Phase One Announces Leadership Transition - New CEO and Chairman

[TechTalk]

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/phase-one_phase-one-announces-leadership-transition

Phase One announces leadership transition

After more than two decades at the helm, Henrik Håkonsson has decided to step down as CEO of Phase One and will continue to contribute as a member of the Board of Directors. Henrik has been instrumental in shaping both Phase One and Capture One – today two standalone companies – into global leaders, and his deep knowledge and passion will continue to benefit the company in this new role.

Reflecting on the transition, Henrik says: “It has been a privilege to lead Phase One on this journey. I am immensely proud of what we have achieved together, and I am confident that Arne, with his experience and vision, will continue to build new success. I look forward to supporting the company in my new role on the Board.”

From 1 September, Phase One welcomes Arne Dehn as the new CEO. Arne brings strong international experience from leading technology businesses through growth and transformation, most recently as CEO of STEMMER IMAGING . His customer focus, strategic insight and global outlook position him well to lead Phase One into its next chapter of global growth.

“Phase One is renowned for its innovation and excellence in imaging. I am excited to join this talented team and to continue driving value for our customers worldwide, while building on the strong market position established under Henrik’s leadership,” says Arne Dehn.

We are also welcoming Casper Jensen as the new Chairman of the Board. With deep leadership experience from Thrane & Thrane, Cobham and, currently, as CEO of Danelec, Casper has a proven track record in building and transforming technology companies and will provide strong leadership as Chairman of the Phase One Board.

Our majority owner, Axcel, highlights the importance of this transition:

“Arne is an excellent match for Phase One with the right capabilities to further strengthen the company's position in the premium imaging market and drive future growth. We are equally pleased to welcome Casper as Chairman and look forward to benefitting from his strong tech track record. And not least, we all owe a big thank you to Henrik for his enormous contribution to Phase One and Capture One over the past two decades – I am thrilled we will continue our close collaboration on the board,” says Co-Managing Partner Christian Bamberger Bro.

 

[Paul Spinnler]

Ok let me translate: the PE investor unhappy with the performance (PE investors aim to sell after c.5y of ownership or else the returns become very low as they're measured against a compounding IRR benchmark) and now they want a CEO which is able to execute a restructuring to turn the business around.

Premium imaging down and they're losing market share against basically all other MF players and on top the main business is probably heavily impacted by the tariffs.

This requires someone with transformation track record ...

Let's hope this revives dynamism in the photo business and allows them to be more flexible with regards to the pricing structure and offering.

 

[Paul2660]

Maybe they could open C1 to Hasselblad, and possible increase their software sales (which by the way are 100% pure profit), by 1/3 or maybe 1/2.

Paul

 

[Paul Spinnler]

Maybe they could open C1 to Hasselblad, and possible increase their software sales (which by the way are 100% pure profit), by 1/3 or maybe 1/2.

Paul

P1 is not the roadblock or C1 for that matter. It's well documented that Hasselblad does not want to share their HNCS algos with C1 and / or cooperate with them. It has been confirmed by the CEO of C1 that the unwillingness comes from Hasselblad and that it is unlikely to change - in short: there's bad blood from the past + strategic reasons given Hassy is on a roll now with their X2D.

Also Hasselblad continually invests in Phocus - so not going to happen.

What could happen though a more customer oriented approach to the "Premium Imaging" business. Ie, different price points, acceptance of lower margins, moving production to China partially etc.

 

[SrMphoto]

P1 is not the roadblock or C1 for that matter. It's well documented that Hasselblad does not want to share their HNCS algos with C1 and / or cooperate with them. It has been confirmed by the CEO of C1 that the unwillingness comes from Hasselblad and that it is unlikely to change - in short: there's bad blood from the past + strategic reasons given Hassy is on a roll now with their X2D.

Can you share the well-documented part? I am not aware of it.
AFAIK, C1/Phase One is still mad at Hasselblad, and that is the main reason why C1 does not support Hasselblad. Hasselblad does not share its HNCS algos with Lightroom, either.
Here is an official C1 document about the topic:
Why Capture One Does Not Currently Support Hasselblad cameras (e.g X2D)

 

[Paul Spinnler]

It's the other way around ... P1 stopped producing H (and V) compatible backs when they announced the IQ4 platform which was a big blow to the H system. I was also at the Photokina I think in 2018 where a Hasselblad guy told me that they're discussing with Sony the 150 sensor too. Photokina was right after the IQ4 platform announcement.

