Norfund’s mandate is to assist in building sustainable businesses and industries in developing countries. Our mandate is complex, and our most valuable resource to meet this mandate is our employees. We believe that with a relatively small organization built on local presence and competence spread across the globe, Norfund is a unique place to work both in terms of our mandate, as well as incorporating the Norfund culture – The Norfund Way.
Country presence
To ensure local proximity and knowledge Norfund has five regional offices located in Accra, Bangkok, Cape Town, Nairobi, and San José. The regional offices generate investments, monitor existing commitments, and provide all the sector-based departments with support.
The Bangkok office manages Norfund’s investments in Asia, focusing on financial services, funds, and renewable energy. Norfund has over 20 years of experience investing in East Africa with a regional office in Nairobi, focusing on scalable enterprises and financial inclusion. The office in San José handles Norfund’s investments in Latin America, focusing on financial inclusion and renewable energy. The office has a particular focus on debt and equity investments and business support projects. The Southern African office is based in Cape Town, and oversees Norfund’s investments in key Southern African countries, focusing on scalable enterprises and renewable energy. The Accra office manages Norfund’s investments across West Africa, covering all our investment sectors. The headquarter is located in Oslo with the majority of employees.
Norfund Team
By end of year 2024, Norfund had 149 permanent employees, and 11 employees either on a temporary contract or services for hire.
Out of our permanent employees there are 90 employed in the investment departments, and 59 corporate employees. 46 employees are working at one of our regional offices, while the rest work at the headquarter in Oslo.
More detailed information about the Norfund Team can be found in our annual report on Gender Equality and Inclusion.
Board of Directors
Norfund’s Board of Directors is appointed by the General Assembly. The General Assembly is constituted by the Norwegian Minister of International Development who governs the state’s ownership in Norfund.
Norfund’s Board of Directors ensures that the Fund operates in accordance with the Norfund Act of 1997 and the fund’s statutes. The Board defines Norfund’s strategy and approves individual investments exceeding specified thresholds. Other investment decisions are delegated to the CEO.
In 2024, the Board held 7 board meetings.
Olaug Svarva
Chair
Olaug Svarva was the CEO of the Government Pension Fund Norway (Folketrygdfondet) from 2006 to 2018. Today, Svarva is Chair of the Board in DNB and she has also served as board member of Investinor, Institute of International Finance (IIF), and The Norwegian memorial foundation for Alfred Nobel. From 2001 to 2006, she held positions as CEO & Investment Director at SpareBank 1 Aktiv Forvaltning and SpareBank 1 Livsforsikring. Svarva holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and an MBA from the University of Denver. She is also authorized as a portfolio manager by the Norwegian Society of Financial Analysts. Appointed Chair of the Board of Norfund in June 2019.
Anne Jorun Aas
Director (from June 2024)
Anne Jorun Aas is the CEO of Farmforce AS, an agritech SaaS company that digitize data from smallholder farming. She also serves on the board of Envipco, a reverse vending machine technology company. Previous positions include COO of Scatec, SVP of Scatec Solar, interim CEO of Kjeller Innovasjon and McKinsey. She has significant board experience from listed and private companies including serving as Board Chair of EnergiX, a large program in the Norwegian Research Council. She holds a PhD in nuclear chemistry from the University of Oslo and CERN, Geneva.
Brit Rugland
Director
Brit Kristin Rugland was Director of Statoil Shipping and Maritime Technology and CFO of the Statoil Group. She led the establishment of Navion ASA. Since 2000, she has been General Manager of various parts of the Rugland family business and is currently also Chair of the board of the Norwegian Agency for Local Governments (Kommunalbanken AS). Previous positions include Chair of the board of Gassco AS for 11 years, Chair of the board of Figgjo AS, and member of the Executive Board in the Central Bank of Norway for 10 years. Rugland holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, major in accounting and a Master of Management from BI Norwegian Business School. Appointed board member in June 2015.
Martin Skancke
Director
Martin Skancke is a self-employed consultant at Skancke Consulting. He has worked in the Norwegian Ministry of Finance and headed the Ministry’s Section for Monetary Policy and Public Finances. Skancke has also previously been Chair of Norway’s Climate Risk Commission and Director General at the Office of the Norwegian Prime Minister and at the Ministry of Finance’s Asset Management Department. He has held positions at McKinsey & Company and Storebrand ASA. He is currently a board member of Norfund, Storebrand ASA, Storebrand Livsforsikring AS, Summa Equity AB, Norsk Klimastiftelse and Klimastiftelsen UMOE. Appointed board member in June 2014.
