Tag Archives: IBM

Rising Leaders: An Unprecedented Opportunity with Thomas Anglero

AmCham News, Rising Leaders,

Rising Leaders: An Unprecedented Opportunity with Thomas Anglero

Gathering virtually for the last after-work session of the year, Rising Leaders participants and AmCham members were joined by Thomas Anglero, IBM’s Nordic Director of Innovation, for an impactful session on finding yourself and taking chances.

“You are living in an unprecedented time of opportunity. Why do I say that? COVID. COVID-19 leveled the playing field. People considered experts in their fields have had their entire businesses turned upside down.

Who is to say that you are too young, too inexperienced to have the answer? The experts sure don’t. You have the opportunity of a lifetime. Don’t be afraid to speak up and take chances. The time is now.” – Thomas Anglero

Anglero passionately recounted the story of how he ended up in Norway – and how joined IBM. Born and raised in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Anglero charted the difficult path of “walking the cultural tightrope” when moving to and working within a different culture. Fittingly, 2020-21 Rising Leader participants represent 16 countries, and several are new to the Norwegian workforce.

As work has now more than ever encroached into the home, the group discussed how to create boundaries and disconnect, but also how to find motivation and remain driven during tough times.

Participants chimed in with their own experiences and advice to conclude an inspirational session.

Thomas Anglero

Nordic Director of Innovation

About Thomas Anglero

Thomas Anglero, an expert in innovation and artificial intelligence with 25 years of industry experience, is also a highly regarded motivational speaker. Before IBM, Anglero served as the Nordic Director of Innovation at the Norwegian Tax Authority (Skatteetaten).

Thomas is a dedicated social entrepreneur, holding courses and lectures on passion, leadership and dignity. In 2008, Thomas received the “Top 10 Most Influential Foreigner” award in Norway for his contributions, expertise, energy, and ability to communicate complex subjects in a simple way to audiences ranging from CEOs and Heads of State to aspiring young leaders.

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About the Rising Leader 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.

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.

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IBM Uncovers Global Phishing Campaign Targeting the COVID-19 Vaccine Cold Chain

Business News, Health, Technology,

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, IBM Security X-Force created a threat intelligence task force dedicated to tracking down COVID-19 cyber threats against organizations that are keeping the vaccine supply chain moving. As part of these efforts, our team recently uncovered a global phishing campaign targeting organizations associated with a COVID-19 cold chain. The cold chain is a component of the vaccine supply chain that ensures the safe preservation of vaccines in temperature-controlled environments during their storage and transportation.

Our analysis indicates that this calculated operation started in September 2020. The COVID-19 phishing campaign spanned across six countries and targeted organizations likely associated with Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance’s Cold Chain Equipment Optimization Platform (CCEOP) program, which we explain further in this blog. While firm attribution could not be established for this campaign, the precision targeting of executives and key global organizations hold the potential hallmarks of nation-state tradecraft.

Some details from IBM Security X-Force’s analysis of this activity include:

  • The Cover Story — The adversary impersonated a business executive from Haier Biomedical, a credible and legitimate member company of the COVID-19 vaccine supply chain and qualified supplier for the CCEOP program. The company is purportedly the world’s only complete cold chain provider. Disguised as this employee, the adversary sent phishing emails to organizations believed to be providers of material support to meet transportation needs within the COVID-19 cold chain. We assess that the purpose of this COVID-19 phishing campaign may have been to harvest credentials, possibly to gain future unauthorized access to corporate networks and sensitive information relating to the COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
  • The Targets — The targets included the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union, as well as organizations within the energy, manufacturing, website creation and software and internet security solutions sectors. These are global organizations headquartered in Germany, Italy, South Korea, Czech Republic, greater Europe and Taiwan.
  • The How — Spear-phishing emails were sent to select executives in sales, procurement, information technology and finance positions, likely involved in company efforts to support a vaccine cold chain. We also identified instances where this activity extended organization-wide to include help and support pages of targeted organizations.

IBM Security X-Force has followed responsible disclosure protocols and notified the appropriate entities and authorities about this targeted operation.

Alert for the COVID-19 Supply Chain

IBM Security X-Force urges companies in the COVID-19 supply chain — from research of therapies, healthcare delivery to distribution of a vaccine — to be vigilant and remain on high alert during this time. Governments have already warned that foreign entities are likely to attempt to conduct cyber espionage to steal information about vaccines. Today, in conjunction with this blog, DHS CISA is issuing an alert encouraging organizations associated with the storage and transport of a vaccine to review this research and recommended best practices to remain vigilant.