... and the 151 was then sold exclusively to P1 ... ie the H6D-150c never saw the light of day ... so it looks like P1 blocked them from having access to the 150 chip for a while leaving them stuck with a worse implemented IQ3 gen 100 MPX sony chip (albeit with wonderful color science, ofc).

Needless to say, the IQ4 blew everyone away similar to how for example the X2D MK II is now the in demand camera. By walling off access to the newest Sony tech and making it an XF platform exclusive they hit Hassy hard. The H6D only had unusuable ES (ie worse electronics than the IQ3 which was the first with truly useable ES) with fastest speed being something like 1/8th of second in "pinhole mode" or so - ie completely different league technology-wise than Phase. By making it an XF exclusive they helped seal the fate for the H system I'd say. And you need a power bank with the size of a brick.

P1 backs were more popular back in the day already, ie before the IQ4, one reason being that they didn't need an external power bank. Till the H6D-100c this was a big disadvantage for tech cam use with H backs. Similar to the XT having unique XT features the walled garden approach to user their back's popularity to sell camera systems is a pattern P1 followed for years. I moved to the XF also partly because I knew P1 backs had an internal battery and Hassy did not, so it really worked. Same with XT - metadata recording etc. for faster workflow is a key lever to lure customers to their tech cam platform ....

So regarding this falling out it has been discussed many times that they had / have a very contentious relationship including shutting each other out and given C1 is now independent and focused on maximzing its user base the only explanation for not providing Hasselblad camera support is the unwillingness from Hasselblad at this stage. C1 also supports GFX, etc.

There's also potentially more to this story as we do not know how the contractual agreements between Adobe and Hasselblad because it may well be that Adobe and Hasselblad have an exclusive licensing agreement in place.

Remember that a few years ago before the subscription blowup C1 wanted to go after the Lightroom user base ... which in the end didn't go so well ... so it would make total sense for Adobe and Hassy work together to fend of P1/C1. I am not using LR much, but LR also can't read IQ files ...

 

[SrMphoto]

It's the other way around ... P1 stopped producing H (and V) compatible backs when they announced the IQ4 platform which was a big blow to the H system. I was also at the Photokina I think in 2018 where a Hasselblad guy told me that they're discussing with Sony the 150 sensor too. Photokina was right after the IQ4 platform announcement.

... and the 151 was then sold exclusively to P1 ... ie the H6D-150c never saw the light of day ... so it looks like P1 blocked them from having access to the 150 chip for a while leaving them stuck with a worse implemented IQ3 gen 100 MPX sony chip (albeit with wonderful color science, ofc).

Needless to say, the IQ4 blew everyone away similar to how for example the X2D MK II is now the in demand camera. By walling off access to the newest Sony tech and making it an XF platform exclusive they hit Hassy hard. The H6D only had unusuable ES with fastest speed being something like 1/8th of second in "pinhole mode" or so - ie completely different league technology-wise than Phase. By making it an XF exclusive they helped seal the fate for the H system I'd say.


P1 backs were more popular back in the day, one reason being that they didn't need an external power bank. Till the H6D-100c this was a big disadvantage for tech cam use with H backs. Similar to the XT having unique XT features the walled garden approach to user their back's popularity to sell camera systems is a pattern P1 followed for years. I moved to the XF also partly because I knew P1 backs had an internal battery and Hassy did not, so it really worked. Same with XT - metadata recording etc. for faster workflow is a key lever to lure customers to their tech cam platform ....

So regarding this falling out it has been discussed many times that they had / have a very contentious relationship including shutting each other out and given C1 is now independent and focused on maximzing its user base the only explanation for not providing Hasselblad camera support is the unwillingness from Hasselblad at this stage. C1 also supports GFX, etc.

There's also potentially more to this story as we do not know how the contractual agreements between Adobe and Hasselblad because it may well be that Adobe and Hasselblad have an exclusive licensing agreement in place.