Åslaug Haga
Director
Åslaug M. Haga is currently the CEO of Renewables Norway – the Norwegian wind power association. She has background from foreign service, national politics, private sector and international organizations. Haga has been State Secretary in the MFA and at the prime minister’s office. She has held three ministerial cabinet positions in the Ministries of culture, local & regional affairs and oil & energy. She has also been a member of Parliament. She has served in various positions in the MFA – including postings at the Norwegian Mission to the UN in New York and the embassy in New Delhi. Before joining Renewables Norway, she was the Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust and Assistant Secretary General in the International Fund for Agricultural Development. From 2016 to 2020 she was Chair of the board for the Peace Research Institute Oslo. Haga was appointed to the Norfund board in August 2022.
Jarle Roth
Jarle Roth is the board chairman of Storebrand. He has previously served as CEO of Umoe, Arendals Fossekompani, Export Credit Norway, and Unitor, as well as director of the Fram Museum. He has also been board chairman of Hafslund, Norske Skog ASA, Enova SF, Glamox AS, Powel AS and EFD Induction AS; and a board member of Umoe, Kongsberg Gruppen ASA, Hafslund, Ekornes ASA, Multiconsult AS, Kverneland ASA, Awilco Offshore ASA, Grieg Shipping AS, and Aibel AS.
Pablo Barrera
Director
Pablo Barrera is CEO of Haugaland Kraft AS. He has experience from Yara and The Boston Consulting Group. Before joining Haugaland Kraft he was managing director of IMAGINE Food Collective, a value chain collaboration for the largest global private players in food and agriculture, where he was on loan from Yara. He was a member of Yara group management from 2018 to 2021, and before that he was country manager for Yara’s operations in Chile.
Karoline Teien Blystad
Director (Employee Elected)
Karoline Teien Blystad is Senior Development Economist in the Strategy & Communications department at Norfund. She joined Norfund in 2015 and is mainly working on Norfund’s impact. She holds a Master’s degree from NTNU and a BSc in Business management from Montana State University. Previous work experience includes both the consultancy industry and the public sector. Appointed employee elected board member Nov 1st, 2021.
Vegard Benterud
Director (Employee Elected)
Vegard Benterud is Investment Director in the Green Infrastructure department at Norfund. With over 19 years of experience in private equity, Vegard has successfully executed transactions across all Norfund’s key markets, including pioneering initiatives in complex environments such as Angola and Somalia. His previous positions include Investment Director at the Norwegian Microfinance Initiative (NMI) and Portfolio Manager at NBIM. Currently, he is spearheading initiatives focused on recycling and waste-to-energy projects in Africa and Asia. Vegard holds a Master of Science in Industrial Economics and Technology Management from NTNU. He previously served on Norfund’s board from 2015 to 2017 and was reappointed as a board member in September 2023.
Vidar Helgesen
Director (Until April 2024)
Vidar Helgesen is Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation. He has held several public positions in the Norwegian government, as Special Representative for the Ocean, Minister of Climate and Environment, Minister of European Affairs and Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, as well as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Internationally, he has served as Co-chair of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, Secretary-General of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance and as Special Advisor to the President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. He is a Board member of CICERO Center for International Climate Research and a Co-chair of Seaweed for Europe. Appointed board member on 1 January 2021.
Management Team
The management team manages the Fund according to Norfund’s mission to create jobs and improve lives and support the transition to net zero by investing in businesses that drive sustainable development. There have been no changes in the management team in 2024.
Tellef Thorleifsson
Chief Executive Officer
Tellef Thorleifsson has been CEO of Norfund since Autumn 2018. Prior to Norfund, he was a co-founder and managing partner of Northzone. Thorleifsson was instrumental in building Northzone to become a leading international venture fund. Since inception in 1996 it has raised more than EUR 1.5 billion through nine funds and invested in more than 130 companies. Thorleifsson is also a co-founder of the Voxtra Foundation which has been making targeted investments and grants within agribusiness in East Africa. Thorleifsson has held several directorships.
