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Stian Johansen holds a Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Stavanger (UiS) and a Master of Science in Accounting and Auditing from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH).

He has worked as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Stavanger and Sarpsborg and as the Chief Accountant at Fresenius Kabi Norge AS in Halden.

Stian describes himself as structured, detail-oriented and service-minded. Supporting the organization and management group with high quality and timely information is key in order to make good decisions. He is a part of the management team and reports to the CEO.

Mikael Melitshenko is an experienced leader in innovation, business development, and incubation, with over two decades of driving growth for technology companies. As the current Head of Venture at Smart Innovation Norway, Mikael directs strategic development and commercialization of innovative tech companies.

His previous roles include Head of Incubation and Program Manager of Corporate Innovation where he was instrumental in nurturing startups and integrating new solutions into established companies.

Previous positions includes leading technology and innovation projects, and as CEO of a Swedish Business Incubator, he focused on strategic growth and support for entrepreneurs.

Mikael holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Marketing, underpinning his expert leadership in technology incubation and strategic growth.

Manuela is Head of the Energy Transition department at Smart Innovation Norway, where she oversees a team of researchers and consultants dedicated to developing innovative sustainability projects. Her work spans key areas such as energy transition, circular economy, and the application of AI, with a focus on both national and European initiatives. With extensive experience in designing and leading research and innovation projects, Manuela has contributed to several EU publications.

Beyond her leadership role, she is also an active mentor to start-ups within Smart Innovation Norway’s Venture department, supporting early-stage companies in scaling sustainable solutions.

Manuela holds a Master’s degree in European Studies from Sciences Po Paris, where she completed a traineeship at the European Commission. Prior to joining Smart Innovation Norway, she worked as a Sustainability Manager at Deloitte Paris, where she co-developed sustainability strategies and advised public and private organizations on ESG reporting and compliance.

Alemu Moges Belay holds a Doctoral degree in technology from the University of Vaasa, Finland. He has a M.Sc. degree in industrial engineering/mechanical, from Addis Ababa University.

Alemu worked as a postdoctoral fellow and researcher at department of Civil and environmental Engineering, NTNU. Previously, he worked in manufacturing and aviation industries, which consume high energy.

His research focus during the PhD work has been concurrent engineering (CE) which helps industries to shorten time to market. It combines cost, quality and delivery time attributes to improve the product development performance using system dynamic modelling.

Alemu has extensive experience in scientific writing and publishing in international journals and conferences.

Some of his skills are product development, cost-benefit analysis, project/knowledge management, socio-economic, quality control/quality assurance, concurrent engineering/time-to-market, process improvement (LEAN, SIX-SIGMA), and system thinking.

Bonnie is responsible for integrating psychological principles and models into strategic consumer engagement and design strategies. She has extensive experience with segmentation strategy, persona design, customer journey development, data analysis, and UX research across a range of industries. She is currently leading the community and stakeholder engagement work in the H2020 projects ACCEPT, IELECTRIX and E-LAND. In her previous role as a consumer insights strategist, Bonnie worked with large international brands such as AT&T, Nissan, and CITI Bank to develop customer-centric digital experiences. Bonnie holds a master’s degree in Organizational and Social Psychology from the London School of Economics with a specialization in behavioural economics.

Thomas is a leading expert in the fields of customer engagement, communication and behaviour in the utility sector. He was a former energy utility marketing director with experience of effective customer apps and other online services that brought mass customer engagement and behaviour changes; for instance, pioneering the field of digital marketing with prize winning campaigns like European Utility Award winner; The Meter Hunt for Danish utility SEAS-NVE.

He worked as a Senior Manager with international companies like Panasonic and Green Energy Options in developing the future business of smart home technology and home energy management systems through visualisation of energy use in private homes and creating customer relations through the use of big data.

Thomas is engaged in several inter-European networks focusing on user involvement, customer interaction and actual implementation of smart energy technology. He was, for instance, the 1st rapporteur of Bridge’s Working Group on Customer Engagement and is currently Task Leader Joint Communication Efforts ensuring knowledge exchange between EU-funded projects.

