All posts by Madeleine Brekke

Statement from President Joe Biden on EU Adoption of Adequacy Decision for U.S.-EU Data Flows

Business News, Technology

“I welcome the European Commission’s adequacy decision for the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework—which will allow personal data to be transferred from Europe to U.S. companies safely and securely. Today’s announcement represents the culmination of years of close cooperation between the United States and the European Union, and affirms the strength of our transatlantic relationship founded on our shared democratic values and vision for the world. The decision reflects our joint commitment to strong data privacy protections and will create greater economic opportunities for our countries and companies on both sides of the Atlantic.”

AmCham Financial Forum: The Future of Banking & Global Supply Chains

Accounting / Financial, AmCham News

AmCham Financial Forum: The Future of Banking & Global Supply Chains

Cross-industry member leaders gathered at AmCham’s downtown offices for a morning Financial Forum focusing on the expectations for the future of banking and global supply chain updates.

PA Consulting Partner & Head of Financial Services Norway, Clint Sookermany, and Partner Financial Services and Head of Operating Model Capability, Knut Erlend Vik, jointly presented The Future of Retail Banking – How business leaders should respond.

Retail banking is one of many vital industries undergoing ever-faster change. In their recent report, The Vision for Banking: A Force for Future Good. PA Consulting has developed four potential industry scenarios for 2023 to better understand how banking might evolve. Participants went on to discuss real-world scenarios, impacts on their own industries, their likelihood and pros and cons of each.

Image: PA Consulting
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Presenters

Clint Sookermany – Partner & Head of Financial Services Norway

Knut Erlend Vik – Partner Financial Services and Head of Operating Model Capability

Morten Sloth Madsen – Managing Director of Norway & Sweden

Digitalization as a Driving Force

DSV’s Managing Director of Norway & Sweden, Morten Sloth Madsen, joined us for an update on the global supply chain with a look back at and predicted logistical impacts, developments, and expectations for the industry.

The past few years of pandemic, political unrest, container shortages, port congestion, geopolitical conflict, and inflationary pressures have exposed vulnerabilities in our supply chains – causing frustration for businesses and consumers alike. As a global player in air, ground and sea logistics, Madsen provided keen insights into the current market and what business leaders need to be highly aware of in the time ahead.

About the AmCham Financial Forum

AmCham’s collaborative Financial Forum enables cross-industry leaders to openly exchange and learn from their peers – building a better understanding of what it takes to maintain successful international operations in Norway.

Please contact Madeleine.brekke@amcham.no for interest in future meetings.

DSV Slide
Image: DSV

Past Financial Forum Meetings

Stavanger Tasting of American Wines

AmCham News, Food & Beverage

Stavanger Tasting of American Wines

AmCham recently hosted journalists, members, and partner representatives for a tasting of American wines at Rosenskildehuset in Stavanger. There, member importers Engelstad, Haugen-Gruppen, Palmer Group, VCT, and West Coast Wines presented over 30 unique vintages currently on the Norwegian market, including newly launched products. In addition, AmCham proudly presented two wines not (yet) available in Norway.

Our Master Class on California wines was led by acclaimed Fish&Cow Head Sommelier  Jonathan Robinson Lundgren and included:

  • Diora La Belle Fête Rosé of Pinot Noir
  • Lieu Dit Chenin Blanc
  • Tyler Santa Barbara County Chardonnay
  • Tyler Mae Estate Chardonnay
  • Francis Ford Coppola Diamond Collection Pinot Noir
  • Francis Ford Coppola Directors Sonoma County Pinot Noir
  • Bonterra Sauv. Blanc Org.
  • Bonterra The McNab Cab
  • Clos Du Val 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon

Full List of Wines Presented 

AmCham and our member wine importers enjoy opportunities to jointly inform on American wines. We look forward to future tastings with journalists, partners and members!

Detailed wine remarks from guests found here.

US Wines in Norway

In collaboration with member importers, AmCham works to increase knowledge and accessibility of American wines in Norway. US wines’ market share has increased considerably in the past years, due in large part to our members’ tireless efforts.

Vinmonopolet currently offers close to 25,000 products from 85 countries, including over 700 US reds and 300 whites. In 2022, US reds accounted for 9.4% of Vinmonopolet’s total red wine sales, while US white wines comprised close to 2% of such sales (Source: Vinmonopolet).  

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Past Wine Tastings

Tech Talent Network at Oracle: SmartForest & Smart National AI Strategy

AmCham News,

Tech Talent Network at Oracle: SmartForest & Smart National AI Strategy

AmCham’s Tech Talent Network (TTN) recently gathered at Oracle Norway’s offices, with Managing Director Tore Bjelland welcoming participants and addressing evolving challenges and demands on leaders in a time of rapid development within the tech industry. He emphasized the importance of focusing on the next generation of leaders, as well represented in the room.

Oracle’s Martin Johansson eagerly presented the NIBIO Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research’s SmartForest project, combining AI, ML, and cloud computing to improve the Norwegian forestry industry’s efficiency, profitability, and sustainability. Using leading-edge and emerging technology such as drones, sensors, and satellites, important data can be collected to observe forest health and collect accurate harvesting information, enabling proper machinery and precise wood supply – creating a digital twin of the Norwegian forestry network. 

Participants welcomed by Oracle's Tore Bjelland
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AI Regulation in Norway

Høyre Stortingsgruppe Political Advisor Martin Willoch Olstad joined TTN’ers to share regulatory updates, challenges, political initiatives, and perspectives on Norway’s national AI strategy.

Olstad explained that Høyre’s newly formed AI working group will look at opportunities for the use of AI in the public sector for better and more efficient services, job, and value creation – identifying areas of competitive advantage and regulations to be put into place in addition to the EU’s AI Act.

Norway’s National Strategy for AI report, published in 2020, has both strengths and weaknesses according to Olstad. Although the strategy is only three years old, industry is moving much faster than regulation. With TTN participants contributing their commercial perspectives, the consensus was one of concern that strict regulation will hinder innovation and Norway’s competitive advantage in the field. Making sure that decision makers have enough information and knowledge is crucial for revision, as well as clarifying language that can have a major impact on what is and isn’t covered.

Following an engaging exchange, participants eagerly shared their ideas for future TTN topics and guest presenters.

About the AmCham Tech Talent Network

TTN is designed to be a non-competitive arena for knowledge sharing, professional development, and expanding international market insights. Exclusive quarterly sessions with industry leaders and external speakers create opportunities for collaboration and development of leadership skills. Read more about the program HERE.

For further information and interest in the program, please contact Madeleine.Brekke@amcham.no.

AmCham Sustainability Forum: New Rules for Sustainability Communication & Scaling EV Learnings from Scandinavia to North America

AmCham News

AmCham Sustainability Forum: New Rules for Sustainability Communication & Scaling EV Learnings from Scandinavia to North America

AmCham’s latest Sustainability Forum hosted by Kruse Larsen brought together members representing diverse industries to learn about the new EU Directive on Green Claims and lessons learns from Circle K’s ambitious EV buildout in North America

New Rules for Sustainability Communication

Anne Therese Gullberg presented how several companies convey misleading impressions, knowingly or unknowingly, of their environmental impact or benefits to market actors and customers, defined as greenwashing. She illustrated how it’s difficult for consumers, companies, and other market actors to make informed and considered choices. In response, the EU has introduced new rules for companies’ green claims with the goal of consumer empowerment. Gullberg unpacked what these new rules from Brussels say about sustainability communication, how communications should focus on companies’ main impact, and discussed these new regulations might influence companies with commercial activities in Norway.  

Transitions

Snorre Skeie presented remotely from Raleigh, NC taking us through Circle K’s EV journey from Norway to the United States. Circle K has been heavily exposed and an early adopter, responding to the fast-paced transition to Electric Vehicles in the Nordics. Based on these learnings, Circle K has started an EV offering buildout in North America and Skeie shared his reflections from the ongoing implementation, innovative site designs, and energy management solutions.

Anne Therese Gullberg – Partner and Head of Sustainability

Arendalsuka logos kruse larsen (24)

Snorre Skeie – Director of E Mobility, North America

circle k

About Sustainability Forum

Future success is dependent upon running a sustainable business – for people, planet, and profit. Hence, AmCham brings select, cross-industry member company representatives together on an ongoing basis to discuss opportunities, facilitate open exchange and determine how AmCham members can best contribute to Norwegian and US sustainability agendas going forward.

Read more about our Sustainability Forum and please contact Janice.Gundersen@amcham.no for interest in future meetings.

Norway’s $1.4tn wealth fund calls for state regulation of AI

Business News, Government, Technology

The head of the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund has called on governments to speed up the regulation of artificial intelligence as it revealed it would set guidelines for how the 9,000 companies it invests in should use AI “ethically”. Nicolai Tangen, chief executive of Norway’s $1.4tn oil fund — which owns on average 1.5 per cent of every listed company globally — said he believed that there is not enough regulation of the fast-growing sector and that he wanted new rules to govern how AI is used.

Read full article

Journalist Tasting of American Wines

AmCham News

Journalist Tasting of American Wines

Kicking off the new year, AmCham hosted journalists and Vinmonopolet representatives for a tasting of American wines at ARTS Restaurant in Aker Brygge. There, member importers Anora, Engelstad, Haugen-Gruppen, Palmer Group, Robert Prizelius, Treasury Wine Estates, and VCT Norway presented over 40 unique vintages currently on the Norwegian market, including newly launched products. In addition, AmCham proudly presented four wines not yet available in Norway.

Our Master Class on California wine variations – led by Oslo Wine School’s General Manager Jane Nisbet Huseby – included:

  • Marimar Estate Blanc de Noir 2019
  • Robert Mondavi Winery Fume Blanc 2019
  • Tyler Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Chardonnay 2020
  • Francis Ford Coppola Directors Sonoma County Pinot Noir 2019
  • Marimar Estate La Masia Pinot Noir 2018
  • Lieu Dit Cabernet Franc 2021
  • Black Stallion Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
  • Bonterra The McNab Cab 2019
  • Beaulieu Vineyard Rutherford Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
  • Pahlmeyer Napa Valley Merlot 2016

Full List of Wines Presented 

AmCham and our member wine importers enjoy opportunities to jointly inform on American wines. We look forward to future tastings with journalists, partners and members!

US Wines in Norway

Photo: Traci Milimo

In collaboration with member importers, AmCham works to increase knowledge and accessibility of American wines in Norway. US wine market share has increased considerably in the past years, due in large part to our members’ tireless efforts.

Vinmonopolet currently offers close to 25,000 products from 85 countries, including over 700 US reds and 300 whites. In 2022, US reds accounted for 9.4% of Vinmonopolet’s total red wine sales, while US white wines comprised close to 2% of such sales (Source: Vinmonopolet).  

Photo: Traci Milimo
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Past Wine Tastings

Rising Leaders Afterwork with PortalOne

AmCham News, Rising Leaders,

Rising Leaders Afterwork with PortalOne: The Secret Sauce for Hybrid Gaming

For the last afterwork of 2022 and the program finale, Rising Leaders  participants and AmCham members had the opportunity to visit hybrid gaming company and Norwegian unicorn, PortalOne’s brand new offices at Aker Brygge. Welcoming them were the two co-founders and brothers, Stig Olav and Bård Anders Kasin as well as Head of Brand and Communications, Ingrid Williams.

The sleek modern office has classic arcade game machines spread throughout and a glass view into the green screen studio where all the magic happens.

Hybrid gaming embeds live shows directly into games on players’ phone where they can compete against a celebrity guest in real time or try to beat their friends on the daily scoreboard. Celebrities have so far included Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and their lineup for 2023 includes The Rock, Beyoncé, and Christina Aguilera just to name a few.

Stig Olav notes that society today is very much in a constant, dual attention environment, whether it is watching TV while using our phone or other, so a game with a live show, player chat and gaming simultaneously is also doable. The power of the hybrid gaming model is that the daily shows inside the game and particularly season finales create a massive draw and player return. PortalOne’s “secret sauce model” is an internal company secret and has other industry giants banging their heads against the desk. The inner workings of their studio has transformed the way that they can produce a type of content without moving cameras, reducing the need for more than two operators and the price of production significantly, which in turn means production of content that is ultra-scalable.

Rising Leaders gathered for the last 2022 afterwork at PortalOne's new office.
Participants and members speak with character designers and get to see the motion capture suit in action.

Bård Anders explained that PortalOne “is very much advertisement free and will always be, to not interrupt the player experience” however, elements within the game may be given attributes and can be easily adapted to include logo designed skins (outfits for the characters) or theme driven game pieces. The live shows act as a magnet and supercharge the engagement levels meaning that they also can have sponsored prizes.

As a 3rd generation of entrepreneurs and investors the brothers, Stig Olav and Bård Anders have built their industry knowledge through the TV and gaming industry. Bård Anders functions as the CEO of PortalOne, and has previous experience working as a Technical Director at Warner Bros. There, he worked on movie productions like the Matrix Trilogy. He also co-founded The Future Group, which provides mixed reality solutions for media production. 

As for Stig Olav, he functions as the CXO and has previously worked as a developer and executive producer of interactive entertainment and mobile games. His background includes 10 years in the television industry, includes leading roles for shows like The Voice and Who Wants to be a Millionaire. He describes himself as a “mixed media artist” or MMA; an homage to his passion for sports and the industry.

The unofficial motto at PortalOne is “be brumble” a mix between “brave” and “humble”. Stig Olav recounted how someone who previously had worked for him got him his connections in Hollywood, reminding the participants that you never know who will open the next door for you.

As advice to the Rising Leaders, Bård Anders and Stig Olav expressed the importance of finding correct investors that have knowledge within the industry you are in. PortalOne’s impressive list of investors include Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund; TQ Ventures, the investment fund led by Scooter Braun; Schuster Tanger; and Andrew Marks. Coatue Management’s investment was led by Arielle Zuckerberg and the Rogue Capital Partners investment was led by Alice Lloyd George. Sunny Dhillon led the investment from Signia Venture Partners whose LPs include Warner Bros., Disney and Tencent. In addition, a number of angel investors also invested in PortalOne. These include Kevin Lin, co-founder of Twitch; Mike Morhaime, co-founder of Blizzard and Dreamhaven; Amy Morhaime, co-founder of Dreamhaven; Marc Merrill, co-founder of Riot Games; Xen Lategan, former CTO and executive advisor at various companies such as Hulu, and Eugene Wei, former Head of Video at Oculus and Head of Product at Hulu.

They also advised to be mindful that once you are backed by investors there is still a lot of work to be done and to be prepared for obstacles. The company still operates as if they have less to plan for the long term.

The future looks brighter than the neon sign in their lobby with the future goal of IPO. The same way that Spotify is for music and Netflix is for shows, they want to be the number one portal for hybrid games. AmCham thanks the PortalOne team for their hospitality, and willingness to share their experience and time with us.  

Building a Unicorn

PortalOne is a US company run from Norway. In 2021 they established a production studio in Los Angeles and launched a closed beta for American and Canadian users. As of December 2022, the company has 55 employees, 48 of whom are in Oslo and seven in the US. Their goal is to stay small and outsource where they can, noting that “the bigger the company is, the harder it is to do it”. Currently, they are responsible for full game design and are working on a fifth game to be released.

PortalOne holds the global exclusive rights to all Atari games for the next seven years, after formally being owned by Steven Spielberg for the blockbuster hit “Player One”. The retro-inspired games are based on classic Atari arcade games.

Prizes are given to the top-ranking players, called skill prize, and prizes are also given at random to any player that participated in the daily challenge, called a luck prize – meaning that you don’t need to have a good score to win. The top player receives $100 and the top ten receive $10 each. “We don’t want hardcore gamers because they have good players, but that segment is smaller.” They want the games to be for everyone – regardless of age or gaming ability and currently have players up to age 75. As of December 2022, they have millions of games played in total and around seven thousand test players.

Stig Olav shows participants some of the classic arcade games in the PortalOne office.

Past Rising Leaders Events

Rising Leaders Afterwork with PortalOne

January 3, 2023 No Comments

For the last afterwork of 2022 and the program finale, Rising Leaders participants and AmCham members had the opportunity to visit hybrid gaming company and Norwegian unicorn, PortalOne’s brand new offices at Aker Brygge.

Read More »

Rising Leaders Afterwork with Airthings: From an Idea to a Global Scale Up

AmCham News, ,

Rising Leaders Afterwork with Airthings: From an Idea to a Global Scale Up

Rising Leaders and AmCham members gathered at Airthings’ modern Oslo headquarters.

CTO and Co-Founder Erlend Bolle kicked off the meeting with a candid, humorous retelling of the Airthings story, highlighting key moments in their incredible journey from Norway-based startup to international scaleup.

