Nordic.Partners CEO Sara Hägge recently spoke with Abigail Welch at iGaming News as part of its Women in iGaming series, discussing her career in the industry, her approach to leadership and some of the challenges women still face as they progress into senior roles.
Sara entered iGaming almost by accident. After moving from Sweden to London in 2018, she was approached by a recruiter about a role at an iGaming company. At the time, she knew very little about the industry and admits that her first reaction was that it probably wasn’t for her.
She decided to take the interview anyway, met the company’s founder and was offered the job on the spot.
“That was almost ten years ago and I’m still in the industry, so it turned out to be a pretty good decision.”
From Affiliate Manager to CEO
Sara started in the industry as an Affiliate Manager before moving through roles in CRM, acquisition and other areas of the business. Becoming a CEO was never a specific career goal.
Instead, she says much of her progression came from continuously looking for things that could be improved.
“I like to optimise things, and one thing we have in abundance in this industry is data. There are always small improvements to be found and, as with everything in life, those incremental changes add up over time.”
That mindset eventually led her to Nordic.Partners, where she now leads a fully remote international team.
Her approach to leadership is based heavily on trust. Rather than telling people how to do their jobs, Sara sees her role as making sure the team has what it needs to succeed, removing obstacles and helping people move in the right direction.
Especially in a remote company, she believes people need both the freedom to do their jobs and the opportunity to have their opinions heard.
Building Nordic.Partners
In the interview, Sara also talks about how Nordic.Partners has developed beyond the traditional role of an affiliate network.
The company works with both affiliates and operators, focusing on finding partnerships that make sense for the market, traffic and commercial objectives on both sides. For operators, that means relevant, high-quality traffic rather than simply more volume. For affiliates, it means access to strong brands, commercial opportunities, reliable payments and a team that understands their traffic.
Technology has become an important part of that approach through AffCollect, the Nordic Network’s proprietary affiliate reporting and financial platform. AffCollect brings affiliate data and reporting into one place, providing better visibility across performance, revenue and payments and supporting greater transparency between partners.
The business has also recently expanded into esports through Nordic Partners Gaming (NPG) and the acquisition of the AM Gaming Counter-Strike 2 team. For Sara, it has meant learning an entirely new part of the industry and exploring the relationship between esports, gaming audiences, content and commercial partnerships.
Confidence Comes From Doing
Another major part of the conversation focuses on confidence and imposter syndrome.
Sara speaks openly about having moments throughout her career when she questioned whether she knew enough or belonged in a particular position. Her view today is that confidence is something that develops through experience rather than something people need to have before taking the next step.
“You will never feel 100% qualified for everything a new role brings. If you wait until you do, you’ll probably be waiting forever. At some point, you just have to take the opportunity and trust that you’ll figure out the rest along the way.”
She applies the same thinking to leadership and career progression: taking responsibility, trying things before you necessarily feel completely ready and allowing experience to build confidence over time.
Women in Leadership
Sara also shares her perspective on female representation in iGaming. She believes the industry is moving in the right direction and points to Nordic.Partners itself, where the team is currently split 50/50 between women and men.
At the same time, she believes there are groups of women whose experience can still be undervalued, particularly women in their 40s and 50s and working mothers.
For Sara, leadership ultimately comes back to knowing what you stand for, being able to support your decisions and accepting that it is impossible to please everyone.
“I don’t want to look back at a situation and feel that I compromised my values simply because it was the easier or more popular option.”
Read Sara’s full Women in iGaming interview with Abigail Welch at iGaming News
https://igaming.news/news/2026-09-22/women-in-igaming-nordic-partners-ceo-sara-hagge-on-building-confidence-and-leading-with-in
