026

Career History

Alexander Lystad was appointed Chief Technology Officer in 2023, having previously served as Director of Cloud & Engineering. In his CTO role, he has focused on modernising engineering practices, expanding the use of the public cloud, adopting DevOps and continuous delivery, and transforming how product development is done across Visma’s portfolio of companies.

He joined the business in 2012 as a Technical Quality Assurer, working on automated testing and the delivery of one of its payroll products. He progressed through the organization, overseeing QA, cloud and engineering teams before becoming CTO.

Lystad also holds board positions at several Visma companies, including Beeple, Therapieland and Visma Real Estate.

He holds a BSc in Computer Science from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), and an MSc in Embedded Systems from the University of South-East Norway.

About Visma

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Oslo, Visma comprises more than 150 companies offering mission-critical software across Europe and Latin America, with around 2.7 million customers and approximately 16,000 employees. The company is majority owned by private equity firm Hg, supported by minority stakes held by firms including GIC, ICG, and others.

Visma’s strategy combines strong organic growth with an active M&A agenda. In 2025 it acquired 28 software companies. Notable M&A activity included Visma’s entry into Brazil, South America’s largest economy, through the acquisition of Conta Azul, a leading cloud ERP provider for SMBs.

In 2025, the business generated €2.8bn in revenue, up 17% year-over-year, with adjusted EBITDA of €975m.