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About PayAnalytics

A pay equity software solution

PayAnalytics was founded when a frustrated HR manager came to us after several well-intentioned, yet unsuccessful, efforts to address his firm’s gender pay gap through annual salary reviews. Looking back, he realized that the pay gap had not shrunk, and he had no obvious answer on how best to close the gap. The PayAnalytics cloud-based software solution solves this problem, offering a suite of compensation analytics tools focused on helping companies measure and close their pay gaps.

Two of the founders, Dr. Anderson and Dr. Bjarnadottir are both experienced in operations research and data analytics consulting, solving problems using mathematical modeling. As professors in business schools, their job is to communicate complex analytics to non-technical audiences. They also have multiple scholarly publications applying analytics in finance, health care and sports, and most importantly People Analytics.

Management Team

Leopold Kristjansson - VP Engineering Digital Strategy

VP Engineering Digital Strategy

Leopold Kristjansson

Leopold is a web developer with a keen focus on user interface design and digital marketing. Since 2018, he has been a key contributor to the development of PayAnalytics, both in terms of product and marketing. He holds a degree in Architecture from TU Berlin as well as having studied Computer Science at Reykjavik University. Prior to joining PayAnalytics he developed applications, digital marketing campaigns and corporate websites for clients in diverse industries, including finance, pharmaceuticals, energy, tourism, insurance, and tech. Beyond his technical prowess, he is also an adept manager with significant experience in the media and cultural sectors.

Dr. Margret Vilborg Bjarnadottir - Founder

Founder

Dr. Margret Vilborg Bjarnadottir

Dr. Margret Vilborg Bjarnadottir is Associate Professor of Management Science and Statistics at Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland. Margrét’s research focuses on data informed decision making, people analytics, and the pay gap in particular. In 2016, she co-founded PayAnalytics to apply data analytics to equip HR practitioners, consultancies, and analysts with quantitative decision-making tools to close all demographic pay gaps. Her work on pay equity has been covered in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, BBC, HR Magazine, and others.

Dr. David Anderson - Founder & Chief Science Officer

Founder & Chief Science Officer

Dr. David Anderson

Dr. David Anderson is an Associate Professor of Analytics at the Villanova School of Business. He has worked as an analytics consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton and Elder Research, for a variety of government and commercial clients. David received his Ph.D. in operations management from the University of Maryland. He has published analytics research across a range of disciplines in journals like Nature, Annals of Internal Medicine, and Organization Science. His undergraduate degree is in Applied Math from The College of William and Mary.

Sigurjon Palsson - Founder & Chief executive officer

Founder & Chief executive officer

Sigurjon Palsson

Sigurjon Palsson was the COO of Arion Bank from 2011 to 2017. He was consequently the senior manager for HR when the bank in 2015 became the first large enterprise in Iceland to get a certification based on the Equal Pay Standard, which has now been put into law in Iceland. Sigurjon is a Civil Engineer from the University of Iceland and has two master’s degrees, one in Construction Management from the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden (KTH) and one in Logistics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Gudrun Thorgeirsdottir - Chief Business Development Officer

Chief Business Development Officer

Gudrun Thorgeirsdottir

Gudrun Thorgeirsdottir was the CBDO of Skeljungur, a large oil distributer and retailer, from 2013 to 2014 and the CFO from 2014 to 2016. Gudrun has prior experience as a Chief Risk Officer, as an investment manager and is a certified securities broker. Gudrun is an experienced board member and has served on the board of directors of insurance companies, financial companies and retail and service companies. Gudrun has a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Iceland and an MBA from HEC School of Management in France.

Gardar Hauksson - Founder & Chief technology officer

Founder & Chief technology officer

Gardar Hauksson

Gardar Hauksson is the CTO of PayAnalytics. He is a Software Engineer with extensive experience in development and management of software projects. He has worked on a communication platform at Google, web backend infrastructure at dohop.com, app development at Gangverk which he co-founded and on medical software at Nox Medical. Gardar holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Iceland and Boston University respectively.

Asgeir Kroyer - Chief Financial Officer

Chief Financial Officer

Asgeir Kroyer

With an extensive background in IT and finance, Asgeir combines over 10 years of information technology work with 13 years of corporate finance experience. From 2002 to 2007, Asgeir held the position of Chief Technical Officer of Maritech International. Asgeir was VP of Corporate Finance at Arion Bank from 2010 to 2017 and Fossar Markets Sweden from 2018 to 2020. Asgeir holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science and M.Sc. in Corporate Finance from the University of Iceland.

Sandra Marin Gunnarsdottir - Head of Marketing

Head of Marketing

Sandra Marin Gunnarsdottir

Sandra Marín Gunnarsdóttir is Head of Marketing at PayAnalytics where she leads the team in crafting and executing effective marketing strategies. Before her current role, she was PayAnalytics’ Brand Manager and a part of the business development team. Sandra’s experience spans roles as a programmer, consultant, and sales and marketing manager in business and commerce solutions. Sandra has a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the University of Iceland and a Master's in International Marketing and Brand Management from Lund University School of Economics and Management.

Vidir Ragnarsson - Head of Client Services

Head of Client Services

Vidir Ragnarsson

Vidir Ragnarsson is the Head of Client Services at PayAnalytics and serves our customers in developing their structures towards eliminating pay gaps. Vidir leads the consulting to our customers on their initiatives towards equality and equal pay. Vidir has over ten years of experience in HR from Reykjavík Energy Group. He has led the development of the equal pay system and, in his last role, directed the companies’ diversity and Inclusion initiatives. Vidir works across PayAnalytics, helping with the development of the PayAnalytics software application, marketing, and business relations.

Academic collaborators

David Gaddis Ross

David Gaddis Ross is the R. Perry Frankland Professor at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business Administration. Before that, he was an Assistant and Associate Professor at Columbia Business School. His research examines the governance of firms, with a particular focus on gender issues in top management, and the formal foundations of strategy. He received a Ph.D. in economics from New York University’s Stern School of Business, a M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, and a B.S. in computer-science/mathematics and economics from Binghamton University. Prior to becoming an academic, David worked for over a decade on Wall Street, where he advised governments and firms on mergers & acquisitions, restructuring, privatization, and cross-border tax and accounting arbitrage. He has extensive experience applying quantitative methods to solving real business problems and explaining technical subjects to non-technical audiences.

Cristian Dezső

Cristian Dezső is an Associate Professor in the Logistics Business & Public Policy department at the University of Maryland’s R.H. Smith School of Business. His research examines the impact of top managers’ attributes, in particular gender, on firm policies, such as pay and promotions, and financial performance. In addition, his applied game theory research examines issues related to firm reputation, technology adoption, and international firm expansion. He received a Ph.D. in economics and international business from New York University’s Stern School of Business, an M.A. in economics from the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, and a B.A. in business from the “Babes-Bolyai” University in Cluj, Romania. Prior to joining the Smith School of Business, Cristian worked in consulting, specializing in applying economic analysis to issues ranging from antitrust to complex litigation.

PayAnalytics

Awards and funding

  • Technology Development Fund
  • Gulleggið - Icelandic Startups
  • GWIIN - GLOBAL WOMEN INVENTORS & INNOVATORS NETWORK
  • Wharton People Analytics Conference 2019
  • The logo of the The Icelandic Innovation awards 2023
  • Nordic Women in Tech Logo
  • Nordic Startup Awards
  • A graphic for the Copenhagen Fintech - Nordic Fintech Award - Best Impact Startup 2022