All posts by Margrethe Harboe

DNV Celebrating a double milestone

Business News, Energy

DNV GL, the world’s leading ship classification society and one of the world’s leading risk and sustainability service providers, is celebrating a double milestone: The Foundation DNV’s 150th anniversary and DNV GL’s first year as a merged company.

To mark the 150th anniversary of Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and the one year anniversary of its merger with Germanischer Lloyd (GL), DNV GL is hosting a prestigious event in Oslo today. Over 1000 guests, made up of dignitaries, government officials and top industry figures and customers, will be present.

“Created from two highly respected companies with parallel histories spanning 150 years (GL was itself formed only three years later) we want to celebrate our legacy but at the same time we are using the occasion to look forward,” says Henrik O. Madsen, President & CEO of the DNV GL Group.

“We want to use the celebrations to create dialogue with our stakeholders on what we expect to be a period of significant change ahead. These dialogues will be structured round anniversary events throughout the year, and focus on a range of sustainability issues. We have been moving in this direction for some time, but we need to have sustainability even more in focus. The anniversary events – and related activities – mark a step in this direction,” explains Madsen.

Read full article here.

Strawberry avslutter Freia-boikott

Business News, Food & Beverage

Stordalens hoteller vil igjen ta inn Melkesjokolade og Firkløver. Konsernsjefen skulle ønske at flere selskaper hadde stått lenger i boikotten.

Hotellkonsernet har boikottet Freia-eier Mondelez i ganske nøyaktig ett år som følge av deres tilstedeværelse i Russland.

Strawberry-sjef Torgeir Silseth nevner to årsaker til at boikotten nå oppheves. Den første handler om Mondelez’ grep om å isolere den russiske virksomheten fra resten av konsernet.
– Det kunngjorde jo Mondelez allerede i fjor sommer. Hva er nytt?

– Vi opplevde ikke at de i praksis gjennomførte den planen – de sa at de skulle gjøre det. Nå har vi fått bekreftet at det er gjennomført.

Read full article here.

AmCham Financial Forum: Political Swings & Addressing Legacy Systems

AmCham News

AmCham Financial Forum: Political Swings & Addressing Legacy Systems

Cross-industry member leaders gathered at DNB’s Bjørvika offices for a morning Financial Forum focusing on the upcoming US election and cloud enabled digital transformation in finance.

DNB’s Senior Economist, Knut Magnussen, led participants through his macro team’s forecasts for how coming US election results can swing world markets.  
“Trumponomics 2.0” would likely see clear policy changes, most strikingly in the form of higher tariffs on trade – impacting all markets. Such tariffs could be quickly implemented through executive order. Immigration is another area of importance for the US economy as there is an acute need for labor. If this flow was to slow, it could put pressure on the labor market and wages.

Although daunting predictions, participants also discussed Biden’s achievements and the potential for the forecast to change as November approaches.

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Richard Caven – 
Lead EMEA Banking Specialist

Knut Magnussen –
Senior Economist

Cloud Transformation – Opportunities & Challenges

CFOs and finance departments are key stakeholders during an organization’s cloud-enabled digital transformation. London-based Richard Caven is a Worldwide Banking Specialist at Amazon Web Services. He is responsible for the development and execution of strategic initiatives to help customers migrate to the cloud and drive their digital transformation journey.

Caven joined participants in examining the major opportunities and challenges of cloud transformation in financial services and roles, such as how to make the finance team’s life easier.

Financial services can certainly benefit from replacing legacy database platforms by migrating to cloud-native database. Older core banking systems are costly to maintain and increasingly complex with new layers on technology stacked on top – which can make the systems vulnerable.

Cloud technologies are more resilient, can cut storage and maintenance costs, reduce risk, assist in compliance, as well as drive agility and innovation. However, it is critical to first determine the business outcomes and data strategy to get there. Caven highlighted the importance of having a clear data strategy and choosing the right architecture, giving participants several use cases.

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.

Previous Forums

AmCham Financial Forum: Advanced Economics – Tech and Policy Evolution

June 17, 2025

Cross-industry member leaders gathered at IBM’s inspiring Client Center for our Financial Forum focusing on the future of financial trends – an evolving financial landscape. Taking the stage was Paolo Sironi, Global Research Leader in Banking & Financial Markets at IBM’s Institute for Business Value (IBV). With his immense background from fintech innovation, he is considered one of the most respected fintech voices globally.

Read More »

AmCham Sustainability Forum: Plastics & Aviation

AmCham News

AmCham Sustainability Forum: Plastics & Aviation

AmCham’s latest Sustainability Forum, hosted by NHO, brought together members representing diverse industries to learn about the NHO’s newly launched single-use plastic products partnership and from Avinor on how Norway is ideally suited as an international test arena for zero and low-emission aircraft.