Celine Zapffe is an experienced Customer Success Manager at Smart Innovation Norway, known for her proficiency in project management, customer experience, and business development.

With a Bachelor's degree in Entrepreneurship from Kristiania University College, she specializes in creativity, innovation, and business development.

Since October 2020, Celine has been responsible for managing customer relationships and enhancing customer engagement and success at Smart Innovation Norway.

She previously led business development projects as a Project Manager and provided business strategy consulting. Her skills include business strategy and development, project management, customer success, and coaching, alongside a unique expertise in equestrian coaching as a certified Level 3 Riding Instructor.

Mikael Melitshenko is an experienced leader in innovation, business development, and incubation, with over two decades of driving growth for technology companies. As the current Head of Venture at Smart Innovation Norway, Mikael directs strategic development and commercialization of innovative tech companies.

His previous roles include Head of Incubation and Program Manager of Corporate Innovation where he was instrumental in nurturing startups and integrating new solutions into established companies.

Previous positions includes leading technology and innovation projects, and as CEO of a Swedish Business Incubator, he focused on strategic growth and support for entrepreneurs.

Mikael holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Marketing, underpinning his expert leadership in technology incubation and strategic growth.

Celine Zapffe is an experienced Customer Success Manager at Smart Innovation Norway, known for her proficiency in project management, customer experience, and business development.

With a Bachelor's degree in Entrepreneurship from Kristiania University College, she specializes in creativity, innovation, and business development.

Since October 2020, Celine has been responsible for managing customer relationships and enhancing customer engagement and success at Smart Innovation Norway.

She previously led business development projects as a Project Manager and provided business strategy consulting. Her skills include business strategy and development, project management, customer success, and coaching, alongside a unique expertise in equestrian coaching as a certified Level 3 Riding Instructor.

Thomas holds a master’s degree in innovation and knowledge development from the University of Agder, where he specialized in the development and restructuring of entrepreneurial ecosystems. During this time he developed an interest for business development, innovation, and ecosystems.
Furthermore, Thomas has experience in consultancy from the manufacturing industry. More specifically on business development and efficiency, methods of Lean six sigma. Thomas enjoys working with people and supporting them in becoming better versions of themselves. He is an experienced instructor of organizational change processes and rock climbing. He believes the two have a lot in common in terms of uncertainty, need of guidance and use of proven methods. his position at Smart Innovation Norway, he will use his skills and knowledge to improve and support the Launchpad programs.

Matias Heggdal holds a Bsc in Innovation and Project Management from Østfold University College. It includes one semester abroad at California State University Monterey Bay, USA. During his stay abroad he explored the startup ecosystem in Silicon Valley and consulted a Norwegian startup on how to best become a part of this ecosystem.

Matias has for the past years been active in the startup environment and is the co-founder of two startups. Matias’ passion is to facilitate good learning arenas for startups to accelerate growth and increased likelihood of international success. For his thesis, he researched best incubator practices amongst Norwegian and European incubators, and after completion he was hired at Smart Innovation Norway.

In his current job at Smart Innovation Norway, he holds the position as Program Manager in Venture. His responsibilities are to plan and execute all the Launchpad programs.

Focus on Compliance from a wider business perspective, and in particular Information Security and Cyber Security. In addition, broad financial experience and longtime experience in building strong and robust organizations. Managing with commercial focus both long term and short term. Strong on people management with focus both on teams and individuals. Many years’ experience in working with global companies. Headed up several restructuring projects delivered successfully and proven ability to deliver on growth targets.

Specialties: Compliance, information security, cyber security, funding, taxation, mergers and acquisitions, building efficient organizations, restructuring and profitable growth, people management.

Tore Lie is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in consulting, project management, architecture, and development. After spending seven successful years at eSmart Systems as a member of the team that established Grid Vision as one of the leading virtual inspection tools for powerline inspections, Tore has joined Smart Innovation Norway as Cluster Leader of Cluster for Applied AI to help others succeed in using AI as a tool for change.

