NORWEGIAN RISK FORUM 2015
Speakers & Panelists
Benedicte Bull
Professor
Leader of Norwegian Latin America Research Network
Benedicte Bull is Professor of Political Science at the Center for Development and the Environment (SUM), University of Oslo. She is the director of the Norwegian Latin America Research Network (NorLARNet) and the Oslo Academy of Global Glovernance.
Bull received her Dr. Polit in political science at the University of Oslo in 2002 on the political processes of telecommunication privatization in Central America, for which she received H.M. King Harald’s gold medal in 2003. She holds a Cand Polit degree from the same university on the sustainability of the tourism industry in Costa Rica. Bull worked as a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) on prevention of violence in El Salvador, and on development ethics and business responsibility. Bull also conducted several consulting projects for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), leading two major studies: one on the use of conditionalities in the World Bank and the IMF and on Norway’s strategic interests in Central America. She also participated in the development of the MFAs Brazil strategy.
Bull worked as a guest researcher at FLACSO in Santiago, Chile in 2006 and presented guest lectures at a variety of universities in Europe and Latin America. She is member of the editorial boards of Journal of Latin American Studies (Oxford University) and Internasjonal Politikk (Norwegian Institute of International Affairs). During the last years Bull led two large research projects: one on Central American business groups and one on Latin American elites and environmental governance. She published six books and a number of academic articles and book chapters on political economy and development, the relationship between economic and political elites, and international financial institutions. Her most recent research interest examines the illicit economy and its relationship to the state and the formal economy in Mexico and Central America.
Arne Elias Corneliussen
Founder and CEO
NRCI
Arne Elias Corneliussen is the Founder and CEO of NRCI, a political risk consulting company based in Oslo. NRCI is a geopolitical risk consultancy providing risk assessments, consulting services and annual events.
Arne Elias Corneliussen received his bachelor of arts in political science at Wittenberg University in Ohio in 1998. He conducted research on Islamic terrorism at The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. He has lived in Santiago, Chile where he conducted research on South America´s democratization and economic integration, and US foreign policy towards Colombia. In addition, Corneliussen has studied at the American University in Cairo (AUC) in Egypt. He later continued and completed a Master of Arts in international relations and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University in New York in 2000.
He worked as a political analyst for the Norwegian Armed Forces in Kosovo from 2001 until 2002. Since 2002 he held different roles in the corporate sector in Norway including sales, international business development and headhunting.
Mr. Corneliussen travelled on several long fact-finding journes across Latin-America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Arne Elias Corneliussen founded NRCI in 2010.
Marius D. Fjeldstad
Senior Partner
Nor-Ocean Offshore
Mr. Fjeldstad joined Nor-Ocean Offshore in 1997 after graduating with a degree in business and finance form North Eastern University in Boston.
Mr. Fjeldstad became a partner in Nor-Ocean Offshore in 2001 and he has over the years established a particularly strong position in the Mexican and West-African markets.
Mr. Fjeldstad focuses on specialized vessels/assets and projects and coordinates the company`s efforts towards the Mexican Market.
Arturo Herrera-Barré
Managing Director
AxionCap Ltd
Mr. Arturo Herrera-Barré has over 35 years of business experience in North America from his native base in Mexico. He is the President and MD of AxionCap and leads the practice in M&A’s, Strategy Development and Corporate Finance. He holds an Engineering degree from Universidad Iberoamericana, an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and an M. Sc. in Economics and Finance from Instituto Technológico Autónomo de México (ITAM).
Mr. Herrera-Barré serves on five boards in different fields of the Mexican economy. He previously worked as a Consultant for McKinsey & Co., and PwC (PriceWaterhouseCoopers), as Vice-president for Citicorp in Planning, Corporate Finance and Banking, and he also worked as CEO of The Unimark Group, a NASDAQ listed company which he assisted in restructuring and then selling its business units before delisting it in the US financial markets.
Arturo Herrera-Barré teaches Corporate Finance and Project Evaluation at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. He also lectures in the fields of Private Equity, Valuations, Negotiations, Planning & Strategy in various forums in Mexico and abroad. He has founded five companies and is the Managing Director at Axion Cap, Ltd., The eStrategy, and The Ärangur Institute. He practices golf, tai chi and cycling, and speaks Spanish, English and French.
Jan Ramberg
Chairman
M & O Partners Inc.
M & O Partners provides a unique full-service platform for international maritime and offshore companies, providing the resources needed to develop sales and run local operations as they enter key markets. Jan Ramberg is also a founding partner of M & O Partner’s parent company, Inventure Management.
He spent the last 6 + years working for some of Inventure Management’s main customers around the world, including Engineering & Integrity Management firm Axess as well as navigation and automation leader Kongsberg Maritime. As Managing Director for Axess’ Brazilian subsidiary, Mr. Ramberg led his client’s local operation to profitability in less than two years. Starting in 2010, he also entered a key role in Axess’ international expansion. As Vice President of Business Development for Axess he was instrumental in the client’s establishments in the Gulf of Mexico, Africa and Asia.
Before Inventure Management, Jan Ramberg led business development activities in Latin America and Asia for one of Motorola’s global product groups. Mr. Ramberg has a Master of Science degree from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH) in Bergen, and an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management in Chicago.
Johnny Torp
General Manager
BW Offshore
Johnny Torp is a Norwegian engineer with 35 years of experience from the oil industry, many of them spent in Mexico representing Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and FMC. His various roles included service engineer, operations manager to business development, now he serves as BW Offshore’s general manager in Mexico and Honorary Consul in charge of the Royal Norwegian Consulate in the State of Campeche.
Working with the Mexican oil company Pemex since 1982 provided him with broad knowledge of the company’s culture and how things are done, what works and what does not. He is fluent in Spanish, married to a Mexican woman and raised two children locally added to his general cultural awareness that one derives from constant, close contact with the society given a solid foundation for handling business the right way to ensure success.
Since the early 1990s Mr. Torp functioned as a frequent speaker at energy, business and social responsibility related events in Mexico and Norway.