 

Plastics and the Business Sector: The Norwegian Plastic Partnership

Andreas Pihlstrøm, lawyer at NHO and board member of the Norwegian Packaging Association, discussed the newly launched partnership between the Ministry of Climate & Environment and a number of business organizations to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic products. He illustrated how Norwegian businesses can take lead on the ambitious sustained reduction in the consumption of certain plastic products (SUP art. 4). Next is implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) – setting legally binding goals and deadlines. 

He also presented on legal trends within plastics and shared resources for public access to information  and documentation on the different environmental acts and directives:

  • The Environmental Information Act, imposes a duty for companies to have and to give environmental information
  • The Transparency Act: Responsible business conduct in the supply chain, due diligence duties: Åpenhetsloven

Zero and Low Emission Aviation in Norway

Energy Transition Lead Erik By and Infrastructure & Drone Program Manager Terje Orskaug from Avinor unpacked Norway’s integral initiatives and political ambitions set in motion to advance the development of zero and low emission aviation in Norway. These include government actions, promising new technologies, and the creation of an ecosystem to facilitate innovation and establish Norway as an international test arena for new technologies. Furthermore, they discussed the government’s plans and ambitions laid out in the National Aviation Strategy 2023 and the National Transport Plan 2025-26. The aviation industry, with its high political and social importance, has established five main important work packages:

  • Market Dialogue
  • Airports, Infrastructure & Airspace
  • Energy Supply
  • Regulatory Sandbox
  • Communication & Knowledge Sharing
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About the AmCham Sustainability Forum

Future success is dependent upon running a sustainable business – for people, planet, and profit. Hence, since 2018, AmCham has brought select, cross-industry member company representatives together 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.

AmCham Norway has signed a joint European industry statement on the EUCS 

Business News, Technology

We, the undersigned representatives of European digital business, welcome the progress made on the
European Cybersecurity Certification Scheme for Cloud Services (EUCS), support the direction of the latest
EUCS draft and call upon Member States and the European Commission to ensure a swift adoption of the
scheme, without undue delays.

Our associations represent both cloud customers and cloud vendors active in and contributing to the
European Digital Single Market. We represent European businesses, including SMEs and start-ups, which
require access to the widest range of top-tier digital technologies to deliver their services and products in the EU and internationally. Our members are dedicated to fostering a competitive, innovative, and resilient digital economy.

We believe that an inclusive and non-discriminatory EUCS that supports the free movement of cloud services in Europe will help our members prosper at home and abroad, contribute to Europe’s digital ambitions, and strengthen its resilience and security. The EUCS provides a harmonized framework for assessing and certifying the security of cloud services, ensuring that they meet strict EU cybersecurity standards. This will improve the overall security of our organizations and build trust in the cloud services we use. It will also simplify compliance with EU regulations, making it easier for companies to demonstrate they meet regulatory requirements when using cloud services, and eliminate the complexity caused by fragmentation for multinational companies operating across the EU.

Read full statement here.

Noreg kan satse på KI-forsking med ny nasjonal superdatamaskin

Business News, Technology

Regjeringa har lova å bruke minimum ein milliard kroner over fem år på norsk KI-forsking. No er arbeidet i gang med å ruste opp reknekrafta som trengst for å følge opp satsinga.

No er kontrakta signert. Noreg får ei ny superdatamaskin. Det var Hewlett Packard Enterprise Norge som i slutten av mai vann anbodskonkurransen, med ein kontraktsverdi på 225 millionar kroner. Den nye superdatamaskina er den kraftigaste i norsk historie og vil bidra til eit betydeleg løft for nasjonal forsking og innovasjon innan KI.

– Dette er eit stort steg vidare for Noreg som kunnskapsnasjon. For å henge med i KI-kappløpet, må vi vere mindre avhengige av utanlandske aktørar. Vi må syte for at vi har nok reknekraft sjølve. Det er avgjerande for å sikre norsk kunnskapsberedskap og nasjonal tryggleik, seier forskings- og høgare utdanningsminister Oddmund Hoel (Sp).


Read full article here.

U.S. military officials engage Norwegian construction industry as part of growing European Deterrence Initiative construction mission

Business News, Defense / Security

OSLO, Norway – Engineering and construction professionals from throughout Norway and across Europe recently gathered here to learn more about military construction contracting opportunities with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District in support of regional security initiatives.