Remember that a few years ago before the subscription blowup C1 wanted to go after the Lightroom user base ... which in the end didn't go so well ... so it would make total sense for Adobe and Hassy work together to fend of P1/C1. I am not using LR much, but LR also can't read IQ files ...

You did not answer my question, and most of what you wrote sounds like your imagination running wild (again).

The animosity began with the legal battle in the 2000s, following Hasselblad's merger with Imacon and its attempt to exclude Phase One backs from the H series. Phase One won the legal battle and continued manufacturing backs for the H system, but the relationship had soured.

As C1 wrote:
“As you say, the relationship between Phase One and Hasselblad was notoriously antagonistic, and as I’m sure you’ll know from life experience, it takes a second to blow up a bridge and a very long time to rebuild it.”

 

[Paul2660]

Hasselblad may be investing in Phocus, however they need a lot more investment to bring that software to the modern world. Phocus 4 is even slower, and now without the conversion to .fff (straight EFR import), it seems to bog down even faster. It's the weakest link in the chain IMO. As for P1 saying yes and Hasselblad saying no, can't speak to that one, but it something that for some reason Hasselblad had no issue with for Adobe? I have read many places that Hasselblad shared the HNCS secret sauce with Adobe, can't confirm that however, but if Adobe can do it, so can C1. It's not that big a deal.

Paul

 

[Precision]

<snip>.

This requires someone with transformation track record ...

Let's hope this revives dynamism in the photo business and allows them to be more flexible with regards to the pricing structure and offering.

”Transformation” in this use case is not for the benefit of the users/consumers.

Maybe it will be all sunshine and roses.

Maybe it will be ”Let’s figure out how to actually make this thing profitable”.

Maybe it will be “”Let’s pull the copper out of the walls and sell it for scrap”

 

[Paul Spinnler]

You did not answer my question, and most of what you wrote sounds like your imagination running wild (again).

The animosity began with the legal battle in the 2000s, following Hasselblad's merger with Imacon and its attempt to exclude Phase One backs from the H series. Phase One won the legal battle and continued manufacturing backs for the H system, but the relationship had soured.

As C1 wrote:
“As you say, the relationship between Phase One and Hasselblad was notoriously antagonistic, and as I’m sure you’ll know from life experience, it takes a second to blow up a bridge and a very long time to rebuild it.”

What’s your point exactly? Where’s the imagination? You got the facts wrong above - it is totally illogical that C1 would be the blocking reason - can you explain a little why they would not want to include Hasselblad? C1 is independent and has all the reasons in the world to get X2D users to subscribe to their software or don’t they in your view?

It is well documented in the sense that it was discussed so many times and there’s even the statement by the CEO of C1 that despite users asking for it they can’t do it - ergo it means Hassy is blocking and why would they even go as far and share the exact implementation of HNCS? Makes 0 sense but you seem unable to process this.

And you didn’t even realize the biggie in the room which was P1 taking the 151 chip and shutting them out of the IQ4 platform, lol. Go read the IQ4 press release and CI commentary.

That was essentially a killer move towards the H platform given how advanced the IQ4 was and is compared to the last H back (I own the H6D-100c - it really is antiquated compared to P1).

But of course in your universe Hasselblad is just waiting to share HNCS with C1/P1, lol.

 

[mristuccia]

Let's wait for the IQ6 then.

 

[Paul Spinnler]

Hasselblad may be investing in Phocus, however they need a lot more investment to bring that software to the modern world. Phocus 4 is even slower, and now without the conversion to .fff (straight EFR import), it seems to bog down even faster. It's the weakest link in the chain IMO. As for P1 saying yes and Hasselblad saying no, can't speak to that one, but it something that for some reason Hasselblad had no issue with for Adobe? I have read many places that Hasselblad shared the HNCS secret sauce with Adobe, can't confirm that however, but if Adobe can do it, so can C1. It's not that big a deal.

Paul

Tag » Hasselblad HNCS and Lightroom camera standard « @ Photos Of Arkansas

photosofarkansas.com

I personally find the color reacts differently somehow when I adjust exposure in Phocus compared to Lightroom.

