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Press Release: White House Announces Intent to Nominate J. Mark Burkhalter Ambassador of the United States of America to the Kingdom of Norway

Business News, Government, ,

Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key positions in his Administration:

J. Mark Burkhalter, of Georgia, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Kingdom of Norway.

Mr. Burkhalter is a Senior Advisor in the Public Policy and Regulation practice at Dentons U.S. LLP, and plays a significant role in Dentons’ public affairs and economic development initiatives in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Burkhalter represented the Atlanta suburbs of north Fulton County in the Georgia General Assembly for 18 years, where he focused on promoting economic development, business growth, and quality of life in the greater metropolitan Atlanta area.  He left office as the Speaker Emeritus, having served as Speaker of the House and Speaker Pro Tempore.

Parallel to his government service, Mr. Burkhalter built a successful career in real estate development.  He received his B.A. at the University of Georgia with a double major in German and Slavic Languages, and Global Studies/Political Science.  He is conversant in German.

William A. Douglass, of Florida, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

Mr. Douglass is an entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded K2 Advisors in 1994 and managed it for more than two decades.  He sold K2 Advisors to Franklin Templeton Investments in 2012 after building its holdings from $5.4 million in 1994 to nearly $11 billion and remained a Senior Advisor and board member until 2017.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Douglass was Managing Director of Caspian Securities LLC.  He also was a managing director for Tiedemann International Research for whom he first managed their office in Tokyo, Japan, and then co-managed their United States business in New York.

Mr. Douglass has served on multiple non-profit boards, including those of the Jazz Foundation of America, CitySquash, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Outward Bound USA.

Mr. Douglass received his B.A. degree from Vanderbilt University.

Eric J. Soskin, of Virginia, to be Inspector General, Department of Transportation.

Mr. Soskin has served as Senior Trial Counsel for the United States Department of Justice in the Federal Programs Branch since 2006.  He has spearheaded a multi-office defense of complex litigation across the Civil Division and has experience with a wide range of executive and legislative branch agencies and statutes. Mr. Soskin has also served as a Policy Counsel in the Office of the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, where he supervised input on legislation and rulemaking, and in the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Soskin clerked on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for the Honorable Paul S. Diamond.

Mr. Soskin earned a B.A. in Mathematics and Political Economy, magna cum laude, from Williams College, and a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School. He was the Submissions Editor for the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology and the Notes Editor for the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. Mr. Soskin is a recipient of the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service.

Read original press release HERE.

Shifter: Rakettvekst for Huddly. Steg 38,9 prosent i verdi på én dag

Business News, Technology,

Tallene viser at selskapet har vokst med 127 prosent i omsetning, og selger nå varer for 73,9 millioner kroner. I tillegg har selskapet gått fra 700.000 i minus til en EBITDA på 30,7 millioner kroner.

Dette førte til en eventyrlig vekst på NOTC-børsen i dag. Åpningskursen lå på 72 kroner. Og i skrivende stund er den på 100 kroner, som betyr en vekst i verdi på nærmere 40 prosent.

Videokonferanse-startupen Huddly innfridde også forventninger på fjorårets siste kvartalrapport. Etter en lengre periode med dalende aksjeverdi, klarte de da å snu skuta.

Les hele saken HER.

Pressemelding: Generalmajor Eirik Kristoffersen ny forsvarssjef

Business News, Defense / Security, Government,

Generalmajor Eirik Kristoffersen (51) er i dag utnevnt til ny forsvarssjef. Han vil etterfølge admiral Haakon Bruun-Hanssen som går av med pensjon i august i år. – Eirik Kristoffersen er en forsvarssjef for vår tid. Han har de rette egenskapene for å lede Forsvaret fremover, sier forsvarsminister Frank Bakke-Jensen.

Les hele pressemeldingen HER. 

AmCham Financial Forum: Ongoing COVID-19 Challenges & Adjustments for All

AmCham News,

AmCham Financial Forum: Ongoing COVID-19 Challenges & Adjustments for All

AmCham’s latest Financial Forum was convened virtually last week with mainstay forum leads from 24SevenOffice, BAT, IBM, KPMG, OSM Aviation Management, Raise Gruppen, and Sonitor in attendance.

The concentrated open-exchange session featured candid exchange on remote financial department workflow and resource engagement, forecasting through the remainder of 2020 and beyond, shifting US and Norwegian business regulations, and internal/external supplier and customer credit processes.