Tore's diverse background includes previous roles as a Consultant/Project Manager at Metier & CA and an Architect/Developer at IBM & Concrea. Additionally, he has a passion for performance, having previously been a table hockey hero and a producer/actor. Tore enjoys being on stage and discussing topics related to AI and other subjects.

Overall, Tore Lie brings a wealth of expertise and unique perspectives to his work, making him a valuable asset to any team or organization he joins.

Stian Melhus is cluster leader for the Cluster for Decommissioning and Repurposing at Smart Innovation Norway, facilitating collaborations and developing a knowledge base for the new industry growing out of Norway’s plans to decommission its nuclear reactors.

He holds a bachelor's degree in Innovation and Project Management from Østfold University College with a focus on developing leaders. He has worked actively with marine restoration with local environmental groups, both with practical restoration and with facilitating creative think tanks for problem solving.

Stian is an energetic people person who loves to create arenas where people can flourish and be creative and share knowledge in large groups. He is passionate about green technology and innovation and dreams about a world where businesses have a circular approach to business and development.  

Hermund Arntzen Dale has the position as Project Manager in the research section in Smart Innovation Norway, coordinating the research projects on renewable energy and energy markets.

Hermund holds a bachelor’s degree in Innovation and Project Management from The Collage University of Østfold. He also has education in leadership from one of the Non-commissioned officer schools in the Norwegian Army.

He has worked several years in the Norwegian Army. Gaining experience in planning and execution of tactical operations at platoon level. After finishing his military career, Hermund got experience in entrepreneurship after founding a SaaS-startup. He also worked for the el-tech startup Becour, as Project Manager and Commercial Manager.

Hermund is passionate about environment and climate. He describes himself as a team player, and a detail-oriented and creative problem solver.

Victoria Næss Jensen holds a MSc in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from Norwegian University of Life Science, Ås, with Technology Entrepreneurship from Rice University – Jess H. Jones Graduate School of Business, Houston, Texas.

Formerly, Victoria worked as a PMO for Sykehuspartner’s IT projects to the new hospital, Sykehuset Østfold Kalnes. Her role was to support the management in the program and to support interaction between various projects in Prosjekt Nytt Østfoldsykehus (PNØ).

At her current position as project coordinator in Smart Innovation Norway, she is involved in realizing innovative project ideas, both towards the cluster and towards our incubator.

Victoria works systematically and carry out plans with commitment and persistence, ensuring progress in project activities. She is motivated by innovation, progress, change and improvement.

Tor Ø. Frydenberg holds a M.Sc. degree in Radio Technology and Information Systems from the Norwegian University for Science and Technology (NTNU).

Tor held the position of CEO at Ericsson, Norway from 1999 to 2010, and as Vice President of Ericsson Professional Services in the Nordic and Baltic regions for 5 years in the same period.

Prior to 1999, he served as General Manager of Ericsson Radar, Kongsberg Ericsson Communications and Telettra Norge. Tor began his career as a scientist at Telenor Research & Development.

He is currently serving as an investor, chairman and member of the board for a number of start-up companies. At Smart Innovation Norway, he is engaged as a Special Advisor and Senior Consultant, specifically within the ICT industry.

Manuela is Head of the Energy Transition department at Smart Innovation Norway, where she oversees a team of researchers and consultants dedicated to developing innovative sustainability projects. Her work spans key areas such as energy transition, circular economy, and the application of AI, with a focus on both national and European initiatives. With extensive experience in designing and leading research and innovation projects, Manuela has contributed to several EU publications.

Beyond her leadership role, she is also an active mentor to start-ups within Smart Innovation Norway’s Venture department, supporting early-stage companies in scaling sustainable solutions.