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IBM Report: Compromised Employee Accounts Led to Most Expensive Data Breaches Over Past Year

Business News, Technology,

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — IBM Security (NYSE: IBM) announced today the results of a global study examining the financial impact of data breaches, revealing that these incidents cost companies studied $3.86 million per breach on average, and that compromised employee accounts were the most expensive root cause. Based on in-depth analysis of data breaches experienced by over 500 organizations worldwide, 80% of these incidents resulted in the exposure of customers’ personally identifiable information (PII). Out of all types of data exposed in these breaches, customer PII was also the costliest to businesses studied.

As companies are increasingly accessing sensitive data via new remote work and cloud-based business operations, the report sheds light on the financial losses that organizations can suffer if this data is compromised. A separate IBM study found that over half of surveyed employees new to working from home due to the pandemic have not been provided with new guidelines on how to handle customer PII, despite the changing risk models associated with this shift.

Sponsored by IBM Security and conducted by the Ponemon Institute, the 2020 Cost of a Data Breach Report is based on in-depth interviews with more than 3,200 security professional in organizations that suffered a data breach over the past year.

Find out more HERE.

Pressemelding: Yara og IBM samarbeider om fremtidens landbruk

Business News, Chemicals / Metals, Technology, ,

Oslo, Norge og Armonk, N.Y., 26. april, 2019: Yara International (OSE: YAR), et ledende globalt gjødselselskap, og IBM (NYSE: IBM), kunngjorde i dag en avtale om å bygge en global digital landbruksplattform, og å tilby helhetlige digitale tjenester og agronomisk rådgivning.

De to selskapene vil sammen bidra til å øke den globale matproduksjonen ved å trekke på sine komplementære evner: Yaras agronomiske kunnskap med over 800 agronomer på bakken og mer enn hundre års erfaring, og IBMs digitale plattformer, tjenester og kompetanse innen kunstig intelligens (AI) og dataanalyse.

«Vårt samarbeid dreier seg om å gjøre en reell forskjell i landbruket. For å kunne brødfø en voksende befolkning på en ansvarlig måte, er det avgjørende at bønder øker matproduksjonen på eksisterende jordbruksområder, slik at man unngår avskoging. Yara og IBM skal utvikle digitale løsninger som gir store og små bønder muligheten til å øke avlinger, kvalitet og inntekter på en bærekraftig måte,» sier Terje Knutsen, Konserndirektør for Salg og Markedsføring i Yara.

Den felles globale digitale landbruksplattformen vil anvende kunstig intelligens, maskinlæring og datainnsamling for å gi ny innsikt til bøndene. Den digitale plattformen vil være tilgjengelig over hele verden med en ambisjon om å dekke 100 millioner hektar jordbruksareal – noe som tilsvarer to ganger størrelsen på Spania eller nær 7 prosent av alle jordbruksarealer i hele verden*, inkludert millioner av småbruk.

«Ettersom etterspørselen etter mat stiger i takt med befolkningsøkningen i verden, vil den digitale landbruksplattformen spille en viktig rolle for å øke verdens avlinger på en bærekraftig måte. IBMs kapasitet og ekspertise innenfor AI, big data og blokkjede-teknologi, sammen med Yaras agronomiske kunnskap, digitale innovasjonskraft og globale erfaring innenfor landbruk, er en perfekt kombinasjon i partnerskapet vårt,» sier Luq Niazi, Global Managing Director for Consumer Industries i IBM.

Som et første skritt vil Yara og IBM etablere felles innovasjonsgrupper i digitale hubs i Europa, Singapore, USA og Brasil. Teamene skal samarbeide tett med IBM-forskere for å utvikle nye tjenester, for eksempel innen visuell analyse og maskininnlæringsteknikker for å identifisere og sjekke avlinger. De første tjenestene er planlagt levert i slutten av 2019.

Flytter grensene for digitalt jordbruk

Partnerskapet mellom Yara/IBM vil ta for seg alle aspekter ved jordbruksoptimering. Et spesifikt samarbeidsområde vil være værdata. Evnen til å reagere på væromslag er avgjørende for landbruk. Ved å slå sammen analytisk innsikt fra IBMs Watson Studio, IBM PAIRS-teknologien, The Weather Company og andre tjenester, med Yaras kunnskap om avlinger og modellering, vil den felles plattformen ikke bare muliggjøre hyperlokaliserte værmeldinger, men også kunne gi anbefalinger i sanntid, skreddersydd for hver enkelt åker og avling.

Når den felles digitale landbruksplattformen utvides, vil gruppene utforske løsninger for å integrere plattformen med IBM Food Trust, IBMs blokkjedebaserte nettverk for aktører i hele matkjeden. Dette vil muliggjøre større sporbarhet og effektivitet, samt gi nye verktøy for å bekjempe matsvindel, redusere svinn og øke bærekraft. Det vil knytte enkeltgårder sammen med hele matkjeden, og skape en helhetlig tilnærming til matproduksjon fra gård til tallerken.