Atop participants’ forecasting agendas were currency exchange rates and hedging arrangements, with several financial leads emphasizing the criticality of current cash reserves. Many noted the varying impact of COVID-19 on their respective business lines, impacted both negatively and positively in some instances. Long-term fixed costs, international supply chains and customer payment delays were addressed as key joint concerns.

While financial leads increasingly dedicate their attention to evolving government guidelines and processes, the consensus was that Norwegian guidance is relatively straightforward and agile, while at times less so for their respective US operations.

Join Us!

In response to such government guideline challenges, AmCham – together with Innovation Norway, SelectUSA and partners – will co-host a dedicated session on COVID-19 relief packages for the Norwegian American business ecosystem on Wednesday, May 13th at 17:00 Oslo time. Please join us!

About the Financial Forum

AmCham’s Financial Forum is a platform that provides cross-industry financial leads the opportunity to share best practices and have open discussions amongst peers – building a better understanding of what it takes to run a successful international finance department in Norway.  Through roundtable discussions and engaging, interactive workshops, member participants delve into real world financial operations challenges.

Please contact us for interest in participating in future forums.

CNBC: Trump’s hostility toward a digital tax could unite Europe to implement one, lawmaker says

Business News, Technology, , , ,

Taxing tech giants has long divided policymakers, but disagreements with U.S. President Donald Trump could drive Europe to step up levies on companies like Google and Facebook, a lawmaker told CNBC.

France, Austria and Italy are among the European countries that have implemented taxes on the tech companies at a national level, but there’s been a failure at the European Union level to agree on a joint levy.

The political and economic union of 27 countries failed to reach a consensus in March 2019, when four member states vetoed a common tax. At the time, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark and Finland said there should be a broader debate outside of Europe over a digital tax, before the EU implemented its own.

Read entire article HERE.

World Oil: Oil doubles over past five days on output cuts and stabilizing demand

Business News, Energy,

SINGAPORE (Bloomberg) –Oil’s rally resumed after prices doubled over five days, amid optimism that output cuts are easing a huge supply glut and demand losses have bottomed.

Futures in New York rose above $25 a barrel after earlier breaking above their 50-day moving average for the first time since January. Russian oil production was down 16% in the first five days of May, Interfax reported, while Plains All American Pipeline LP sees close to 1 million barrels a day of Permian shut-ins in May. Output in North Dakota was down by 450,000 barrels a day, according to state data, though some shale drillers said they may restart output if prices rose above $30 a barrel.

OPEC+ began implementing 9.7 million barrels per day of production curbs on May 1, which along with some early signs of demand recovery has helped to ease fears the world will run out of storage space for crude and fuels. The Trump administration is pivoting to “phase two” of its virus response in an effort to reopen the nation’s economy.

Read entire article HERE. 

Kampanje & SAS Institute: Gode digitale kundeopplevelser har aldri vært viktigere

Business News, Technology

Nær alle av vårens planlagte events er avlyst, og en nylig ANFO-undersøkelse blant norske annonsører bekrefter at ni av ti har endret markedsplanen. For mange virksomheter vil en sterk digital strategi være avgjørende for å kunne oppnå sine mål.

Uansett om det handler om å opprettholde en viss inntjening for å holde bedriften gående, eller om etaten eller kommunen behøver å komme ut med et viktig budskap, blir kunnskap om hvordan å bygge en relevant digital opplevelse stadig mer etterspurt. For hvor skal en starte, og hvordan balanseres budskapet når en tross alt kommuniserer i krisetid?

– Vi har samarbeidet med Futurum Research for å forstå hva som definerer gode kundeopplevelser i dag, og hvordan det kan endre seg mot 2030. Forskningen avslørte fem hovedtemaer som driver utviklingen, samt avdekket noen overraskende forventningsgap. Jeg håper denne innsikten kan være til hjelp for dem som nå er i gang med å bygge nye forretningsmodeller med sterkere digitale fortrinn, sier Wenche Nielsen, markedsdirektør i SAS Institute.

Les hele saken HER.

NTB: Ny administrerende direktør i Coca-Cola European Partners Norge

Business News, Food & Beverage, , ,

Carl Lescroart overtar rollen som administrerende direktør for Coca-Cola European Partners Norge, og ser frem til å slutte seg til det norske teamet før sommeren.