Manuela holds a Master’s degree in European Studies from Sciences Po Paris, where she completed a traineeship at the European Commission. Prior to joining Smart Innovation Norway, she worked as a Sustainability Manager at Deloitte Paris, where she co-developed sustainability strategies and advised public and private organizations on ESG reporting and compliance.

Emil Wingstedt holds a M.Sc in Theoretical Physics from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Emil has 20 years' experience with mathematical modelling of large processes and energy systems, mainly within the nuclear industry. Before joining Smart Innovation Norway he worked at the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) in Halden.

In his current position, Emil is working as a Senior Researcher for Energy Transition with a main focus on Norwegian projects.

Sven Erik Tønnesen holds a MSc in Geosciences from University of Oslo. Sven Erik has more than 30 years’ experience from software development projects, mainly within the fields of power systems and power markets. He has had all possible roles in software projects and been responsible for project management, requirements management/functional specifications, design/programming, testing/QA, documentation, customer training and support. Among other things, he has been technical responsible for day-ahead power exchange system projects in the Nordics, California, Germany, France, UK, India and southern Africa.

Before joining Smart Innovation Norway, Sven Erik was CEO for the start-up company Smart Cognition for nearly 5 years. From 2013-2017, he worked as QA manager in eSmart Systems, and before that he worked 15 years for Nasdaq OMX. Earlier he worked for IFE and for Scandpower in Halden.

Tomas Klevmo holds a MSc in Mechatronics from the University of Agder and a BSc in Electrical Power Engineering from Østfold University College.

For his master thesis he designed an active heave compensation system for floating offshore drilling rigs and demonstrated it on a working scale model. He wrote his bachelor thesis on Smart Grids for NCE Smart Energy Markets. His work experience includes robotics, control systems and process control in the oil & gas and manufacturing industries.

At his current position as Researcher Applied AI, he contributes to projects focusing on applying artificial intelligence to solve a broad range of challenges.

Prof. Bernt A. Bremdal holds a PhD from NTNU in applied artificial intelligence and a M.Sc. in mechanical engineering.

He has more than 25 years of experience in decision support and information and knowledge management and more than 10 years of academic research and innovation.

Prof. Bremdal has extensive experience within management and project leadership, as well as product development. He is a specialist within knowledge and information management, process reengineering and performance optimization.

His technical expertise comprises search, information extraction, AI, computational linguistics, web applications and operation research.

Alemu Moges Belay holds a Doctoral degree in technology from the University of Vaasa, Finland. He has a M.Sc. degree in industrial engineering/mechanical, from Addis Ababa University.

Alemu worked as a postdoctoral fellow and researcher at department of Civil and environmental Engineering, NTNU. Previously, he worked in manufacturing and aviation industries, which consume high energy.

His research focus during the PhD work has been concurrent engineering (CE) which helps industries to shorten time to market. It combines cost, quality and delivery time attributes to improve the product development performance using system dynamic modelling.

Alemu has extensive experience in scientific writing and publishing in international journals and conferences.

Some of his skills are product development, cost-benefit analysis, project/knowledge management, socio-economic, quality control/quality assurance, concurrent engineering/time-to-market, process improvement (LEAN, SIX-SIGMA), and system thinking.

Ahmed Samir Hedar holds a Master's degree in Energy Engineering with a focus on Renewables and Environmental Sustainability from the Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy. And a Bachelor's in Energy Engineering from Ain Shams University, Egypt.

Always driven by the environmental cause, Ahmed applies his experience and knowledge in researching climate-related energy challenges. His master's thesis focuses on demand response from aggregations of buildings' heating load for providing flexibility services to the electric grid.

His research interests include Multi-energy systems modelling, Energy markets, Grid flexibility, Demand response, and Life cycle assessment.

Aaditya Dandwate holds a Masters' (M.Sc.) in Sustainable Energy Technology from University of Twente, The Netherlands. He has a Bachelors' in Mechanical Engineering from India.

His master thesis focussed on the case study for conversion of bio-resources to green hydrogen. He has worked on projects related to energy conversion technologies, energy storage systems and business models for sustainable energy.

