Ivar Slengesol from TGS is elected new Chair of Norwegian Offshore Wind

In just a few years, Norwegian Offshore Wind has grown to become Norway’s largest industry cluster, counting close to 400 members.

Gunnar Birkeland, CEO of Source Galileo Norway, has been the chair since the start in 2016 and will now be succeeded by Ivar Slengesol.

Slengesol has held senior management roles in offshore wind and other renewables since 2007, as supplier, project developer and lender, and at start-up, government-owned and publicly-listed companies. He has been EVP and Director of Lending Renewable Energy and Industry at Eksportfinans and Export Credit Norway (now Eksfin), CEO at the offshore wind developer OceanWind, and Business Development Manager for Shell’s renewables initiatives in Norway. Earlier, he held various roles at the World Bank in Paris and Washington, D.C. 

Slengesol holds an MBA from IMD International in Switzerland and a master's degree in international relations and economics from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in the USA. He has been member of the Norwegian Offshore Wind steering committee since 2017. 

-To accelerate offshore wind build-out in Norway and globally, we need more and better collaboration between developers, financiers and suppliers to spur innovation and de-risk projects, and between industry and governments to speed up lease award, auction and permitting processes. I very much look forward to working with Norwegian Offshore Wind members and industry colleagues, says Slengesol.

Slengesol was elected during a members meeting today. Sille Grjotheim from DNV was also elected as a member of the steering committee. 

-We are very happy to have such a competent steering committee setting direction for Norwegian Offshore Wind. The industry is very well represented, with members from the supply chain, developers and the diverse ecosystem around offshore wind, says CEO of Norwegian Offshore Wind, Arvid Nesse. 

These are the members of the steering committee:

Gunnar Birkeland (Source Galilelo Norge), Einar Tollaksvik (Vestervind), Ivar Slengesol (TGS), Øistein Johannessen (Equinor), Sille Grjotheim (DNV), Anne Margrethe Bugge (Moreld Ocean Wind), Susanne Naevermo-Sand (Celsa Nordic), Jon Arne Silgjerd (WISE Automasjon og Data), Knut Vassbotn (Deep Wind Offshore), Birger Haraldseid (Stavanger Kommune), Cathrine Elgin (Veidekke), Arvid Nesse (METCentre).