1. juni blir Carl Lescroart ny administrerende direktør i Coca-Cola European Partners Norge. Carl kommer opprinnelig fra Belgia, og har en bred kommersiell erfaring fra Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP). Her har han hatt ulike roller de siste åtte årene, og leder i dag den kommersielle avdelingen til CCEP Frankrike. Han har også tidligere ledet den franske salgsorganisasjonen, vært direktør for kalde drikker i Belgia/Luxemburg og hatt ansvaret som salgsdirektør i Belgia.

Les hele saken HER.

Press Release: Norway endorses joint ministerial statement on Covid-19 and the multilateral trading system

Business News, Government,

On 5 May, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide and 41 other ministers responsible for the World Trade Organization (WTO) issued a ministerial statement on Covid-19 and the multilateral trading system. The statement is an important supplement to a joint statement issued by the Alliance for Multilateralism in April, and endorsed by Norway, on the need for cooperation and solidarity in the fight against Covid-19.

‘I am pleased that we have succeeded in securing support for this statement from a large group of WTO members. A predictable, transparent, non-discriminatory and open global trading system will be essential for broad-based and sustainable economic recovery once the crisis is over,’ Ms Eriksen Søreide said. 

In the statement, the 42 ministers reaffirm their strong support for the multilateral trading system and the central role of the WTO. The WTO is not the primary organisation for addressing the health-related aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic, but WTO rules have an important role to play in ensuring the continued flow of goods and services across national borders. In the statement, the ministers stress that the trade restrictive emergency measures that have been introduced to protect people’s health must not create unnecessary barriers to trade or disruption to global supply chains. Any such measures must be consistent with WTO rules, and the ministers pledge to lift them as soon as possible. The ministers also pledge not to impose export restrictions on food products in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Important priorities for Norway, such as transparency on trade-related measures that are introduced as part of the effort to combat the Covid-19 pandemic and the need for a coordinated international response, are reflected in the statement. The statement also expresses support for the full resumption of all WTO activities as soon as feasible.

‘The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted how dependent we are on cross-border trade and on everyone following the established rules, so that we have access to essential goods even in times of crisis. International trade is vital if we are to get through this crisis – for the Norwegian economy, Norwegian jobs and the Norwegian health system,’ Ms Eriksen Søreide said.

Read full statement HERE.

On the Cutting Edge: AmCham Discusses Baker Hughes’ Transition to an Energy Technology Company with Allyson Anderson Book, VP Energy Transition

AmCham News

On the Cutting Edge

AmCham Discusses Baker Hughes’ Transition to an Energy Technology Company with Allyson Anderson Book, VP Energy Transition

With operations in more than 120 countries and industry-leading technology, Baker Hughes was excellently positioned to embark on an exciting new chapter in the company’s history when it made the transition to an energy technology company in 2019. From the company’s aggressive emissions reduction goals to the human element of corporate transition strategies, US-based VP Energy Transition Allyson Anderson Book joined AmCham for a wide-ranging discussion on Baker Hughes’ journey, highlighting the company’s commitment to developing and deploying the technologies to take energy and industry forward. 

Can you discuss how Baker Hughes is going about making this transition, both operationally and in terms of communications?

First, let me acknowledge that this is a very challenging time for the world, and for the business community. We are very proud of the hard work of our employees to keep themselves and their families safe and healthy, meet the needs of our customers, and contribute to the communities where we operate.

Although energy demand is temporarily slowed by the global response to the pandemic, the long-term trends we see in the energy space are relevant now and will help to chart the industry’s path to the future. Baker Hughes’ energy transition strategy will be an engine of our growth.

To remain relevant in the low-carbon energy future, the oil and gas industry must act decisively to lower the carbon intensity of operations and products. This is important because oil and gas will continue make up nearly half of the global energy mix for decades to come – even as the world’s supply of electricity and renewables continues to grow.

Baker Hughes is the natural technology partner to help the oil and gas industry meet the challenges of the energy transition. With our trusted heritage of oil and gas expertise and our unmatched technology portfolio, we are ready to help our customers and future customers develop decarbonization solutions for energy production.

Our approach to low carbon energy has three parts: 

  • Aggressively reduce emissions from our own operations. We’ve publicly committed to reduce carbon equivalent emissions by 50% by 2030 and to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 to align with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. We are well on our way to meeting that goal, demonstrating our commitment and giving us a chance to build our in-house knowledge and expertise in low carbon energy.
  • Put our existing technology to work today helping the industry take immediate action to control and reduce emissions. We are actively engaged in low carbon projects with major multinationals and national oil companies today with more on the horizon.
  • Invest in the development of new technology that will enhance our leadership position in low carbon energy technology. This will come through a combination of in-house research and development, partnerships, and new ventures.