Research interests include renewable energy technologies & systems, business model innovation and energy markets.

Elena Calzado is International Project Manager at Smart Innovation Norway. She has a BS in Chemistry from Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

During the last 20 years, she has been involved in Research & Development & Innovation activities in different sectors, including energy, agri-food, environment and health. She has been involved in numerous R&D projects at national and international level, as Innovation and Exploitation Manager, supporting international organisations, research centres and industrial partners in the identification of their innovation potential, the identification of opportunities of financing and proposal preparation.

Elena has worked at CDTI in the international department, she has also worked as R&D consultant, as a coach for entrepreneurs, as a technician of knowledge transfer, as manager of several national technology platforms, as R&D and quality manager and also as external evaluator of R&D proposal for both Spanish Ministry and the European Commission.

Christian Kunze holds a PhD in economic sciences from the University of Wuppertal, Germany.

He started his professional career in the electricity industry as a Competitive Intelligence Analyst at E.ON Sales & Trading. Afterwards he worked as Electricity Trader and Director of Trading inter alia for Edison Trading, Milan, Shell Energy Trading, London, and a subsidiary of the Renova Group, Zurich.

Christian was the consortium leader for the successful Horizon 2020 EMPOWER application of Smart Innovation Norway. At his current position as Senior Researcher Energy Markets he mainly supports the activities in the D‐A‐CH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).

In addition, Christian is a start‐up entrepreneur, a frequent speaker at industry events and a visiting lecturer in the field of smart energy markets.

Bonnie is responsible for integrating psychological principles and models into strategic consumer engagement and design strategies. She has extensive experience with segmentation strategy, persona design, customer journey development, data analysis, and UX research across a range of industries. She is currently leading the community and stakeholder engagement work in the H2020 projects ACCEPT, IELECTRIX and E-LAND. In her previous role as a consumer insights strategist, Bonnie worked with large international brands such as AT&T, Nissan, and CITI Bank to develop customer-centric digital experiences. Bonnie holds a master’s degree in Organizational and Social Psychology from the London School of Economics with a specialization in behavioural economics.

Thomas is a leading expert in the fields of customer engagement, communication and behaviour in the utility sector. He was a former energy utility marketing director with experience of effective customer apps and other online services that brought mass customer engagement and behaviour changes; for instance, pioneering the field of digital marketing with prize winning campaigns like European Utility Award winner; The Meter Hunt for Danish utility SEAS-NVE.

He worked as a Senior Manager with international companies like Panasonic and Green Energy Options in developing the future business of smart home technology and home energy management systems through visualisation of energy use in private homes and creating customer relations through the use of big data.

Thomas is engaged in several inter-European networks focusing on user involvement, customer interaction and actual implementation of smart energy technology. He was, for instance, the 1st rapporteur of Bridge’s Working Group on Customer Engagement and is currently Task Leader Joint Communication Efforts ensuring knowledge exchange between EU-funded projects.

Agnieszka is a Senior Project Control Manager at Smart Innovation Norway. She has experience with working as a project manager in a large European organisation in Brussels, where she was managing several important EU projects. In SIN, she is currently managing seven ongoing EU founded projects and oversees the behavioural scientists’ team in stakeholder engagement and user testing. In addition to providing strategic guidance, Agnieszka leads the technical and financial reporting across H2020 projects. Agnieszka is a co-author of a publication “Benchmarks for best contracts: towards excellence in the European Research Area”. She’s a multilingual professional graduated with master in European politics and BA in European law from Paris and Strasburg Universities.

Paul is a behavioural scientist at Smart Innovation Norway. He utilises knowledge from the social sciences and a variety of research methodologies to design and implement stakeholder engagement strategies. Paul has an academic background in which he developed expertise in leading research projects and performing statistical analysis. He is a former university demonstrator where he taught research methods and applied psychology. Paul holds a PhD in psychology in the field of social interaction and communication from the University of Aberdeen. At Smart Innovation Norway, Paul is currently involved in several horizon Europe projects. In these he is primarily responsible for leading social innovation activities, including the application of theoretical models and processes, strategic planning, and implementing engagement activities aimed at cocreation and behavioural change.

