Thomas G. Michelet
Member of the Council
Attorney and Partner, Law Firm Selmer
Council
The main practice areas of Michelet are private and public domestic and cross-border M&As, joint ventures and alliances, corporate strategy, banking and finance.
Michelet has advised on a number of investment projects in Eastern Europe within shipping, food, oil&gas, forestry, agriculture and media. He has since 1995 assisted IFC, as well as both the EBRD (London) and its North-West and West Regional Venture Fund on equity and loan projects.
Thomas G. Michelet is cand. jur. from the University of Oslo and Master of Laws from the University of Aberdeen.
Arne Benjaminsen
Member of the Council
Director, University of Oslo
Arne Benjaminsen is the Director of the University of Oslo. Prior to his appointment as the highest ranking administrative manager at the University, Arne Benjaminsen held the position of Director General at the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries.
He has previously held positions as Director of the University of Tromsø, Head of the new Research and Innovation Department in the Ministry of Fisheries and acting Secretary General at the Ministry of Fisheries in 2011.
Frode Mellemvik
Member of the Council
Director, the High North Center for Business and Governance
Frode Mellemvik is a professor and presently Director of the High North Center for Business and Governance in Bodø. He is a former Rector at the Bodø High School of Management, today being the University of Bodø. Since the end of the 1980’s, he has exercised cooperation with educational institutions of the Countries in the High North Region.
Mellemvik is also appointed as a Chair of the Governmental Expert Commission on the High North (Regjeringens ekspertutvalg for Nordområdene) and holds several Board positions both in private and public sectors.
Jens P. Heyerdahl d.y.
Member of the Council
Jens P. Heyerdahl d.y. is a lawyer and investor.
As former CEO of Orkla (1979-2001), Heyerdahl developed the concern from a middle-size mining and metallurgy company to a solid Scandinavian group of companies with diversified activities. Under his management, Orkla made several strategically investments within Eastern Europe in the early 1990’s, amongst these in the Baltica breweries – at that time the largest Norwegian investment in the region.
When Heyerdahl started as CEO in 1979, Orkla had a few hundred employees and a turnover of approx. NOK 300 million. When he stepped down as CEO in 2001, the Group has grown to 35 000 employees and had 45 billion in turnover.
Jens P. Heyerdahl d.y. and his family controls a major holding of share in the newspaper Dagbladet.
Heyerdahl holds several board positions and has extensive business contacts both in private and public sector.
Bjørn Celius
Member of the Council
Bjørn Celius is Chairman of the Board of Kirkenes Fondsforvaltning. Previously, he has been a Senior Vice President at DNB Bank for almost 40 years, amongst other managing branches abroad.
Bjørn Celius holds master degree in laws from the University of Oslo.
Thor Asbjoern Halvorsen
Member of the Council
Thor Asbjoern Halvorsen has been Senior Vice President in Region Europe of Telenor ASA and Director of several companies in Norway and internationally. He has served in several Executive Management positions in Telenor, including as Chief Executive Officer of Telenor Networks from 1995 to 1998, as Chief Executive Officer of Telenor Business Solutions and as Executive Vice President of Telenor Mobile International responsible for global Mobile operations.
Prior to 1993, he was responsible for sales activities, product management, R&D and various technical activities both in the fixed and mobile networks.
Mr. Halvorsen holds a MSc in Electrical Engineering (Telecommunications and Computer Science) from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in Trondheim, Norway and studied Management Development at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France and at IMD in Switzerland.
Bengt Lie Hansen
Member of the Council
BLH Energyconsulting AS
Bengt Lie Hansen is an independent consultant within oil & gas sector, a lawyer and previously held several leading positions in Norwegian oil & gas companies. In 2010 he joined law firm Selmer as a non-equity partner. He is a former regional president of Statoil Hydro in the northern areas building on his experience from being in charge of Hydro’s project participations in the Barents Sea.
Prior to that, Lie Hansen was in charge of Hydro’s activities in Mid-Norway and thus as well Chair of the Board of the Ormen Lange project. He joined Hydro in 1983, and has had several leading positions within gas, research, economy, strategy and commercial activities.
Lie Hansen holds a professor II position at the University of Nordland, Bodø.
Reidar Karlsen
Member of the Council
Consultant in Business Development and Management
Reidar Karlsen holds board positions in several Norwegian and East European companies. Reidar Karlsen is former Executive Vice President of A-pressen ASA with responsibility for their activities in Eastern Europe.
Before joining the A-pressen, he has worked within the company’s national business, among others as General Director in Arbeiderbladet (now Dagsavisen). Reidar Karlsen has broad experience from business development and management from senior positions in media, energy sector, and aviation.
His basic education is military – he left the Army with the rank of Lt Colonel.
Reidar Karlsen has been a EAST CCI Board Member since establishment of the Chamber in 2003. In 2012 he resigned Board member position. He is awarded Honorary Membership and has served as a member of the Chamber Council since December 2021.
Rolf Fiskerstrand
Member of the Council
CEO, Fiskerstrand Holding AS
More information to come.
Geir Westgaard
Member of the Council
Senior Adviser, Global External Analysis, Equinor
More information to come.