Turid Solvang is one of Norway’s leading experts on board work and corporate governance. Now she is ready to share her knowledge and insight at the UMAMI Leadership Conference together with, among others, Berit Svendsen, Mads Johansen, Simone Møkster and John Elkington.
Board work and corporate governance have been Turid Solvang’s specialist area of expertise for many years. Today, Solvang runs the company FutureBoards, which helps companies to achieve long-term value creation in their own board work.
This is a theme Solvang will also focus on in connection with the UMAMI Leadership Conference 2025. At the management conference, she will be responsible for two exciting and interesting program sessions with ‘Navigating Uncertainty – the role of the board’ and ‘Family-owned companies and the boards’ as the respective program headings.
Everyone should have an active approach to board work
Turid Solvang believes board work and corporate governance represent an important topic that all companies should be aware of:
– An important main question that remains little considered at many Norwegian companies is what the proper role of the board should be. Is the work of the board only about creating value for the shareholders, or is it also important to have a board and board members who see themselves as representatives of the company, and not just the ownership interests?
Must think more holistically than before
Turid Solvang believes that many companies have a lot to gain from spending more time and resources on ensuring a board that not only takes care of the formal decisions, but can also act as good advisors and sparring partners for the company’s management.
Solvang is also clear that board members must be able to think and act more holistically than before:
– At a time when expectations are increasingly placed on the business community when it comes to sustainability and corporate social responsibility, it is important to have a board and board members who also understand what is going on in the company’s surroundings and take this into account. It is no longer useful just to have company or industry knowledge in the boardroom.
Have Norwegian business leaders taken this sufficiently into account?
– With the sessions at the UMAMI Leadership Conference, I want to create a high level of awareness of this so that all business leaders in the hall start thinking about whether they really use the board as the company’s best advisors, and whether they have the right board expertise in place. The board and all board members must understand that they must safeguard the company’s overall and long-term interests as the company’s highest employee representative. They must supervize and take care of the company’s overall interests.
– Unfortunately, there are still board members who primarily believe that they should only be concerned with the ownership or investor interests of the company. This does not necessarily contribute to the optimal development of the business, Solvang states.
Berit Svendsen, Mads Johansen and Simone Møkster
Turid Solvang will be joined by several exciting contributors on stage in connection with the program sessions she will be hosting at the UMAMI Leadership Conference. Long-time business leader and current chairman of the board of Vy, Berit Svendsen, together with, among others, Mads Johansen, CEO of Aker BioMarine, will share their perspectives and experiences. Simone Møkster, who is writing her doctoral thesis on responsible family ownership in the Nordic region, is also participating.
One of the world’s leading experts on corporate social responsibility is attending
Solvang will also be joined by John Elkington in a panel discussion. Elkington is considered to be one of the world’s foremost experts on corporate social responsibility:
– John Elkington is best known to many for developing the concept of the ‘three-part bottom line’. At the UMAMI Leadership Conference, Elkington will give us an international perspective on board work and corporate governance based on the framework represented by the three-part bottom line. These are exciting and important perspectives that everyone can learn from and should engage with.
– Then we can all start looking forward to the conference, which will contribute to both insight and inspiration for everyone who has leadership responsibility in the Norwegian food and beverage industry, Solvang concludes.
BUY TICKETS
The UMAMI Leadership Conference will take place on March 19, 2025 in connection with UMAMI Arena, Norway’s largest meeting place for everyone who works in the food and beverage industry.
At the UMAMI Leadership Conference, we bring together the most interesting national and international leaders, experts and decision-makers in the field, and ask: “What do the great future opportunities mean for businesses? And how do we make the best use of them?” The UMAMI Leadership Conference will provide leaders with bold insights, powerful tools and inspiration to navigate these changing landscapes.
Read more about the conference and register here
Related articles:
