All posts by Madeleine Brekke

Yara Mentorship Meeting

AmCham Mentorship Program: Crisis Leadership and the New Role of Business

AmCham News,

AmCham Mentorship Program: Crisis Leadership and the New Role of Business

Emerging corporate talent and seasoned executives from 12 industries gathered on August 23rd to meet with President and CEO of Yara International, Svein Tore Holsether. Proving to be an uplifting and endless treasure trove of information, the discussion centered around a particularly timely topic – leadership before, during, and after a crisis.

Initially established in 1905 as Norsk Hydro, Yara was the world’s first producer of mineral nitrogen fertilizers –a disruptive technology at the time. Their intent was to increase food production to satiate the growing population and combat famine. A study in crisis response and innovation, the company grew to 13 000 employees in over 50 countries, decoupling from Hydro into Yara International in 2004.

Holsether joined as the CEO of Yara in 2015, allowing him to witness first-hand the Paris Agreement, discuss globally the important role of food production in combating climate change, and ultimately catalyze an internally driven redefinition of their mission statement: Responsibly Feed the World and Protect the Planet.

“I am ready to challenge any company out there in the world on our employees' ability to say what the mission is."

Svein Tore Holsether

Respect and Trust

The ability to explain every accident experienced by the company in the last year (80% lower than the average comparable organization, Holsether comments proudly), from memory, is a respect Holsether asserts he owes to all employees. This respect and sense of responsibility seem to radiate through the organization, being echoed by the strong culture of safety, and employee’s recognition of the gravity of their products in the global marketplace.

Speaker

Svein Tore Holsether

From the first reports of the Covid virus in Wuhan, where Yara operates, to the vast shutdowns in Italy, program participants were guided through the sense of urgency and uncertainty that permeated the Yara offices. “We fully understood the potential magnitude of this, and how essential our products are to farmers. If our products do not get to the farmer, yields drop. In the case of wheat, by 50%,” Holsether commented, “our organization felt the pressures of surviving a health pandemic and responsibility of preventing a hunger pandemic.”

Knowing immediately the importance of maintaining operational control and protecting the health of employees, the Yara management team pulled together a panel of their most experienced operators. Leaning away from the traditional reaction of setting in place massive reporting structures and strict demands, Holsether asserts that his team knew they could rely on their colleagues globally because of three primary characteristics: a strong sense of mission, an unflappable safety program, and solid company culture.

Holsether noted that when he approached the board to tell them of their decision to give full regional control, they received full support. He empowered the organization to make decisions regionally, and prescribed three priorities:

  1. Look after the health and safety of Yara’s employees and contractors
  2. Support local governments in limiting the spread of the virus
  3. Get the product produced and out to the customers

Loyalty and Lasting Change

When the production numbers started rolling in, the company knew they had made the right decision. Regionally, teams were fighting for their rights to produce, meeting their goals, and ensuring that farmers globally were receiving their products. With this feedback, and knowing that the pandemic would be lasting, Holsether and his team set to work on how to reduce fear in their organization, and thereby allow for deeper focus. Yara put into place income security for all employees and contractors globally, in the case they should need to shut down. They initiated sick pay in areas with no formal regulation, and later, global parental paid leave.

“These past 18 months have been life changing for many of us and it has definitely, for me as a CEO, changed the way I lead the company and my productivity.”

Svein Tore Holsether

The past 18 months, the urgency, the reduction in travel, the need for regional understanding, has all impacted Holsether as a leader and brought him closer to Yara as a whole. Taking this time to connect with employees, he has made himself available by email and through town halls, answering every email he receives. His respect for, and dedication to, the mission of the company, the role of the employee, and the importance of global responsibility shone through in every aspect of his presentation.

Svein Tore recently accepted a new for as the president of NHO, a role that requires much dedication, which has left a lot of people wondering how on earth he has the time to allocate. His response to that is “how do I not have time?”. He suggested that participants reflect on how much time they spend on internal communication versus external communication. “It is about collaboration and SDG goal # 17: Cooperation and Partnership. That is where NHO comes in. “

Achieving goals with farmers is only possible if their retailers help set the agenda on how the food is grown – ensuring farmer livelihood and a healthy climate.

“Business will not prosper in a society that does not prosper."

Svein Tore Holsether

Leaving mentees with lasting and thought-provoking advice, Holsether highlighted how participants can choose work sustainably. “Do something that gives energy rather than extracts energy – it’s the only way for work to be sustainable.”

About the AmCham Mentorship Program

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.

Past Mentorship Program Events

Norwegian start-up wins AmCham EU Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Business News, Seafood

During the past nine years, AmCham EU has hosted a Youth Entrepreneurship Award in cooperation with JA Europe. The award is open to start-ups from all over Europe.
 
Announced today, we are happy to share that this year’s winner is a Norwegian start-up! Congratulations to Maria Wathne, CEO of Paramate for winning the Female Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 award!

Paramate develops sensors and connected software that enables fish farmers to monitor the level of hydrogen sulfide on their land-based farms, preventing outbreaks of toxic gas and promoting better management of resources and the environment.

Read the press release HERE

The Altia & Arcus merger in Finland, Norway and Sweden

Business News, Food & Beverage

Merger between Altia Oyj (Altia) and Arcus ASA (Arcus) was notified to competition authorities in Finland, Norway and Sweden. The parties to the transaction are alcoholic beverage companies that mainly manufacture, import and distribute spirits and wines.

Altia is a Finnish company that is primarily active in the Nordic countries. Arcus is a Norwegian company group that operates in 30 different countries, although with main footprint in the Nordic countries and Germany. Competition authorities in all countries where the merger was subject to (mandatory) filing accepted the merger subject to divestiture commitments.

Read more HERE

Tesla Will Allow Other Cars To Charge At Norway Superchargers. That’s A Big Deal

Automobile / Transport, Business News

Tesla has indicated that next year it will allow other cars to charge at their supercharger network, at least in Norway. If it stays in Norway — which has certain regulatory incentives to make your chargers available to all cars — it’s no big deal, but if it spreads it could be a big change.

Tesla’s supercharger network is a huge advantage over other cars. In fact, until recently, I told anybody shopping for an electric car, “If you want to be able to do road trips outside of your town, the only choice is Tesla.” That may be slowly changing as the network of CCS/Chademo chargers, mostly being built by Electrify America as Volkswagen’s penance for Dieselgate, is growing to a good size.

Read more HERE

Pressure grows for Biden to ease pandemic travel bans

Airline / Travel, Business News, ,

The Biden administration is coming under pressure to ease travel bans for international tourists that were originally put in place to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With Europe opening its borders to American tourists and vaccination rates increasing in the U.S., public health experts and travel industry groups are saying the time is right to restart international travel. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the U.S. is looking to the advice of medical experts on the best course of action, but that a group of American and European officials are working together on an agreement. 

Read more HERE

130 countries and jurisdictions join bold new framework for international tax reform

Accounting / Financial, Business News, Tax

130 countries and jurisdictions have joined a new two-pillar plan to reform international taxation rules and ensure that multinational enterprises pay a fair share of tax wherever they operate.

130 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 90% of global GDP, joined the Statement establishing a new framework for international tax reform. A small group of the Inclusive Framework’s 139 members have not yet joined the Statement at this time.  The remaining elements of the framework, including the implementation plan, will be finalised in October.

The framework updates key elements of the century-old international tax system, which is no longer fit for purpose in a globalised and digitalised 21st century economy. 

Read more: HERE

Member Profile: New 2 Norway

AmCham News, Company Profiles, Travel, ,

MEMBER PROFILE

New 2 Norway

Tove Jane Fjeldstad, Founder & Managing Director 

With their 20th anniversary quickly approaching, AmCham sat down with Tove Jane Fjeldstad, Founder and Managing Director of New 2 Norway to gain insight into the industry and hear about their exciting plans for 2022. 

New 2 Norway offers Norwegian language courses customized to individual needs and progress. Tove Jane truly loves what she does, and it shows. With over 25 years of experience, she knows the industry like the back of her hand.  

Tove Jane and Madeleine met up in Dronningens Hage

Language Learning During and Post-Pandemic

While most have been far less mobile during the past year due to travel restrictions and other regulations, Tove Jane was ahead of time when offered online classes via Skype to specialized online teaching platform. She also noticed an increase in those wanting to learn and build skills, including brushing up on their Norwegian skills via online teaching platform. Not only was this a phenomenon in Norway, but a developing trend of language learning increasing globally. Additional time at one’s disposal due to home office and home deliveries, meant there was good opportunity to pursue existing interests, such as language learning. 

Many working professionals have returned to school during their furlough. Suddenly, executives who have been in Norway for five to ten years were given the opportunity to learn as a part of skill-building through their employer. 

Building Connections Through Language

Norwegian is said to be one of the easiest languages in the world for a native English speaker to learn. The reason is that from a linguistic perspective, the languages have a lot in common: the way verbs work, word order (in many, but not all cases), and a large amount of shared vocabulary, although the Norwegian language has fewer words compared to English. Composite words are commonplace, whereby two words are compounded to make a new one.

Tove Jane notes that perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of learning Norwegian is that Norwegians generally don’t make it easy for expatriates to practice their Norwegian. Norwegians will gladly switch to English once a non-Norwegian person enters the conversation. It is commonly said that you don’t need to speak Norwegian to live in Oslo, but that is not the case in all of Norway. 

Showing interest in learning the language shows colleagues respect and a positive attitude towards the culture. However, in many cases, Norwegian is the fourth or fifth language of immigrants to Norway. Tove Jane has experienced high-level executives who understand Norwegian perfectly but lack the confidence of speaking. Many are looking to learn so they can communicate more effectively and connect with their teams. For practicing, she suggests engaging in conversation with someone outside the company or family. The New 2 Norway team consists of knowledgeable teachers who can customize their programs to fit the needs of the individual learner. Classes are offered to individuals or to small groups of up to six persons.

Combining “Norgesferie” with Learning

One of the best ways to learn Norwegian is by learning through experience, New 2 Norway’s Explore Language Packages are five-day intensive training programs through which you’ll learn Norwegian by doing, by talking to people, by interacting in real-life scenarios, and by living the Norwegian culture.

The Explore Program is perfect for individuals who:

  • want to learn Norwegian as fast as possible, 
  • need to improve their communication skills in Norwegian, 
  • wish to be able to measure their progress in a systematic way, 
  • love nature, outdoor activities, and adventure. 

Currently, the Explore Language Packages are offered in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and beautiful Sognefjorden (the area where Tove Jane grew up). From 2022, they will expand and offer Explore Packages in additional locations covering the East, West, North and South. 

Tove Jane has never been to the far north of Norway, but she would like to go to Tromsø! She enjoys the idyllic south coast, and says “Norway is so diverse, there are so many opportunities both by the sea and in the mountains.” 

Tove Jane’s “dream holiday” in the US would be to go back to New York, and she would also like to visit her working partners in Minnesota. 

Interested in learning more about New 2 Norway’s language courses?

Visit: Norwegian Language Courses by New 2 Norway

Rising Leaders: From Startup to Multinational and Back

AmCham News, Rising Leaders

Rising Leaders: From Startup to Multinational and Back

Rising Leaders participants and AmCham members were joined by Marco Forestiere, Country Manager at Amgen Norway, for a session recounting his experience in transitioning from a small business to a multinational company, and back to his passion for entrepreneurship.

Originally from Italy, Forestiere has extensive healthcare and technology industry experience as a former telecom engineer. He explained candidly that he had no clear purpose when he was starting his career and walked participants through critical moments in his path, from working at Accenture to starting and tanking his own company, to going back to school for his MBA and serving 11 years at Indiana-based multinational Eli Lilly.

Forestiere highlighted that a “career is not a linear path” as he shared the ups and downs he experienced, but admitted that timing was an important factor. His career took a turn to pharma by chance. He originally applied for his first role at Eli Lilly thinking it was the coffee company Illy. Starting with an unpaid internship, he rotated domestically for five years before taking on international roles in the US and Czech Republic. Although extremely grateful for the investment that Eli Lilly made in him, his roles left him longing for increased autonomy.

Joining Amgen, Forestiere was looking to find the startup passion once again. Amgen is one of the world’s largest independent biotechnology pharmaceutical companies – dedicated to discovering, developing, manufacturing, and delivering innovative human therapeutics for serious illnesses. With his background in IT and a more limited healthcare background, Forestiere noted the importance of trusting his team, and acknowledging his own limitations.

To Forestiere, Amgen still feels like a start-up: starting with biotechnology in the 80s, they are still experimenting. He easily recognizes himself in the purpose: to help people and improve lives.

Speaker

Marco Forestiere

Personal Connections to Employees and Colleagues

Inspired by the trust that was placed in him by his former manager, Forestiere’s true purpose is connecting with and developing people.

He finds it important to be in touch frequently, ask questions about what employees and colleagues do outside of work, their passions, and to build personal connections so that people are comfortable enough to speak up. It is about the balance of the inside and the outside of work. Investing- such time and focus has been even more important during times of uncertainty such as the pandemic.

“What I have told you has been my professional CV, but I have not told you about my family and the personal events that shaped my decisions. At that time, I was also starting my family – that was another important start-up.”

Importance of Fun at Work

Inspired by one of his employees, Forestiere believes that fun should be incorporated wherever possible in work. According to him, fun is a “refresher of the mind” and an important contributor to performing well and thinking clearly. “It is not about how you work, it is about how you create energy.”

If you work with fun, you can work forever.

Marco Forestiere

When asked what his team has done to foster fun, he lists several examples including the gamification of tasks and challenges, hosting a cooking show where he shared his favorite recipe, and inviting a member of their IT team (a secret Aikido master) to teach a private Aikido class.

Following the presentation and discussion, Tu An Ngo from the US Embassy led a short session on building a meaningful vision statement with examples and steps to create one of your own. Forestiere noted the importance of allowing yourself to change the vision statement as you go along, as things may change, but to set the purpose as it serves as a guard rail.

2021-2022 Rising Leader Board Elections Announced

After the inspiring presentations, sitting Rising Leader President announced the election of the new board and the open positions participants can run for. The new board will be in place by May 28th.

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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 to promote diversity and connect promising talent. Through the program, participants engage international business leaders, learn about AmCham member companies, explore careers, and gain business and leadership skills.

The 2020-21 Rising Leaders class – comprised of 17 women and 10 men between the ages of 23 and 35 – bring with them experience from healthcare, classical music, urban planning, organizational psychology, immigration, engineering, communications, technology, teaching, economics, finance, and marketing. All 27 program participants have demonstrated leadership, entrepreneurial, and/or business excellence in their educational pursuits and careers thus far.

Applications for next year’s program will open on June 1st with a deadline set for June 30th. Stay tuned for more announcements via LinkedIn.

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

Past Rising Leader 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 »

How an Oil Company Becomes a Renewables Company

Business News, Energy

Last week a raft of oil majors released their first-quarter results, with companies like Royal Dutch Shell Plc showing a return to pre-pandemic profit levels. At the same time, some of the majors increased their energy transition commitments: as my Bloomberg Intelligence colleagues Salih Yilmaz and Will Hares noted on Twitter, Spanish firm Repsol SA devoted 40% of its capital expenditure to low-carbon projects, and France’s Total SE stated plans to increase its renewable energy capacity five-fold over the next four years.

There are energy-transition commitments, though, and then there are energy-transition results. And on the latter side, one company shines: Norway’s state-owned oil producer, Equinor ASA. It posted more than $2.6 billion of earnings in the first quarter of 2021, 49% of which was from renewable energy. Last quarter, Equinor earned more from renewables than it did from oil and gas exploration and production.

Read the full article HERE