Fride Andrea Hærem
Chief Financial Risk Officer & Head of HR
Fride Andrea Hærem took the position as CFRO and Head of HR in Norfund in 2021. Before joining Norfund, she was EVP for HR, Marketing and Communication, IT and Strategy at Norconsult. She has more than 10 years of experience in HR directorship roles and has held several manager positions, including at Posten and Cermaq. She holds a Master of Management with a specialisation in international business leadership from BI Norwegian Business School.
Ylva Lindberg
Executive Vice President, Strategy & Communication
Prior to joining Norfund, Ylva was founding partner of SIGLA, a boutique consultancy on sustainability and business, for 13 years. She has worked with sustainable and impact investments for almost 20 years and has experience with asset management and consumer goods. Ylva is a senior associate of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, board member of Lærdal Medical and member of the Responsible Investment Advisory Council of BMO Global Asset Management.
Thomas Fjeld Heltne
Executive Vice President, General Counsel
Thomas Fjeld Heltne took the position as General Counsel in Norfund in 2019. Before joining Norfund, he was Director M&A at Norsk Hydro. Heltne has throughout his career worked with transactions, financing and international projects, both from the legal and commercial side. He holds a degree in law from Norway as well as a Master of Laws from LSE and Corporate Finance from the Norwegian School of Management. Heltne has been member of and observer to boards of Norwegian industrial companies and served on the Trade Policy Panel for the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO).
Erik Sandersen
Executive Vice President, Financial Institutions
Erik joined Norfund in 2014 and has represented Norfund on several boards of banks and microfinance institutions. He is currently a board member of the South Africa-based bank investment firm Arise and of the Nordic Microfinance Initiative. Prior to joining Norfund, Erik worked for 10 years as a co-founder and partner in a venture capital firm in the Nordic region. He has also worked as an executive in the IT sector and for the Boston Consulting Group in London and Oslo. He holds a master’s degree in engineering from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and an MBA from Stanford University.
Mark Davis
Executive Vice President, Renewable Energy
Mark has worked extensively with renewable energy investments, regulation and policy in developing countries, with a focus on Africa. Prior to joining Norfund he was a partner at ECON Analysis, and previously was Postgraduate Director at the Energy & Development Research Centre, University of Cape Town. He holds a PhD in energy economics from the University of Sussex, and earlier degrees in mathematics and applied science from the University of Cape Town.
Ellen Cathrine Rasmussen
Executive Vice President, Green Infrastructure and Scalable Enterprises
Ellen Cathrine Rasmussen joined Norfund as EVP for Scalable Enterprises in March 2020. In 2021 she also took on the role of EVP for Green Infrastructure. Prior to Norfund, Ellen held several senior positions at Yara, the world’s leading fertilizer company. Her last position in Yara was as VP of Sustainability Programs and Global Projects. Prior to that, she was country manager for the Ivory Coast. Earlier in her career Ellen spent four years as EVP for Agrinos, an international agriculture input provider, responsible for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. Ellen has also had various management positions at Norsk Hydro and served as a board member for SINTEF. She studied economics in Norway and France.
Norfund Investment Committee
Norfund’s Investment Committee (IC) is important for quality assurance and for strengthening decision-making. The IC is chaired by the CEO, Tellef Thorleifsson and has seven additional members:
- Three external members: Per Aage Jacobsen, Kathryn Baker and Jacob Kholi.
- Four management team members; Mark Davis, Erik Sandersen, Ellen Cathrine Rasmussen, and Thomas Fjeld Heltne.
- One E&S advisor; Karin Bianca Gullman.
Norfund Credit Committee
Norfund Credit Committee (CC) approves loans to banks.
The committee consists of:
- Tellef Thorleifsson
- Thomas Fjeld Heltne
- Naana Winful Fynn
- Erik Sandersen
- Kristin Imafidon
- Tore Olaf Rimmereid (External)
Norfund Risk and Audit Committee
The Risk and Audit Committee is a preparation and advisory committee for the Board of Directors.
Its function is twofold:
- Assess the company’s overall operational and financial risk and recommend any measures to the board.
- Assist the Board of Directors in overseeing the company’s financial reporting and control systems and recommend improvements.
The committee consists of three representatives from the Board:
- Martin Skancke (leader)
- Jarle Roth
- Vidar Helgesen (until April)
- Åslaug Haga (from May)
And three representatives from Norfund, where Chief Financial and Risk Officer is leading the committee secretariat:
- Fride Andrea Hærem
- Hege Elisabeth Seel (until September)
- Guro Ruud Cedell (from September)
- Hanne Jørstad Francke