All posts by admin

FoodBev Media: PepsiCo to sell healthy cereal brand Havrefras to Orkla

Business News, Food & Beverage,

Orkla, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Orkla Foods Sveridge, has agreed to acquire the breakfast cereal brand Havrefras from PepsiCo, as it aims to strengthen its healthy portfolio.

First launched in 1959, the Havrefras brand has been part of PepsiCo since the company’s acquisition of The Quaker Oats Company in 2001. Orkla currently distributes Havrefras products for PepsiCo in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

The deal, which has been made for an undisclosed sum, concerns the purchase of the Havrefras brand including Rug Fras and Mini Fras but does not include any employees or production facilities.

Read entire article HERE.

Norwegian Seafood Council: Celebrating 50 years of modern aquaculture

Business News, Seafood
This spring marks the 50th anniversary of the first ever successfully farmed salmon in Norway. Five decades later we look back on a story of ambition, collaboration, setbacks and successes, culminating in a fish which is now a favourite on dinner plates across the globe.

From its humble yet ambitious beginnings along the coast of Norway in the spring of 1970, salmon farming has grown into a global industry at the forefront of new technologies.

Norway was the first, and remains the largest Atlantic salmon farming nation, producing more than half of the world’s farmed salmon along its ideally placed long coastline providing ample cold and clear waters year-round.

Read entire article HERE.

Reuters: Norway oil firms slash investment plans amid pandemic

Business News, Energy,

OSLO (Reuters) – Norwegian oil and gas investment, a key economic driver, is expected to decline sharply in 2021 after rising less than previously anticipated this year, an industry survey by the national statistics agency (SSB) showed on Thursday.

The biggest drop will come in the exploration for new reserves and in spending on development plans, while ongoing oilfield construction work continues largely as expected, the data showed.

Next year, investment in Norway’s oil sector is now projected at 145.6 billion crowns, compared with a forecast of 152 billion three months ago, SSB said.

Read entire article HERE.

MAREX: BV, DNV GL Launch Infection-Prevention Certifications for Cruise Ships

Airline / Travel, Business News, Shipping & Offshore

Two leading class societies are helping the passenger vessel sector restore operations by rolling out new certifications for infection prevention measures.

Class has played a key role in certifying safety since the Age of Sail, and many class societies have diversified into certification for shoreside sectors as well – like healthcare and hospitality. Both DNV GL and Bureau Veritas have public health-related experience from their work for clients on shore, and both have introduced shipboard infection-prevention certifications that unify that knowledge with their maritime expertise.

Read entire article HERE.

Serving on the Board of a Norwegian Company: What You Need to Know!

AmCham News

Serving on the Board of a Norwegian Company: What You Need to Know!

As an extension of AmCham’s Board Pairing Program with Badenoch + Clark and Simula, Badenoch + Clark offers internationally oriented AmCham members and partners an opportunity to learn about serving on Norwegian company boards. Held in collaboration with iStyrelsen, the informative webinar will cover everything from general expectations to important legal considerations.

Webinar Program

1. The role of the Board

2. How does the Limited Liability Companies Act affect the role of the board in terms of:
– Your obligation to to manage (Forvaltningsplikten)
– Your obligation to supervise (Tilsynsplikten)
– Your obligation to act (Handlingsplikten)
– Your obligation to request necessary information and initiate investigations

3. Your most important tool
– The control protocol

Interested in attending?

If you are interested in attending, please contact Badenoch + Clark’s Jan-Petter Westlie at jan-petter.westlie@badenochandclark.no. You will later receive necessary information to join the webinar.

E24: Norges Banks milliardkjøp vekker internasjonal interesse

Business News, Financial / Investment,

I juni vil Norges Bank kjøpe kroner for 2,3 milliarder per dag. Det er det høyeste noensinne, og skjer for å dekke økte utgifter til redningspakker i coronakrisen.

Pengene tas fra Oljefondet, som er investert i utlandet, og må derfor veksles inn i norsk valuta.

– Vi har fått en del spørsmål fra utenlandske hedgefond om dette, og det har kommet mer de siste ukene, sier valutastrateg Joachim Bernhardsen i Nordea Markets til E24.

– Norges Bank har jo kjøpt kroner lenge, men volumene begynner nå å bli så store at det tiltrekker internasjonal oppmerksomhet.

Les hele saken HER. 

VOA: Companies Send Message in Support of Nationwide Protests

Business News,

U.S. companies typically are quiet during protests. Not this time.  

Technology, banking, apparel and entertainment firms issued messages of support for those demonstrating against police treatment of black people.  

“I am shocked by the number of executives who have spoken up for the first time,” said Kellie McElhaney, a professor at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and founder of the Center for Equity, Gender and Leadership at the school.  

What’s driving brands to speak out, she said, is the brutality of the video showing a police officer in Minneapolis putting his knees on the back of the neck of George Floyd, who died.  