 

[SrMphoto]

What’s your point exactly? Where’s the imagination? You got the facts wrong above - it is totally illogical that C1 would be the blocking reason - can you explain a little why they would not want to include Hasselblad? C1 is independent and has all the reasons in the world to get X2D users to subscribe to their software or don’t they in your view?

It is well documented in the sense that it was discussed so many times and there’s even the statement by the CEO of C1 that despite users asking for it they can’t do it - ergo it means Hassy is blocking and why would they even go as far and share the exact implementation of HNCS? Makes 0 sense but you seem unable to process this.

And you didn’t even realize the biggie in the room which was P1 taking the 151 chip and shutting them out of the IQ4 platform, lol. Go read the IQ4 press release and CI commentary.

That was essentially a killer move towards the H platform given how advanced the IQ4 was and is compared to the last H back (I own the H6D-100c - it really is antiquated compared to P1).

But of course in your universe Hasselblad is just waiting to share HNCS with C1/P1, lol.

I have shared official C1 documents and the actual history (can be looked up on Google). Everyone is free to form their opinion based on facts.
When IQ4 was launched, Phase One no longer needed the Hasselblad body. C1 does not need HNCS to support Hasselblad files. Adobe does not have access to HNCS, either (I keep repeating that, I know).

 

[Paul Spinnler]

I have shared official C1 documents and the actual history (can be looked up on Google). Everyone is free to form their opinion based on facts.
When IQ4 was launched, Phase One no longer needed the Hasselblad body. C1 does not need HNCS to support Hasselblad files. Adobe does not have access to HNCS, either (I keep repeating that, I know).

Ok so your point is that I didn’t share a link to a document laying out the ins and outs of a well-known MF industry beef?

Did they ever “need” a body or was it just a strategic move knowing how good their back was to pull customers away from Hasselblad (the IQ4 was so much better in 2018 that it was clear that walling the 151 chip off via exclusivity would bring them customers; mind you the H6D-100c is even inferior to the IQ3 in some key aspects, namely lack of power internally and lack of proper ES)?

You didnt answer my question: you said that C1 is hindering the adoption of Hasselblad bodies not Hasselblad?

What on earth would be the rationale for that given C1s weakened market position after they alienated customers with the way they introduced subscriptions, PE investors stressed about the loss of revenue and given Hasselblad is the hot camera in town since at least the X2D? … with P1 not having introduced new backs since 2018?

Theres no logic to your statement. It would be literally the best move for C1 to allow it … but I imagine you can imagine a parallel universe where this logic makes sense.

Hassy file compatibility would be a jackpot for C1, literally.

 

[SrMphoto]

Ok so your point is that I didn’t share a link to a document laying out the ins and outs of a well-known MF industry beef?

Did they ever “need” a body or was it just a strategic move knowing how good their back was to pull customers away from Hasselblad (the IQ4 was so much better in 2018 that it was clear that walling the 151 chip off via exclusivity would bring them customers; mind you the H6D-100c is even inferior to the IQ3 in some key aspects, namely lack of power internally and lack of proper ES)?

You didnt answer my question: you said that C1 is hindering the adoption of Hasselblad bodies not Hasselblad?

What on earth would be the rationale for that given C1s weakened market position after they alienated customers with the way they introduced subscriptions, PE investors stressed about the loss of revenue and given Hasselblad is the hot camera in town since at least the X2D? … with P1 not having introduced new backs since 2018?

Theres no logic to your statement. It would be literally the best move for C1 to allow it … but I imagine you can imagine a parallel universe where this logic makes sense.

Hassy file compatibility would be a jackpot for C1, literally.

There is nothing that prevents C1 from supporting Hasselblad files, just as Adobe, DxO, and others do.
I agree that it would increase C1 sales if they added support—the reason why they do not has been shared by C1: antagonistic relationship. There are no technical obstacles. HNCS is proprietary knowledge and is applied exclusively in Phocus. DxO, Adobe, and others do not have access to it, yet they support Hasselblad files.
Never has C1 ever said that Hasselblad is blocking support in C1.

 

[drevil]

Would be interesting if Hasselblad opens Phocus up and support other cameras as well.
Very interesting.