How can Baker Hughes technologies play a critical role in helping addressing climate change? How important will these solutions be in ensuring that we can continue to hit ambitious climate goals while facilitating growth in today’s complicated global economic environment?

From a Baker Hughes perspective, we have an existing portfolio of low carbon solutions and continue to develop additional solutions in anticipation of market needs. Baker Hughes has a unique advantage because we bring solutions across the value chain – from upstream oil and gas, to the midstream, and to the downstream – as well across various applications including modular power, measurement, and digital solutions.

We are attacking the technical challenge of emissions reductions on several fronts. Here are a few examples of the types of products and initiatives we are driving commercially today:

  • Emissions monitoring and measurement: we offer products specifically to aid in emissions monitoring and reduction, such as flare.IQ and the Lumen methane monitoring platform.
  • Low to zero emissions technologies: Developing energy efficient products helps reduce customers costs while also reducing emissions, for example, the LM9000 gas turbine, our Magnefficient electric submersible pump, or our integrated compressor line. For subsea, we also have our Aptara subsea system and subsea processing technologies for boosting seawater treatment.
  • Redesign tools and equipment to reduce energy consumption: We are focused on conducting lifecycle analyses of our products to help us develop more efficient manufacturing processes, use less materials, and make equipment lightweight and more modular. A good example of this work is our development of the Aptara subsea tree, which uses less material, is lighter than traditional subsea trees, and can be installed and maintained much more easily than its conventional counterparts.
Baker Hughes Product Management & Commercialization Leader Wendy Lam presenting at Subsea Connect Norway.

Where do you see the greatest potential for renewable energy advancements?

We believe that it will take all sources of energy working together to meet the world’s long-term energy needs. We see a role for oil and gas in the long term, but the industry will need to decarbonize through greater efficiency, reduction of methane emissions, and ultimately large-scale carbon capture and storage – and even hydrogen fuel value chains. Baker Hughes has a role in helping make this happen.

Beyond the oil and gas industry, we see potential to apply our core technology to parts of the renewable and alternative energy ecosystem, and we do this already today. For example, not many people know that our Bently Nevada condition monitoring sensors and software are installed on tens of thousands of wind turbines and hydroelectric generators today – ensuring the reliability of renewable energy supply.

We will continue to look for opportunities like this where our energy technology can enable renewables, such as grid-scale energy storage and decarbonize existing energy supply.

How does BH recruit, train, and retrain the engineers and personnel needed to make these transitions?

We are very fortunate to have many talented and passionate people across our organization who are actively working on energy transition projects and on reducing our own emissions. Since many of our solutions are about extending our core technologies into new markets, it is a natural extension of the existing work. We also share news, host training sessions, and welcome guest speakers during our company meetings to educate our teams about this very dynamic market.

In Norway, we have a team over 2000 employees located in Stavanger, Oslo, Bergen, Stord, Kristiansund, Trondheim, and Hammerfest who interact with our global team. Many of our team members in Norway focus on new technology developments and collaborations with industry partners to support the energy transition. It is an exciting place to work!

Is BH’s transition driven primarily by customers, internally, or by international market forces?

It’s a combination of factors. There is a lot of interest from major oil and gas companies about carbon reduction, particularly at the C-suite level and on major projects. We work with them on a project-by-project basis to bring a combination of off-the-shelf technologies, like our flare.IQ technology, and customized solutions.

At the same time, the energy transition is a strategic focus for Baker Hughes and one that we are very consciously driving across all of our product companies. We have a unique advantage because we bring solutions across many technology value chains – including our current capabilities for carbon capture, utilization, and storage. We can bring a more complete suite of low carbon solutions than any other technology provider, coupled with in-depth knowledge of the oilfield and the energy industry. It’s a central part of our strategy and one that we will continue to drive. 

"Companies should be discussing decarbonization in their organizations, as it will motivate people, inspire new talent to apply for careers in our sector, and show the world how the oil and gas industry is on the cutting edge of the energy transition."
Allyson Anderson Book
Vice President, Energy Transition, Baker Hughes

How can multinational companies play a critical role in addressing climate change?

Decarbonizing oil and gas is one of the greatest technical challenges facing the world today. And, as an energy technology company, we’re able to make a real difference to the world today. Companies should be discussing decarbonization in their organizations, as it will motivate people, inspire new talent to apply for careers in our sector, and show the world how the oil and gas industry is on the cutting edge of the energy transition.