Iceland's President Halla Tómasdóttir visits BI
Iceland's President Halla Tómasdóttir visits BI Norwegian Business School to speak to students and guests from the Norwegian business community.
- Starts:14:30, 8 April 2025
- Ends:16:50, 8 April 2025
- Location:BI Oslo
The theme of Tómasdóttir’s visit is responsible leadership in a world full of challenges. The President will be accompanied by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon, Minister of foreign affairs of Iceland, and a business delegation from Iceland.
The seminar is organized in collaboration with the Embassy of Iceland in Norway. The President's visit to BI is part of Tómasdóttir’s official state visit to Norway 8-10 April.
Programme
- Time
- Title
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Registration and refreshments
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Karen Spens welcomes the Icelandic President by the reception
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Welcome by Karen Spens
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Presentation by Ragnheiður Magnúsdóttir, founder of Nordic Ignite
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Presentation by Dominique Kost, Associate Professor at BI
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Conversation between Halla Tomasdottir, President of Iceland, and Kristine Dahl Steidel, CEO of Microsoft Norway.
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Questions from the audience
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Closing remarks by Karen Spens
Speakers
In 2018-24 Halla was the CEO and Chief Change Catalyst of The B Team, a global non-profit organisation that advocates for responsible business practices and collaboration between government, the private sector and citizens in addressing major challenges such as climate change and inequality.
In 2006, Halla became the first female CEO of the Iceland Chamber of Commerce. She left in 2007 to co-found a female-led investment company, Auður Capital, with the objective to introduce profit with principles in the world of finance. Halla earned her BSc in business studies, specialising in management and human resources, from Auburn University at Montgomery, USA, in 1993, and her MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in 1995
She is a former Rector of Hanken School of Economics in Finland, where she became a professor of supply chain management and corporate geography in 2007.
Spens is active in different boards internationally, and has served on the board of directors of AACSB and AMBA, as well as on the EQUIS committee. She is also a member of several international advisory boards and has been invited as a member of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters. Her main research area is humanitarian logistics, in which she co-founded the HUMLOG institute at Hanken School of Economics, now a globally leading institute in the field.
Prior to joining Microsoft, she held several senior positions at VMware, including serving as EMEA Vice President for Digital Workspace. She also had leadership roles in ATEA, WM-data and Cinet. Steidel holds a master's degree in management from BI Norwegian Business School, with a major in organizational change focused on innovation.
She holds a PhD in organizational psychology from BI Norwegian Business School and worked as a consultant in the human resource management industry before entering academia.
Dr. Kost's research has been published in top-tier academic journals. Her research focuses on telework and home office, interpersonal relationships among employees, communication processes in virtual teams, and digital labour.
She has over 20 years driving responsible growth across startups and corporates. Ragnheiður is former Chair of Iceland’s Technology Board and board member of the Technology Development Fund. Magnúsdóttir has active in shaping the Nordic innovation landscape through board work, mentoring, and supporting sustainable business. She was named one of the 100 most impactful leaders in the Nordic tech scene in 2024.