The sixth edition of AmCham’s popular nine-month program kicked off virtually with a leadership presentation from Tine Austvoll Jensen, Country Manager of Google Norway.
Austvoll Jensen began by commending participants for their “wise decision” to join the program, noting that she herself is both a mentor and a mentee. To get the most out of this opportunity, she advised participants to give their mentor or mentee concrete examples to work on together in order to achieve tangible results.
She encouraged those present to be open to, and aware of, networking opportunities that will ultimately expand and accelerate their professional circles. She also recommended daring to be vulnerable in order to establish and foster trust and connection in their mentoring relationships.
Tine Austvoll Jensen
Austvoll Jensen recently joined Google Norway from her previous position as CEO and Editor in Chief at Discovery Norway, where she, throughout her tenure, held roles as CFO and COO in the Nordic organization. She noted that transitioning between companies was much more challenging than moving internally, where she was already ingrained in the culture. Her solution? “Being prepared is half the battle,” she insisted, emphasizing the need to be agile and adjusting your skillset to face a new role or company.
“What got you here, won’t get you there.”
Not only did Austvoll Jensen touch on leadership transition between roles and companies, but also translating working methods. Transitioning during the pandemic, Austvoll Jensen relied on building relationships and leading people remotely from her home office over the course of the past year, a challenge that presented new issues of balance, communication, and a work culture of intent.
Austvoll Jensen concluded by highlighting the importance of daring to ask “stupid questions”, being open to feedback and advice, taking time for self-reflection and remembering to be yourself.
“The mechanics of doing the role is set, and they know you are able to do the job, but a big part of getting the role is that you are you – always remember that!”
The timely leadership insights openly shared by Austvoll Jensen resonated well with program participants, who expressed their enthusiasm for similar reflective dialogues over the coming months.
After the inspiring presentation, and based upon background input from all program participants, AmCham’s Madeleine Brekke announced the cross-industry mentorship pairings handpicked for the 2021-22 program cycle. Including 74 participant from 29 different organizations, representing 12 industries, it is the largest program group to date.
Cross-industry pairs of executive leaders and up-and-coming talents were hand-selected from participating AmCham Patron companies, including 3M, Abbvie, AIG, Amgen, Avinor, AWS, BAT, Bristol Myers Squibb, Citi, Coca-Cola, DNB, DNV, US Embassy, Gambit H+K, GSK, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, Janssen-Cilag, KPMG, Merck, Microsoft, MSD, Pfizer, PMI, Roche, Sanofi, SAS Institute, Tailormade Consulting and Thommessen, with the US Embassy also participating.
For the last portion of the meeting, mentees were invited to make the first call to their mentor, introduce themselves and set up their first 1:1 meeting.
With its unique cross-industry orientation and global approach, the AmCham Mentorship Program offers a dynamic, internationally minded arena for leadership development.
The program pairs emerging corporate talent with seasoned executives from AmCham Patron-level member companies. The result: a collaborative arena that fosters improvement and reflection, prepares young leaders for the challenges of the international marketplace, and forges bonds between AmCham member companies.
If you are interested in participating in the mentorship program, please contact Madeleine Brekke at madeleine.brekke@amcham.no for more information.
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