Nofima has announced that Linn Anne Bjelland Brunborg, current General Manager of Orkla Ocean, has accepted the position of Director of the Aquaculture Division at the Norwegian food research institute. The executive, and also researcher, will take up her new position on January 1, 2024.
After studying human nutrition at the University of Bergen, Nofima's next Director of Aquaculture started her professional career as a researcher at Nifes, also in Bergen. Following this, she worked for Norgesmøllene before joining Orkla in 2012. At the latter company, she held several senior positions before working as Managing Director of Orkla Ocean for the past three years.
Orkla Ocean is a Norwegian company actively involved in the development of seaweed as a new sustainable growth industry. In their vision, current food production models pose numerous challenges, and there is a need to increase the use of the sea as a food source, thereby decreasing pressure on onshore resources.
"We are very happy that Linn Anne is joining our team. As an institute for applied research, close contact with industry is important. Before gaining solid experience as a leader in the private sector over the past 10-12 years, Linn Anne worked as a researcher," says Bente Torstensen, CEO of Nofima, commenting on the appointment.
Nofima's CEO, who took over after Øyvind Fylling-Jensen's retirement in the summer, is, interestingly, Bjelland Brunborg's predecessor as head of the Aquaculture Division. "In the search for the best candidate, it has been important for us to take our time," stated Thomas Farstad, Nofima's Chairman of the Board, when announcing Bente Torstensen's appointment, in January this year. The Norwegian food research institute has now taken six months to find a replacement.
Passionate about the ocean, the new Director of Aquaculture Division at Nofima thinks that Norway must lead the way in restructuring the food industry. Among other things, she mentions the ocean's biodiversity, but not only that.
Another aspect that Linn Anne Bjelland Brunborg highlights is the decline in seafood consumption. Nofima's next executive says she would like to influence both authorities and consumers to consume more food coming from the sea.
"Both from my time as a researcher and from my time in the business sector, I know that there are many research results that can contribute to restructuring," Bjelland Brunborg points out. "Nofima has a vision of sustainable food for everyone, and here lies the core of what I want to achieve in my new job: We will contribute to and influence the restructuring that is needed in the food industry. We will contribute to innovations that make it possible."
As mentioned, Linn Anne Bjelland Brunborg will start in her new position on January 1. Among the five offices that the Norwegian Food Research Institute has in Norway, the new Director of Aquaculture Division will be located at Nofima's office in Ås, near Oslo.
Nofima is a leading Norwegian food research institute that carries out research and development activities for the aquaculture, fisheries, and food industries. The three divisions work closely together so that they can benefit from their combined expertise. Owned by the Norwegian state through the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries - which has a majority shareholding; the Foundation for Agri-Food Research; and Akvainvest Møre og Romsdal AS; it has approximately 400 employees spread across departments at five locations in Norway.
