The Boss of It All

Ravn invented a fictional CEO named Gambini living in America ten years earlier to avoid taking responsibility for any problems at his company. When he needed to sell the company to the Icelandic firm, he realized he couldn't face the buyers himself after lying about Gambini's existence for so long. Desperate to finalize the sale, he hired unemployed actor Kristoffer to impersonate him, believing an actor could handle the role convincingly.

Each of the six original staff members invested $15,000 when Ravn was starting the company. They believed this money bought them an ownership stake in the business. In reality, Ravn kept the money as personal investment and never gave them any actual equity. When he planned to sell the company, he intended to fire all six staff members and keep the entire profit for himself without their knowledge.

Despite initially planning to expose Ravn's deception and potentially keep the company himself, Kristoffer impulsively agrees to sell after hearing the Icelandic CEO mention Gambini's name. The reference to this fictional figure that Kristoffer had been impersonating triggers something in him, and he chooses to finalize the deal rather than fight for control of the company.

Gambini is the fictional CEO that Ravn invented, a name he created while obsessing over a self-help book by Pier Antonio Quarantotti Gambini. When Kristoffer is hired, Ravn tells him to pretend to be this fictional CEO during meetings to sell the company. Kristoffer adopts the persona completely, even delivering a dramatic monologue in Gambini's style at the film's conclusion.

Ravn's obsession with the self-help book is mentioned early in the film.

During the first meeting, the Icelandic representative explodes with rage, accusing the Danes of being overly sentimental and verbose. He finds the corporate approach and emotional language from the Danish side off-putting, causing him to storm out and derail the entire sale negotiation. This tantrum leads Ravn to realize he cannot face the buyers himself, prompting the plan to hire Kristoffer.

Lise, one of the original six staff members, reveals to Kristoffer that everyone invested $15,000 with the understanding they owned part of the company. When Kristoffer discovers Ravn plans to sell the company and fire the staff while keeping all profits, he realizes the full extent of Ravn's deception and confronts him about the ethical breach.

Kristoffer gradually becomes confused by company matters he doesn't understand as the real owner.

When Ravn finally admits he is the actual boss and has been lying for ten years, the staff surprisingly responds with equanimity rather than anger. This likely reflects the film's absurdist tone, they may have suspected something was wrong all along, or the revelation simply comes as no surprise given the bizarre circumstances. Either way, they choose to keep the company rather than proceed with the sale.

In the final scene, as the staff packs up the office, Kristoffer delivers a passionate, theatrical monologue while channeling the Gambini persona for the Icelandic boss. This represents the culmination of his immersion in the role, having spent the film pretending to be this fictional character, he embraces the performance one last time as a whimsical farewell to the entire absurd situation.

Kristoffer repeatedly adopts the Gambini persona throughout the film when interacting with staff.

Earlier in the film, Kristoffer had sent a vague email to the staff that he thought was simply answering a question. In reality, due to his misunderstanding of company matters, the email was interpreted as a marriage proposal to one of the employees. This creates a humorous situation where Kristoffer must navigate the confusion without knowing what he actually wrote.