Kontrakten ble inngått i april 2019.

* Verdensbanken, FAO.

Klikk HER for å lese hele pressemeldingen.

Forum Summary: AmCham CFO Forum – February 2019

Accounting / Financial, AmCham News, , , ,

The second edition of AmCham’s CFO Forum brought international, cross-industry financial leaders together at IBM’s Oslo Client Center to discuss the concept of “The CFO of the Future.”

With participants from Discovery Networks Norway, Fast Solutions, Gelato, IBM, KPMG, Stanley Security, Pfizer, Arntzen de Besche Advokatfirma, BI Norwegian Business School, Microsoft and Roche in attendance, IBM Global Business Services’ Karina Bjørnarøy kicked off the forum by introducing the concept of Enterprise Design Thinking.

Using this comprehensive framework geared to solve users’ problems “at the speed and scale of the modern digital enterprise,” attendees completed a series of workshop exercises to design the CFO of the future by modelling the CFO of today – reflecting on their own career experiences and bonding over common challenges in the process.

A central takeaway was the human element of the CFO profession. As one attendee noted, “Reports don’t create results, it’s what people do with them.” From driving employee engagement, to developing accountability structures, to understanding how to better cast the CFO as a strategic partner, participants were immersed in discussion as they came up with “bold ideas” to improve the day-to-day work life of their imagined CFO.

The forum was highly engaging, and participants welcomed the opportunity to connect with their peers over what it means to be a CFO in today’s rapidly changing business environment – a topic we will delve further into during our Q2 meeting.

AmCham would like to thank the entire team at IBM Norway for hosting and facilitating this instalment of our CFO Forum.

About the CFO Forum

The AmCham CFO Forum is a platform that gives financial leaders the opportunity to interact, share best practices, and learn from each other – building a better understanding of what it takes to run a successful international finance department in Norway in the process. Our next CFO Forum is in the works for Q2. For interest in participating, please contact us.

AmCham Mentorship Program 2016 Summary

AmCham News, AmCham Norway, , , , ,

AmCham has rounded off a successful debut year of the Mentorship Program, where mentors and mentees from eight Patron member businesses were paired across industries to exchange experiences and learn from each other.

Kristian Røkke, Akastor, and Benjamin Kuban, AmCham, at the first Mentorship Program common session.

AmCham Norway introduced the Mentorship Program in 2016 as Patron member benefit, aiming to promote inter-industry dialogue and to provide a platform where young professionals and experienced international leaders can share best practices and gain new perspectives.

The participating companies, all members of the Fortune 500 list, are McDonald’s, AIG, 3M, Citibank, Abbott, IBM, Google and MSD. All participants were therefore paired across from industries to add further substance to the learning experience.

“Direct employee feedback is a gift to any corporation. One of my reflections of this mentoring relationship was around how to harness that information and use it to make positive changes that will also benefit the bottom line,” former McDonald’s Norway Country Director, Lauren Cody said about the program.

Lasting from March 2016 until the end of the year, mentors and their mentees met over the course of eight planned sessions, discussing various themes related to leadership and insight into how to succeed in a top-level business environment.

“I really appreciated the opportunity to discuss career and personal goals with someone outside my own company. Additionally, it provided me with an objective view of various opportunities and values to consider as a whole,” Wenche Setsaas, the mentee representing Citibank said, at the final meeting for the 2016 program, hosted at Google’s offices in Oslo.

Asked to reflect on the Mentorship Program, both mentors and mentees concluded it was a highly enjoyable and educational experience- particularly as the program enabled two-way exchange of ideas.

“On a general note, I valued the opportunity to share my ideas, but also learned from my mentee and learnt about her organization,” Jan Grønbech, country manager of Google Norway, said.

“For me, the sessions were a helpful reminder of some of the frustrations, barriers, as well as motivations faced by talented people in large, complex organizations.

“It made me reflect more about what I can do as a leader within my own business to remove barriers and bring clarity about the why we are doing things in a certain way versus just talking about what we are all doing,” Cody explained when talking about her own experience as a mentor.

The final session, a plenum gathering discussing experiences and ideas for the Mentorship Program in 2017, also featured guest speaker Maalfrid Brath, Managing Director at Manpower Group Norway, who highlighted key employment points and trends.

Host of the closing session, Jan Grønbech, Google, giving a summery the 2016 Mentorship Program.

AmCham Norway is now in the planning-phase of the 2017 Mentorship Program and we are looking to increase the number of participating companies. Please contact us at Didrik.ottesen@amcham.no for more information.