Quarterly December 2011 - Odfjell

PORTRAIT
ODFJELL QUARTERLY magazine
Dedicated by nature
By Margrethe Gudbrandsen
In August this year, we welcomed a new
Chief Financial Officer. With less than the
“100 days” to acclimatize, Terje Iversen
has been thrown into budget and decisionmaking
processes and has taken control of
the various tasks of the Finance department.
We are pleased to further introduce
Terje Iversen.
With an accomplished financial educational
background and experience in various positions
within maritime related companies, we
are eager to find out why Terje is so dedicated
to the maritime industry: – My professional
career started at Coopers & Lybrand (now
PwC) as an auditor/consultant working with
various clients within shipping and offshore.
Thereafter I worked as a Finance Manager/
VP Finance in Odfjell Drilling for eight years
before joining the Bergen Group as CFO in
2008. Odfjell Drilling is a Norwegian based
contractor specialising in drilling operations
on fixed and floating production platforms
in the North Sea and also globally, while
the Bergen Group is a supplier of products,
services and solutions to the offshore and
maritime industry. The city of Bergen and
Norway as a country has a long history
and a strong track-record when it comes to
international presence within the maritime
related industries, hence I was attracted to
the maritime industry, Terje says.
Odfjell SE – a quality company
Odfjell is yet another element of the maritime
industry, what attracted you to Odfjell?
– Odfjell is a leading international quality
company with a long history and strong track
record in the industry. The group has solid
owners, a solid balance sheet as well as ambitions
for further growth. This is something I
find attractive and inspiring, he says.
Terje is described as a very motivated and
engaging person. He is structured and goal
oriented. These strengths are combined with
a ‘cheerful mind’. He wants to make sure
that it is fun to be at work, but that there
ought to be exciting professional challenges
to work with.
As a newcomer to the Company he shares
some thoughts about areas of progress.
– Odfjell is a very strong company with
highly educated and motivated people. The
Company is not however very well known
either within the financial market or in the
employee recruiting market. We should not
be modest when it comes to telling the world
about our company in order to gain access
to necessary and reasonable funding as well
as enabling us to recruit the best people in
the business. My ambitions are of course
to contribute to increased earnings for the
shareholders by doing the best possible
work. Being an established company, with a
strong structure and headquarters in Bergen,
Odfjell has a solid foundation for the future,
but we should allow to be more potentially
challenged with regards to how things are
being done. Not being a typical insider from
the shipping industry it might be easier to
ask “odd” questions or look at things in a
different way. With that said, I do not foresee
a ‘revolution’, but more a continued evolution
going forward, Terje explains.
Competiveness
Terje is also eager on focusing on how Odfjell
can be more competitive. – If we are going to
succeed in a highly international competitive
business, the organisation needs to be both
effective and efficient when it comes to working
procedures and structures. The group
has had strong growth over the last decades
and the organisation needs to be competitive
and also prepared for the potential growth
ahead of us. Also, having a headquarters in
Norway gives us challenges in terms of high
costs, especially when competing with the
very solvent oil and gas industry in Norway
for qualified personnel, he says.
Some spare time
When working with Terje, you notice his
eagerness and dedication to the job, always
thinking of the best way to solve a task, challenge
or making a decision. Fortunately he
uses his spare time to ‘recharge his batteries’
with his wife and two daughters, as well as
friends and family. – I also cycle, play squash
and of course watch football (i.e. to follow the
favourite football team “Brann”) if I have time!
In addition I really love to spend the weekends
and holidays at our sea-side cabin and also
go fishing, he ends.
NR.04/ 11
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Fast facts:
Name: Terje Iversen
Born: 1969
Nationaltiy: Norwegian
Education: Master of Science in Business
and also State Authorised Public Accountant.
Work experience: PwC, Odfjell Drilling AS and Bergen Group ASA.
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