 

[cunim]

Companies are just people. People are hired because they know how to do certain things. The new CEO knows machine vision, not photography. Don't know why he left Stemmer - seems like a nice company - but the hire suggests where P1 is going - not photography. We may have hit peak photography with the IQ4. I'm OK with that, as long as support is maintained. We'll see.

 

[SrMphoto]

Would be interesting if Hasselblad opens Phocus up and support other cameras as well.
Very interesting.

Phocus apparently supports Nikon and Canon raw files (checked Nikon only).

 

[hcubell]

There is nothing that prevents C1 from supporting Hasselblad files, just as Adobe, DxO, and others do.
I agree that it would increase C1 sales if they added support—the reason why they do not has been shared by C1: antagonistic relationship. There are no technical obstacles. HNCS is proprietary knowledge and is applied exclusively in Phocus. DxO, Adobe, and others do not have access to it, yet they support Hasselblad files.
Never has C1 ever said that Hasselblad is blocking support in C1.

The bad blood between Hasselblad and Phase dates back to the early days of medium format digital camera systems when digital backs with integrated batteries were introduced by Phase One. The dominant camera system at the time for mounting Phase backs was the Hasselblad H system. The high profit margin was in the digital backs, not cameras and lenses, and Phase laughed all the way to the bank. Around 2007 or so, after Hasselblad decided to try to capture the bigger part of the profit margin on the digital part of the system, it acquired Imacon, which also made digital backs. Hasselblad then introduced the H3D-39, which was an integrated system that consisted of Hasselblad/imacon's own digital back attached to an H-series body. However, the H3D-39 was not a commercial success, and phase continued to dominate the digital part of the medium format ecosystem by selling phase digital backs that could be attached to Hasselblad H1 and H2 bodies. Hasselblad then made the fateful move that it would try to compete more effectively against phase by no longer selling H-series bodies on which Phase backs could be mounted. Hasselblad's decision to "close off" of the H System to Phase backs created a firestorm of criticism from all corners of the medium format digital community. Phase was not only a cheerleader. It ended up suing Hasselblad for anticompetitive action. Phase was left in a position where it needed to secure a reliable partner to provide the camera/lens platform to mount its highly profitable digital backs. So, Phase was essentially forced to go out and spend millions of dollars to acquire Mamiya, a floundering middle market Japan manufacturer of medium format cameras and lenses, and then spend tens of millions of dollars more to develop a new camera body, the XF, which turned out to be a dinosaur and likely produced very significant losses for Phase.
With this as background, there was then and still is today no way that Phase was going to facilitate the sale of Hasselblad camera systems by providing access to what had been its ace in the hole, Capture One software. Many photographers who used medium format digital camera systems had an almost religious devotion to Capture One, to the point that they refused to buy any camera system if they couldn't use Capture One. This was a significant issue in 2016 when Hasselblad introduced the X1D and Fuji the GFX. Fuji supposedly paid a substantial payment to Phase to open up Capture One to the the GFX cameras. A ransom, if you will. Phase might be willing today to open up Capture One to the X-series cameras if Hasselblad would follow Fuji and pay a similar ransom to Phase. However, It's likely an understatement to say that Hasselblad would be loathe to pay a similar ransom for several reasons.
First, Hasselblad doesn't have a compelling reason to do it. Hasselblad has apparently developed an excellent relationship with Adobe, and the color and tonal rendering of X-series files in Lightroom/ACR is very close to the HNCS in Phocus.
Second, Capture One is losing the battle now with Adobe in terms of post processing capabilities, and as AI powered features become more and more significant, the gap will only grow in the future. There is no way that Phase with its present ownership can compete with Adobe. The R&D budget of Phase for Capture One is a drop in the bucket compared to Adobe's.
And third, given the history of bad blood between Hasselblad and Phase, I can't imagine Hasselblad ever trusting Phase to be a reliable partner that could be trusted to maximize the potential of the Hasselblad files. Hasselblad is much better off casting its lot with Adobe as the preferred option to Phocus.

 

[Paul Spinnler]

But Phase One was producing V backs right up to the IQ4 era? There's IQ3 380s for V mount out there; you are sure they closed it off before the XF came out which was early 2010s, I remember holding one in hand in 2012 I think. Phase on the other hand stopped producing H backs with the intro of the IQ4 ... I understand?