These interviews give you a unique opportunity to get to know our talented board candidates, who are ready to bring their expertise and insight to the boardroom.
We have access to Norway’s most comprehensive database of board candidates, and from it we have handpicked a selection of experienced leaders with a broad range of backgrounds and expertise. They represent a diversity of perspectives, and all share an understanding of the importance of good governance in achieving strategic and operational goals.
Through these interviews you will gain insight into what motivates them, their views on board work and, not least, the personal qualities and skills they can offer. We hope this will give a fuller picture of each candidate and inspire engagement and discussion about the role of the board in modern business management.
Kari Mette Toverud has combined operational management roles with board work for the past 20 years – and is recognised for her contribution above all in the telecoms and tech industry, including at Telenor Mobil, Ventelo/Broadnet and Norkart.
The combination of broad board experience and a large network has resulted in a board portfolio spread evenly across everything from listed companies to early-stage companies. Combining different areas of responsibility is a common thread in her long career – with marketing, communications and HR brought together in a single role providing an effective basis for a holistic understanding and close interaction in the senior management team. Her board work is characterised by commercial flair and a good understanding of organisations, as well as a conscious focus on contributing to a well-functioning board.
I would describe myself as a leader with a big engine, innovative drive and an eye for opportunities and improvements. I have enjoyed combining elite sport (badminton) with studies and work. That has given me plenty of practice in setting goals, turning them into action plans and activities – and not least involving the right people to achieve the ambitions. Sport and business have a lot in common. I got my first board positions when I worked at Telenor, including at Telenor KeyPartner and Telenor Eiendom. I have had the highly experienced board professional Ingvild Myhre as my leader in several companies, which motivated me to take on board responsibilities. That has resulted in experience from some 20+ different companies, including Webstep, Systek, Univid (DLTx), the Norwegian Golf Federation, Norsk Golf, Fovea and TotalCtrl. Today I serve on the boards of Nextgentel, Bitpro, KatrinUri, IdeaDesign and Distributed Ledger Technologies.
My motivations are many and varied. It may be interesting owners with ambitions. I can use NextGenTel as an example. I joined when the company was listed and have been through many interesting phases, during which the company was acquired by Kistefos. We have been through several leadership transitions, a delisting, acquisitions and organisational changes. I have learnt from and been inspired by the way Kistefos exercises ownership. So even though I have been on the board for seven years, there have been many changes and different reasons to keep contributing. My motivation for spending a lot of time on KatrinUri and IdeaDesign is their talented, creative founders and strong businesswomen. I come from technology and male-dominated companies, and I really enjoy working in something completely different – and I am motivated by how much is transferable from the industries and roles I come from. I am probably somewhat self-motivated – and I find a lot of motivation around me, above all in capable people with drive. Finally, I should mention that I like being part of “where it happens” and being close to decisions. That makes board work a good place to be.
A person who is able to get to know the company well, on both the operational and the human level. Understand the “as is” and be able to see which opportunities and strategic directions the company should pursue. Qualities such as a strategic and holistic understanding, being a good listener, and the ability to acquire knowledge and turn it into opportunities. You must be a team player on the board, and personally I am not so keen on the controlling temperament that turns the board into nothing more than a “reporting arena”. You must have a quality that makes the CEO/managing director and the rest of management feel that we are on the same team and pulling in the same direction, and that board meetings give energy (rather than take it).
My philosophy is to be an active contributor to both the CEO and the board, and the more I dig in and learn about the company, the better a contributor I become. My experience is that the better the dynamics on the board, and the collaboration with management, the more effort we all put in and the better the results we achieve. So the philosophy can perhaps be summed up by saying that capable people who work well together create good results – and that time must be invested. It is important to put in effort that goes beyond the mandatory number of board meetings a year.
To be seen as knowledgeable, a good contributor and someone with “a good eye”. I also want to be seen as someone who contributes between board meetings – as in my experience a lot of good board work also happens outside the board meetings themselves.
In one specific situation/period in a previous board role, the lesson was that it was important to be able to “stand up” and have a clear voice when things got tough. It was important to get to grips with the situation, understand what was actually happening and take the necessary action. With cultural differences and large time differences, different perceptions of reality and highly complex issues, it was at times really demanding and tough. I learnt then that good collaboration with the CEO and my board colleagues made it possible, and easier, to handle the tough situations we faced.
Helping to create a well-functioning board that puts the right strategic discussions on the agenda and inspires management. I quickly notice if the CEO and other managers see the board as a “speed bump and control body”, and then it is simply a matter of going into the “pit stop” and agreeing on a format that gives better speed. I have been around the block and experienced plenty of ups and downs in the boardroom, so I have probably become fearless, and I have been in many situations that make me feel I have a lot to contribute.
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