“I am of course interested in technology itself, but maybe more on the business side; in how to utilize and make a profit from technology.”

“I am a tech fan, but not a gadget freak,” says Lene Merethe Liodden, newly appointed CEO of Mechatronics Innovation Lab. The 49-year-old was selected from a strong field of candidates to lead the national test center located in Grimstad.

“I am very much looking forward to getting started. Mechatronics Innovation Lab serves an important role in the region and in society at large. MIL is bridging academia with business life and is actively supporting progress and value creation,” says Liodden.

For the last seven years, Liodden has managed a large product portfolio in MHWirth with end-to-end responsibility of products for pipe-handling and Moonpool operations. Her previous work experience includes Technical sale, Advisor and Project Manager at IBM, Capgemini and Pragma/Evry. Liodden holds a Cand. Scient degree in Mathematics and an International MBA from Murdoch University in Australia.

TECHNOLOGY AS AN ENABLER
“For years, technology has been a big part of my life. As an executive of technology companies, I always need to understand the technologies involved in our day-to-day operations. But I will never be an expert on any of them,” says Liodden.

“MIL is already well equipped with experts and even expects to strengthen that going forward. My role will be to help make technology an enabler for greater efficiency, value creation and new products and services,” says Liodden.

She is impressed by the level of competence at MIL and in the Agder region. She regards this as “a well-kept secret”.

“MIL definitely helps to tell the story of a region with world-class competence and technology,” says Liodden.

A TOOL FOR THE SUPPLIER INDUSTRY
Following years with falling revenues and downsizing of personnel in most supplier industry companies in Agder, Liodden sees new opportunities.

“MIL can be used as a tool for repositioning of the supplier industry in Agder. MIL can be an arena for testing existing technology in new market and industries, such as deepsea mining and offshore wind, but also to develop future-proof solutions for existing markets,” says Liodden.

She starts her new position on August 1.

“The Board of Directors is very pleased that Liodden accepted the position at MIL. She brings extensive experience from technology and mechatronics and a background and qualifications which will help develop the company,” says Gøril Hannås, Chairperson of Mechatronics Innovation Lab and Vice Rector at the University of Agder.

Pending interest, the organizers of Norway2OTC may arrange for a Norwegian delegation to OTC in Houston in August. Kindly fill out the form if you are interested in participating in the delegation.

“GCE NODE will not organize the traditional joint stand in Houston in 2021. Also, the GCE NODE administration is likely to prioritize Arendalsuka which coincides with this year’s OTC,” says Ann Marchioro, Project Manager at GCE NODE.

“GCE NODE remains, however, a central part of the Norway2OTC planning committee for the Norwegian delegation and we will assist any cluster company that would like to take part in OTC 2021,” says Marchioro.

As of 2021, Norwegian Energy Partners, NORWEP, is the new organizer of Norway2OTC. The partnership between the Norwegian industry clusters GCE NODE, GCE Ocean Technology, Energy Valley, Norwegian Energy Solutions and the City of Stavanger remains strong and confident in making OTC a great arena for Norwegian companies and organizations in the years to come.

The organizer of OTC has decided to postpone this year’s event from the traditional first week of May to August 16-19. It is expected that it will be an event of limited proportions, but there will be a Norway2OTC delegation if there is sufficient interest among Norwegian companies and if the pandemic situation allows it.

If you would like to take part in a Norway2OTC delegation, please fill out the “Call for interest” form. It is NOT binding, but it will help organizers decide if and how they should organize Norway2OTC 2021. There will be a regular registration mid-June.

Please check out the Norway2OTC webpage for tentative program and more info.

CEO of MHWirth, Eirik Bergsvik, has been re-elected as Chairman of GCE NODE. The General Meeting also elected two new board members.

The first ever digital version of the GCE NODE General Meeting was conducted Thursday afternoon. It was, of course, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, that the planned physical meeting was cancelled.

Eirik Bergsvik, CEO of MHWirth, was unanimously re-elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Bergsvik has served at this position since February 2020.

Two new board members were elected at the meeting. Thomas Myrvold is the new Cameron Sense representative, replacing Arnt Lauen, who is no longer with the company. Cameron Sense is one of the three major GCE NODE companies that traditionally have held seats on the Board of Directors. Torstein Bringa, CEO of Future Production, was also elected board member.

This is the 2021-2022 GCE NODE Board of Directors

  • Eirik Bergsvik, MHWirth (Chairman)
  • Rune Johnsen, National Oilwell Varco Norway
  • Thomas Myrvold, Cameron Sense
  • Thor Arne Håverstad, NORCE
  • Sunniva Whittaker, University of Agder
  • Torstein Bringa, Future Production
  • Fritz Ekløff, BW Offshore
  • Lars Erik Lunøe, Telenor Maritime
  • Mette Harv, Nekkar
Torstein Bringa (left) and Thomas Myrvold were elected new members of the Board of Directors of GCE NODE.