Orkla to become an industrial investment company

Orkla is to be transformed into a leading industrial investment company with a brands and consumer-oriented scope. Orkla will consist of 12 portfolio companies.

Orkla’s Board of Directors decided yesterday to establish a new corporate structure and management team.

“We want to establish a corporate structure and culture that creates greater value and entails greater autonomy and responsibility for the individual companies. Since Nils K. Selte took up the post of President and CEO on 11 April this year, he has worked systematically on setting up the new structure, and I am glad that we can now establish a new business and operating model,” says Orkla Board Chairman Stein Erik Hagen.

Effective 1 March 2023, 12 independent portfolio companies will be established in Orkla: Jotun (42.6% interest), Orkla Foods Europe, Orkla Food Ingredients, Orkla Confectionery & Snacks, Orkla Health, Orkla Home and Personal Care, Orkla India, Pizza Out of Home, Orkla House Care, Health and Sports Nutrition Group, Pierre Robert Group and Lilleborg.

A Board of Directors will be established in each portfolio company, if such a board does not already exist. The Boards of Directors will include external Board members where appropriate. The Orkla group will maintain its ownership of the Hydro Power energy business and the real estate investments in Orkla Real Estate.

“Orkla is to be converted into a leading industrial investment company with a brands and consumer-oriented scope. We will adopt a long-term, industrial approach to the portfolio companies as active owners and will work through the company boards. We will continue to build on the deep consumer insight and experience that we have acquired in developing leading brands. At the same time, we will pursue an active portfolio management policy, targeting rapidly growing consumer segments and markets. In the time to come, we will adopt a more dynamic approach to our portfolio, which will entail assessing acquisitions, joint ventures, stock market listings and divestments of companies,” says President and CEO Nils K. Selte.

Mr Selte will be joined in Orkla’s Group Executive Board by five EVPs who will together form a single investment team: Maria Syse-Nybraaten, Audun Stensvold, Øyvind Torpp, Atle Vidar Nagel Johansen and Hege Holter Brekke. Orkla’s Group Executive Board will also comprise four EVPs with responsibility for key corporate functions: Harald Ullevoldsæter (Finance & CFO), Christer Grønberg (HR), Camilla T. Robstad (Legal & Compliance) and Håkon Mageli (Communications & Corporate Affairs). The new Group Executive Board will be operational as from 13 December 2022.

Renewal of the management team:

Maria Syse-Nybraaten joined Orkla on 1 October, when she was appointed CEO of the Orkla Consumer & Financial Investments business area. She previously served as an investment professional at Ferd Capital, where she has held several key positions since 2013, including responsibility for health investments in the Nordics. She has broad experience of ownership follow-up and Board work in a number of companies. Ms Syse-Nybraaten has also worked as an analyst in SEB.

Audun Stensvold has 12 years of experience in various management positions in the Aker group. He has broad experience of ownership follow-up and Board work in several of Aker’s portfolio companies, in addition to serving as project manager for a variety of transactions. He most recently held the position of CEO of Vinestor, a holding company for leading wine importers in the Norwegian market. Mr Stensvold will take up his duties on 7 November.

Øyvind Torpp has 23 years of experience from BCG where he has been senior partner since 2015. Mr Torpp has previously headed the Nordic consumer team at BCG as well as BCG in Norway from 2014 – 2018. Mr Torpp has assisted European consumer-oriented companies with growth strategies, change processes as well as mergers and acquisitions. His latest position was that of Director in Canica. Mr Torpp will take up his duties on 1 November.

“Our new management team is well equipped to lead Orkla into a new era and ensure active ownership of the portfolio companies. I particularly want to welcome Maria Syse-Nybraaten, Audun Stensvold and Øyvind Torpp as new members of Orkla’s management. Together with Atle Vidar Nagel Johansen and Hege Holter Brekke, both of whom have long experience at Orkla, the new investment team will make an important contribution in our new operational model and to future value creation,” says Nils K Selte.

As a result of these changes, Sverre Prytz will step down from Orkla’s management team. He will continue to work with strategy and projects. Mr Prytz will report to the President and CEO.