SPEAKERS 2019
They will be available for you on the day of the event to answer your questions.
ANNE VERA SKRIVARHAUG
NVE, Norway
Director of Energy
NVE, Norway
Anne has 25 years of experience in national and international energy markets. She holds a double Master’s degree in Energy from the French Institute of Petroleum (IFPEN) and the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School) and has occupied various management positions in the last 22 years. For the last 6 years, she has been Director of Energy Systems at the Norwegian Water Resource and Energy Directorate (NVE), her main responsibility being to advise Norway’s Minister of Energy on security of supply issues. Previous to that, she was Vice President at Statkraft, responsible for European market analysis.
RAGNVALD NAERO
Smart Energy Network, Norway
Founder
Smart Energy Network, Norway
Ragnvald Naero is the founder and CEO of Smart Energy Network, which was established in 2017. He has accumulated a wealth of experience through his range of management positions in media, PR, aviation and energy companies, and through his role as a director of a number of large energy operators as well as industrial companies. From 2010 till July 2016 he was Business Development Director at Statkraft, Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy.
THOR ERIK GRAMMELTVEDT
Statnett, Norway
Director of Strategy
Statnett, Norway
Thor Erik holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Oslo. He joined Stattnet in 2013 as manager of the Cross Border Trade department, after spending 13 years with the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), where his roles included that of manager of the electricity market division. He is now Stattnet’s Director of Strategy.
JOËLLE MASTELIC
HES-SO ValaisWallis, Switzerland
Professor UAS
HES-SO Valais/Wallis, Switzerland
Joëlle has been a professor at the HES-SO Valais-Wallis since 2008. She teaches Marketing and Innovation at Bachelor and Master level. Her research at Living Labs focuses on open innovation with users, also known as co-design. In 2013, Joëlle created the first Energy Living Lab in Switzerland, which helps companies and public authorities to develop products and services co-developed by users in the energy sector. She is currently working on various projects on user integration in the energy sector.
TORSTEIN MELHUS
Agder Energi, Norway
Director Market
Agder Energi, Norway
Mech Engineer, Torstein has 20 years of experience in industry related business and has filled almost every position on the organization chart. He took part of the digitalization transformation in telecoms which is relevant for the ongoing transformation within the energy sector. Last 12 years, he works by Agder Energi, with focus on sustainable district heating and cooling, subsidiaries within entrepreneur business and electrification. As a hybrid between industry and utilities, Torstein has a robust background to bridge companies across sectors to create sustainable solutions.
ESPEN MEHLUM
World Economic Forum
Head of Knowledge Management, Shaping the Future of Energy
World Economic Forum, Switzerland
Espen has 20 years of experience in the energy sector and has been with the World Economic Forum since 2006. He was an advisor at the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy from 2000 to 2004, and served as Norway’s Energy Advisor to the International Energy Agency (IEA) from 2004 to 2006. He then joined the World Economic Forum to lead the energy utility industry agenda and projects. In his current role, Espen is deputy head of the Energy System Initiative.
SAMUEL RUTZ
Avenir Suisse
Programme and Research Manager
Avenir Suisse
Dr. Samuel Rutz holds the post of Adjunct Fellow at Avenir Suisse, focusing mainly on privatization as well as competition policy and regulation. After his studies in economics at the University of Zurich he worked for a few years as research assistant at the Center of Economic Research at ETH Zurich and at the Competition Commission, where he was chief economist and a member of the extended management team.
ERIK FØRNER
Royal Norwegian Embassy, Switzerland
Ambassador
Royal Norwegian Embassy, Switzerland
His Excellency Ambassador Erik Forner was born in Oslo. After studying at the universities of Oslo and Mannheim, he joined the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His diplomatic career took him to Austria and Germany, and he was Norwegian ambassador to the Philippines for four years before his appointment as head of the embassy in Switzerland in 2018.
DAVID CORTHAY
Vertical Studio, Switzerland
Design thinking & innovation facilitator
Vertical Studio, Switzerland
David Corthay is the founder of Vertical, a design and innovation consultancy based in Lausanne and Martigny, and has spent many years helping brands and companies to optimise and transform their business models. With his background in social sciences and his training as a design thinking practitioner, he favours a human-centred approach to innovation that takes account of user practices.
TROND STRAUME
Powel, Norway
CEO
Powel, Norway
Trond studied Computer Science at the University of Stavanger and Business Management at the Norwegian Business School (BI). He began his career in the telecommunications industry and went on to work for Ernst & Young in an IT audit and advisory role before joining ADB in 2008 as Director of R&D. Following the acquisition of ADB by AVEVA, he held a number of positions within the company before becoming the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Trond is now the CEO at Powel.