Founded in 2008, the company’s products have made radon detection easy to deploy, as it is accurate and user friendly. The products have changed access to monitoring and analyzing radon and other indoor air pollutants.

Fast forward to today, and the company has established offices in the US, Canada, and Sweden, with over 140 employees from over 30 nations. Over 300K monitors have been sold worldwide.

Creating sustainable hardware products from start to finish - and everything in between

Airthings’ Sustainability Manager Erwin Hasselbrinck shared his background from Greenpeace, his passion for the environment and how he approaches his mission of creating a sustainable hardware product from start to finish.

Hasselbrinck continues establishing Airthings’ circular principles – embedding UN Sustainable Development Goals into Airthings’ core business. The key has been to involve employees across all departments in the search and assessment of solutions to create circular and sustainable business practices and value chains.

With the recent launch of their newest indoor air quality monitor, the Space CO2 Mini, considered the company’s most sustainable product to date, they have managed to reduce carbon footprint by 50% compared to their first all-around product in the same category. Loaded with features, Space CO2 Mini is equipped with additional sensors for temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, noise, light, virus risk and occupancy.

Erlend Bolle

AirThings

Erwin Hasselbrinck

AirThings

Not only is the hardware more sustainable, the addition of these new technologies and sensors helps facility managers to radically reduce energy consumption and use energy more efficiently while proactively fostering a healthy indoor air climate for occupants, benefiting both the planet and their bottom line.

As buildings use 40% of the world’s energy – and 30% of that comes from heating, ventilation, cooling, and lights – being able to make data-driven decisions, regulating according to when people are actually present, and reallocating energy usage when necessary, unlocks significant cost savings.

The presentations were followed by a highly engaging group discussion where participants could ask questions, followed by the opportunity to mingle with representatives from Airthings and AmCham member companies. AmCham thanks the Airthings team for their hospitality, willingness to share their stories and taking the time to answer questions from the group.  

About the Rising Leaders Program

Rising Leaders, a joint AmCham-US Embassy initiative, brings together entrepreneurs, young professionals, and student leaders in an innovative program that promotes diversity and connects promising talent. Through the program, participants engage international business leaders, learn about AmCham member companies, explore careers, and gain business and leadership skills.

The 2021-2022 Rising Leaders class – comprised of 18 women and 10 men between the ages of 22 and 35 – bring with them experience from healthcare, classical music, urban planning, organizational psychology, immigration, engineering, communications, technology, teaching, economics, finance, and marketing. All 28 program participants have demonstrated leadership, entrepreneurial, and/or business excellence in their educational pursuits and careers thus far.

For more information about the program, or to learn how your organization can get involved, please contact Madeleine Brekke.

Rising Leaders Afterwork with PortalOne

January 3, 2023 No Comments

For the last afterwork of 2022 and the program finale, Rising Leaders participants and AmCham members had the opportunity to visit hybrid gaming company and Norwegian unicorn, PortalOne’s brand new offices at Aker Brygge.

Read More »

Kongsberg and Lockheed Martin signs contract for Norwegian Air Surveillance Radars

Business News, Defense / Security, , , 
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KONGSBERG) and Lockheed Martin signed a contract
for KONGSBERG's support of the delivery of the TPY-4 radar to Norway for the
Norwegian Radar Sensor (NORSE) Project.

Through this ca 900 MNOK contract, KONGSBERG will be a significant partner and
subcontractor to Lockheed Martin for the deliveries to the NORSE project. The
KONGSBERG scope of delivery includes hardware, software and final assembly and
test of the TPY-4 radar systems before installation at the radar sites.

"This contract with Lockheed Martin exemplifies the importance of building
durable and trusted partnerships to serve both national and international
customers. Together we will deliver world class radar technology to the
Norwegian Armed Forces. This contract is not only important for KONGSBERG but
also for our subcontractors in Norway," says President of Kongsberg Defence &
Aerospace, Eirik Lie.

In 2018 Lockheed Martin and KONGSBERG signed a Teaming Agreement for cooperation
on the delivery of TPY-4 radars to international customers. 


Kongsberg (OSE-ticker: KOG) is an international, knowledge-based group that
supplies high-tech systems and solutions to customers in the energy, merchant,
navy and defence and aerospace industries. Kongsberg has more than 11,000
employees in 40 countries and a total revenue of NOK 27.5bn in 2021.

Read more HERE.