Rose is interested in the ways that people experience and interact with the world around them, and the roles that they play within societal groups and as part of any system. She specialises in social innovation using human-centred design frameworks and has applied this in a diverse range of global settings as part of complex programmatic work including developments in global health and financial inclusion. At Smart Innovation Norway she leads approaches for better understanding human factors through community engagement.

Minna is a behavioural scientist at Smart Innovation Norway. She utilises her experience in community engagement and social change gained in international projects in developing effective customer and community engagement strategies. Background in social sciences combined with recent academic studies on sustainable business and sustainable energy technologies allows her to bring stakeholder views and consumer insight into the core of sustainable technology development. Minna has extensive experience in international project management, and she is currently involved with H2020 projects ACCEPT and E-LAND in which she is developing and implementing different stakeholder engagement models and tools. Minna holds a master’s degree in development studies from London School of Economics and Political Science and is about to graduate from Aalto University School of Business in Finland with a master’s degree in Creative Sustainability.

Tamara works as a Behavioural Scientist at Smart Innovation Norway. Using applied behavioural sciences and her previous experience in various research methodologies, project coordination and communication, she aims to understand the human factor of energy use and the acceptance of, or resistance to sustainable technological solutions.

Tamara holds a master’s degree in Social and Organizational Psychology from Eötvös Loránd Science University of Budapest. She is currently working on her doctoral research at the University of Helsinki within the fields of social and political psychology, populism, political communication, and intergroup relations.

Salima Ismayilzada holds an MSc in Political Science from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden and a BA in Public Affairs from ADA University, Azerbaijan.

Salima describes herself as a self-development-oriented Communication Expert with strong communication, public relations and policy background. Before joining Smart Innovation Norway, she worked at the University of Gothenburg, ELSA Azerbaijan, and for MUN project which acting under the auspices of UN Azerbaijan, UNDP and ADA University.

In her current position as a Communication Expert at Smart Innovation Norway, she is responsible for communication, dissemination and social engagement activities of EU Horizon projects.

Sidsel is a Senior Social Innovation Researcher. She is structuring and organising primary research in partnerships in international and interdisciplinary environments. For instance, she is leading the development, design and implementation of social and behavioural innovations in the H2020 PROBONO project, which aims at developing Green Building Neighbourhoods in six European countries.

In addition to designing concrete activities and strategies to engage a diverse set of stakeholders, she is using her education in Applied Behavioural Science to implement an evidence-based and experimental approach to changing behaviours towards energy efficient and sustainable behavioural patterns. This role also includes representing SIN in research and innovation fora and participating in scientific publication activities. Sidsel is also involved in project development and applications as well as building strategic partnerships in an international environment.

She holds a master’s degree in Cross-Cultural Studies with a BA from the Department of Political Science and Turkish Studies with a supplementary education in Nudging Theory and Applied Behavioural Science.

Mette has extensive experience in analysis, evaluation, scientific reporting and strategic development – especially within the educational field. In terms of Communication and Marketing, she has been doing project leaflets, website development and social media content.

Mette is working in project administration, budget planning and financial reporting. Mette holds a Master in Arts.

Veronika is pursuing an MSc in Social Entrepreneurship and Management at Roskilde University, building on a Bachelor's degree in Social and Work Psychology from Comenius University. With experience in school psychology and volunteer work in the non-profit sector, Veronika is passionate about exploring both individual and group behaviors and experiences within societal contexts. In her role at Smart Innovation Norway, she supports the Social Innovation team in research and communication activities across EU-funded projects.