Europe District personnel provided nearly 100 members of industry details on how firms can register to compete for U.S. contracts as well as a broad overview of the roughly $200 million in design and construction work planned for the Royal Norwegian Air Force’s Rygge Air Station south of Oslo. The projects are funded through the U.S. European Command’s European Deterrence Initiative using U.S. Air Force military construction funds.

“The Ministry of Defense very much appreciates the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers taking the time and effort to arrange this industry day,” said Norwegian Ministry of Defence Department of Investments Senior Adviser Svein Gjeruldsen when addressing the members of industry at the event. “It confirms the U.S. intention to strive to utilize Norwegian suppliers to the greatest extent practical.”

Read full article here. 

Strengthening Alliances: Insights on the Norwegian Long-Term Defense Plan

AmCham News

Strengthening Alliances: Insights on the Norwegian Long-Term Defense Plan

In May, we had the pleasure of hosting Deputy Director General Marianne Rafn Skuse from the Norwegian Ministry of Defense and US Defense and Naval Attaché Todd Santala at Villa Otium, in collaboration with the US Commercial Service.

Deputy Director General Rafn Skuse, who leads Defense Planning at the Department for Defense Policy and Long-term Planning, shared insights on the newly approved Long-term Defense Plan (LTP). She emphasized the importance of its broad political support in Parliament to ensure continuity and commitment in the years ahead, as the funds will not be fully implemented until 2036. She also highlighted the need to address critical weaknesses in the Norwegian military alongside investing in new capabilities. The main prerequisites for growth include greater endurance, improved living and working conditions for military personnel, increased personnel, and modernized ICT infrastructure. The main priorities for new capabilities are enhanced situational awareness, replacement of the surface fleet, increased capacity for the army and home guard, and strengthened air defense.

The Norwegian defense concept is based on cooperation between the military, allies, and civil-military partnerships. Industrial cooperation will help achieve the Norwegian armed forces’ goals by developing new technologies, facilitating research and innovation, creating faster and more flexible procurement processes, and improving competency.

Defense Attaché Santala emphasized that the significant investments outlined in the LTP will strengthen Norway as a key ally to the US and NATO. He noted that these upgrades and new investments will enhance strategic capabilities in the Arctic region, aligning well with US military objectives and complimenting US capabilities. Norway’s strategic position in NATO has become even more important since Sweden and Finland joined, making Norway a transit country for personnel and equipment. The improvements from the LTP will not only bolster Norway’s national defense but also make it a more reliable partner for its allies.

As the security environment evolves and technological advancements accelerate, industrial cooperation is becoming increasingly crucial. This extends beyond the defense industry to include sectors such as technology, health, and sustainability.

 

About the AmCham Defense Forum

In partnership with the US Commercial Service, the Defense Forum supports US defense industry partners in Norway. Key Patron-level and defense industry representatives gather quarterly to forge enhanced public-private sector collaboration – sharing insights, developments, and trends to secure long-term transatlantic bonds.

Previous Forums

AmCham Defense Forum: Perspectives on US and Norwegian Naval Capabilities and Requirements

In collaboration with the US Commercial Service, AmCham’s second Defense Forum of the year was hosted Vila Otium, where participants were welcomed by Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the U.S. Embassy Oslo, Robert S. Needham. The session featured distinguished speakers Commodore Kyrre Haugen, Commander of the Norwegian Fleet, and Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (ret.), Dean of the Center for Maritime Strategy, Navy League of the United States.

Read More »
May 6, 2025

Northrop Grumman and Andøya Space to Collaborate on Supporting Norway’s Long Term Defense Plan

Business News, Defense / Security

 

OSLO, Norway – May 28, 2024 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) and Andøya Space signed a Memorandum of Understanding formalizing their collaboration to support Norway’s Long Term Defense Plan. This includes developing advanced autonomous maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to meet Norway’s priorities. This partnership will catalyze innovation, stimulate economic growth and establish Andøya as a global leader in autonomous technology.

Read full article here.

KONGSBERG to deliver Joint Strike Missiles (JSM) to USAF

Business News, Defense / Security

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (“KONGSBERG”) has signed an Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA) with the United States Air Force (USAF) for the delivery of Joint Strike Missiles (JSM) for their F-35A aircraft. The contract has a not-to-exceed value of $141 million and deliveries will start in 2026.

We are very pleased that the US Air Force – as the world’s largest operator of the F-35A Lightning II – has decided to procure JSM. JSM combined with the extremely advanced F-35 aircraft creates a formidable strike capability and validates JSM as the internal strike capability for the F-35A.  

“The selection of JSMs by both the USAF and Royal Norwegian Air Force also fully supports NATO’s vision for interchangeability of equipment between allied nations” said Eirik Lie, President of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.

Read full press release here.