Read entire article HERE.

CNN: Historic plane to transport Thomas Waerner home to Norway after dog musher left stranded in Alaska

Business News,

What to do when you’re stranded in Alaska by a global pandemic and are trying to get back home to Norway — with 24 dogs in tow.

It’s been quite a three months for dog musher Thomas Waerner, who tells CNN Sport it’s the kind of a story he’ll remember until the day he dies.
 
The 47-year-old won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in March, but canceled flights and travel restrictions have prevented him from returning home to his family.
 
But fear not, the intrepid adventurer has come up with an innovative escape plan.
 
He’s booked his passage on a historic aircraft destined for a Norwegian museum, with his team of dogs for company.
 
Read entire article HERE.

May 2020 AmCham Digitalization Forum: Top Tasks & the Pandemic – Digital Customer Experience

AmCham News

May 2020 AmCham Digitalization Forum: Top Tasks & the Pandemic – Digital Customer Experience

In the virtual May installment of the AmCham Digitalization Forum, guest presenter Gerry McGovern, developer of the Top Task design framework and a board member of the US-based parent company of AmCham member Task Analytics, shared his experience working with companies such as Microsoft and Toyota to improve digital customer experience – work that has also seen McGovern work with the WHO and governments on their digital COVID-19 resources.

McGovern highlighted that it has never been more important to get back to digital customer experience basics by focusing on clarity and taking time to establish what truly matters to your target audience(s). For many organizations, that means dropping unnecessary design elements by embracing a back to basics, customer-centric approach.

One of the largest challenges McGovern has faced in his career is the growing tendency to measure the success of websites and digital platforms by appearance rather than functionality. Organizations, McGovern argued, need to get their ego out of the way and focus on giving users/customers what they want – the most pressing information or task they wish to accomplish. While this may lead to “aesthetically boring” design, McGovern statistically demonstrated that companies better engage target audiences when they cut out useless imagery, eliminate irrelevant “ego-stroking” icons, and employ simple, direct language. In other words, what you hide in an icon or hamburger menu will not be used, so it is critical to make visible what your customer will need to use the most.

“Great digitalization means organizations getting out of their own way and giving people what they need.”
Gerry Mcgovern
May 2020 AmCham Digitalization Forum

McGovern then discussed his evidence-based, test-driven approach to information architecture design. The approach, which often involves large global samples, allows designers to discern what matters most – and then translate those insights into highly functional design. A critical part of the process, McGovern added, is senior management. These managers must “bite the bullet” and facilitate the process of making their digital environments easier to navigate. The importance of this transition became even more clear in the wake of COVID-19. As companies, organizations, and governments scrambled to adapt to an even more digital working world, those who transitioned most successfully were those who managed to effectively communicate with target audiences and employees alike on digital platforms.

“The worst way to design a website is to put five smart people in a room with lattes. The longer you leave them in the room, the worse the website will become.”

Gerry McGovern

McGovern’s clear and concise presentation, described as “one of the best and most precisely communicated webinars I’ve heard in a long time,” by one participant, was followed by a Q&A session moderated by NextStep’s Jennifer Vessels. Leaders joined from across the Nordics, including AmCham Norway members Selmer, MSD, Crawford & Co., Fast Solutions, 24SevenOffice, Equinor, Tailormade Consulting, Janssen, Avollon, and Azets, amongst many others.

AmCham Digitalization Forum

AmCham Norway’s Digitalization Forum was initiated in 2016 in response to AmCham member company leaders’ need to better understand digital business environment challenges and opportunities. The series aims to foster confidence, inspire collaboration, and promote cross-industry dialogue.

Please contact us for interest in future forums.

Great Place to Work 2020: Cisco kåret til Norges nest beste arbeidsplass – går helt til topps i den internasjonale kåringen

Business News, Technology, ,

Medarbeiderundersøkelsen Great Place to Work viser at Cisco Norge scorer nest høyest (Kategori: 200 – 499 medarbeidere) av samtlige arbeidsplasser i Norge. Samtidig er Cisco kåret til det beste selskapet å jobbe i globalt.

– Vi kunne av naturlige årsaker ikke møtes fysisk for å feire dette, så da tok vi heller festen med våre nærmere 500 ansatte som jobber hjemmefra over Webex – noe som også ble en fantastisk fin sammenkomst, sier administrerende direktør Trine Strømsnes i Cisco Norge.

Det er gjennom den årlige kåringen «Great Place to Work» at Cisco Norge kommer på andreplass i kategorien 200-499 medarbeidere. Cisco Norge har hovedkontor på Lysaker utenfor Oslo, og huser et av Norges største kreative miljøer i deres R&D-senter for forskning og utvikling. Her utvikles videoteknologi og -utstyr for blant annet samarbeidsplattformen Webex.

Les hele saken HER.