Management

Nordic Semiconductor

Vegard Wollan

Vegard Wollan - CEO/President

Leader of the Executive Management Team since 2024.
Mr. Wollan holds an M.S. degree from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Trondheim. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Nordic Semiconductor from January 2024. Mr. Wollan started his career with Nordic VLSI, which later became Nordic Semiconductor. As one  of the inventor team behind the AVR microcontroller technology, Wollan in 1996 joined Atmel as VP and General Manager of the Touch and MCU Business Unit. Atmel was acquired by Microchip Technology in 2016, and Wollan went on to establish MyWo. In 2021, MyWo was merged into TouchNetix, a global innovation leader in touch technologies, where Wollan was the CEO previous to joining Nordic Semiconductor. Vegard Wollan is based in Trondheim and Oslo, Norway.

Holdings in the company: 50 000 shares, 11 240 RSUs and 11 240 performance shares.

Øyvind Birkenes

Øyvind Birkenes - EVP BU Long-Range

Member of the Executive Management Team since 2024.
Mr. Birkenes has spent the last 10 years as CEO of Airthings. He has led the Low Power Wireless semiconductor business of Texas Instruments for many years and holds extensive management and technology experience. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering. Mr. Birkenes served as member of the Board of Directors in Nordic Semiconductor between 2019 and 2023. Øyvind Birkenes is based in Oslo, Norway.

Holdings in the company: 7100 shares.

Ola Boström

Ola Boström - SVP Quality

Member of the Executive Management Team since 2022.
Mr. Boström holds a M.Sc. degree from Uppsala University and a PhD from the University of Aix-Marseille III. Before joining the Quality Department of Nordic in 2006, Mr. Boström worked with wafer manufacturing and TCAD in the R&D Department of STMicroelectronics. Mr. Boström has held several positions inside Nordic including Product Engineering and Product Qualifications before being in charge of the installation and operation of a high-end Electrical/Physical Failure Analysis lab in Trondheim. Ola Boström is based in Oslo, Norway.

Holdings in the company: 4 737 shares, 5 827 RSUs and 2 946 performance shares.

Pål Elstad

Pål Elstad - CFO/EVP Finance

Member of the Executive Management Team since 2014.
Mr. Elstad has held several senior financial positions, most recently as investor relations responsible for REC Silicon ASA and Head of Finance for REC Solar in Singapore. He joined Nordic as CFO in 2014. Mr. Elstad has extensive manufacturing and supply chain experience from General Electric Healthcare. He holds a Bachelor of Economics degree from the Norwegian Business School (BI) and is a State Authorized Public Accountant (CPA). Pål Elstad is based in Oslo, Norway.

Holdings in the company: 49 417 shares, 10 769 RSUs and 10 769 performance shares.

Joakim Ferm

Joakim Ferm - Interim SVP R&D

Member of the Executive Management Team since 2024.
Mr Ferm holds a M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from Chalmers Institute of Technology. He joined Nordic in 2008 and has held several positions within R&D, such as digital designer, project manager, and program manager for several products in the Nordic portfolio. Mr Ferm's most recent position in Nordic was group manager for the Wi-Fi group. Before working for Nordic, he worked for Nokia in Copenhagen, Denmark. Joakim Ferm is based in Oslo, Norway. Joakim Ferm replaced Svein-Egil Nielsen, who held the position as CTO/EVP R&D from 2013 until resigning on March 15, 2024. 

Holdings in the company: 1 312 shares and 4 025 RSUs.

Katarina Finneng

Katarina Finneng - EVP People & Communication

Member of the Executive Management Team since 2019.
Mrs. Finneng has international experience within management, Human Resources and Communications/PR from several different sectors. Her most recent position before joining Nordic in 2019 was with Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, and previous experience includes different roles in Hafslund ASA and the Volvo Group. Mrs. Finneng holds a Master of Political Science degree from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, as well as an Executive Master degree in Management from BI Norwegian Business School. Mrs. Finneng is Secretary of the Board's People and Compensation Committee. Katarina Finneng is based in Oslo, Norway.

Holdings in the company: 4 337 shares, 8 955 RSUs and 8 955 performance shares.

Kjetil Holstad

Kjetil Holstad - EVP Strategy and Product Management

Member of the Executive Management Team since 2019 and took on the strategy role from July 2023.
Mr. Holstad has a B.Sc degree in Electronics from Sør-Trøndelag University College (HiST). After working 15 years in various technical and marketing positions related to MCUs and wireless technologies in Atmel Corporation and Texas Instruments, he joined Nordic in 2015 as a Product Manager for the short-range wireless business. Kjetil Holstad is based in Oslo, Norway.

Holdings in the company: 16 401 shares, 8 868 RSUs and 8 868 performance shares.

Geir Langeland

Geir Langeland - EVP Sales and Marketing

Member of the Executive Management Team since 2005.
Mr. Langeland has a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) degree in Electronics from University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST). He started as a Product Manager Standard Components in Nordic Semiconductor in 1999, before being appointed as a member of the Executive Management Team in 2005. Before joining Nordic, Mr. Langeland worked as Field Sales/Applications Engineer in Memec Norway, a leading global electronic components distribution company. Geir Langeland is based in Oslo, Norway.

Holdings in the company: 219 653 shares, 14 301 RSUs and 11 351 performance shares.

Øyvind Strøm

Øyvind Strøm - EVP BU Short-Range

Member of the Executive Management Team since 2024.
Mr. Strøm holds a Master of Science degree from Delft University of Technology and a PhD in Computer Architecture from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He comes with more than 25 years of experience from the semiconductor industry where he has held various global product- and business leadership roles. In 2000 Mr. Strøm joined Atmel where he headed the global microcontroller business, and has held similar positions with Microchip Technology after their acquisition by Atmel in 2016. He joined Nordic from the position as CEO of the Schibsted owned company Sentinel Software. Øyvind Strøm is based in Trondheim and Oslo, Norway.

Holdings in the company: 1000 shares.

Ole-Fredrik Morken

Ole-Fredrik Morken - EVP Supply Chain

Member of the Executive Management Team since 2010.
Mr. Morken joined the company as an Analog IC designer in 1994 and has since held numerous positions related to Project- and Supply Chain Management, including a brief employment for SensoNor ASA in 1999. Mr. Morken holds a Master’s degree in Electronics Engineering from Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Ole Fredrik Morken is based in Taipei, Taiwan.

Holdings in the company: 205 345 shares, 8 193 RSUs and 8 193 performance shares.

Ståle "Steel" Ytterdal

Ståle "Steel" Ytterdal - SVP IR

Member of the Executive Management Team since 2019.
Mr. Ytterdal holds a Bachelor of Electronics Engineering and Business Administration from NKI College of Engineering in Oslo, Norway. He worked several years in Ericsson Standard Component before starting in Nordic as Regional Sales Manager for Asia and the Pacific in 2001. Between 2004 and 2019, Mr. Ytterdal was stationed in Hong Kong as Director of Sales & Marketing in APAC, establishing Nordic’s presence in the region. He also held a position as Director of the Board of the Norwegian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong from 2005-2008. Mr. Ytterdal moved back to Oslo/Norway in 2019, where he now has his base.

Holdings in the company: 141 632 shares, 7 108 RSUs and 7 108 performance shares.