Danka works as a Social Innovation Student Assistant at Smart Innovation Norway. This means that she provides support in various innovation related tasks that occur in the SI team on a daily basis. As of now, she is involved in the EU-funded projects FORTESIE, DEDALUS, PROBONO, and eFORT, but she often has tasks within other projects as well. Her responsibilities center upon primary and secondary research activities, such as survey design, data analysis, or desk research, to mention some.

She is currently pursuing a master's degree in Social Entrepreneurship and Management at Roskilde University, where she studies about social transformation, sustainable change, and social innovation, making this role a very relevant and exciting opportunity in her professional journey.

Ketil Thomsen has studied Theatre history and Drama at the University of Trondheim and started out by producing and working as an actor in several theatre plays in Oslo.

Ketil was also one of the founders of Plan B Management. In Plan B, he worked as a project manager and head of the event area of the company and has been an event producer for several large-scale events. He also worked as manager for several artists in the management. After returning to his hometown, Ketil has mainly worked as project manager in different communication agencies.

He is currently a part of the Communication team in Smart Innovation Norway, where he works with different events, graphical design and is head of the Arena.

Mari Kristine Buckholm holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Journalism and a Master of Science (MSc) in Planning and Leadership, both from Volda University College. After graduating in 2014, she has worked as a journalist in the newspapers Halden Arbeiderblad and Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad, and has contributed to the Marketing & Communication department at Østfold University College.

Since 2017, Mari has been a part of the Communication team in Smart Innovation Norway. She is responsible for updating the company’s website and social media accounts with relevant news and information, which includes writing articles, making videos and marketing events.

Mari works closely with all of Smart Inovation Norway’s departments/business areas and her main task is to raise awareness around the company’s innovation platform, projects and activities, as well as engaging colleagues, cluster members, partner companies – and the rest of society.

In addition, she has been in charge of all digital media content (website and social media channels) for two large EU Horizon 2020 projects, INVADE (2017-2020) and E-LAND (2018-2021). As of January 2023, she is Project Manager for the international conference on applied artificial intelligence, AI+.

Kjetil Lier Svendsen holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Multimedia Journalism from Bournemouth University, England.

In 2012, he started working as an advisor in the Norwegian Government Security and Service Organization (DSS), and has since created and collaborated on numerous video productions and live streams for the Norwegian ministries on regjeringen.no. He was also part of a web development team and has been acting as a scrum master and senior advisor in this regard.

Kjetil describes himself as a (technical) problem solver. He is both creative and structured, with a keen eye on animation, standardization and new technology in general.

In April 2020, he became part of Smart Innovation Norway’s Communication team. As digital content producer, Kjetil is responsible for content planning, marketing, development and optimization of our digital channels and works closely with his teammates to deliver video and webinar productions for Smart Innovation Norway.

Stian Johansen holds a Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Stavanger (UiS) and a Master of Science in Accounting and Auditing from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH).

He has worked as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Stavanger and Sarpsborg and as the Chief Accountant at Fresenius Kabi Norge AS in Halden.

Stian describes himself as structured, detail-oriented and service-minded. Supporting the organization and management group with high quality and timely information is key in order to make good decisions. He is a part of the management team and reports to the CEO.

Helene Hauge has 19 years of experience as Business Controller and Finance Manager. She holds a Bachelor degree in economics from BI Norwegian Business School.

During the years, she has developed broad experience within finance, project controlling, management and administration.

As controller, Helene is structured and reliable and works to serve customers, partners and other stakeholders the best possible way.

Dieter Hirdes is an ICT specialist with 25 years of experience in project management and system development of ICT systems for the energy sector.

He is a co‐founder of Smart Innovation Norway and of the NCE Smart Energy Markets cluster and served as NCE Project Manager in its first years.

From 2003 to 2011, he was CEO of Smart Innovation Norway, now serving as the Head of Research & Innovation of the company, with a track record of 25+ SmartGrid related R&I projects totaling 120M€ in project revenues.

Currently, Hirdes is the coordinator of the Horizon 2020 projects EMPOWER (6M€) and INVADE (16M€) and a member of the Advisory Group on Energy for the European Commission.