As we see the vivid imagination of sci-fi authors from past times become reality in the technology sector we also develop visions for how our cities should be in the future. Where only imagination limits technology, we see policy limits implementation of it.
Providers of smart city technology are knocking on the doors of Norwegian municipalities, eager to bring their visions to life. Perception in the industry is that the pace of implementation is too slow. ICT industry has the products, municipalities have the needs, so what's holding back? Which hurdles need to be evened out for the development to speed up? What will it take to create a smart city or smart community?
Abelia, in cooperation with Nordic Edge, invites you to the Abelia Safari and Meet-up where we will explore what the hurdles are, and how we can speed up development. Join us for an informal safari into the opportunities and challenges of scaling smart cities, together with:
• Mayor, Christine Sagen Helgø, Stavanger Municipality • National Technology Officer, Shahzad Rana, Microsoft • Executive Vice President Smart Utility, Eirik Gundegjerde, Lyse • Head of Smart City, Thor Moen, NCE Smart Energy Markets • Regional Director, Svein Olav Simonsen, NHO Rogaland
Senior Advisor Daniel Ras-Vidal from Abelia will moderate the discussion.
Christine Sagen Helgø (Conservative Party) has been Mayor of Stavanger since October 2011. Sagen Helgø has twelve years of experience in Stavanger politics. She was re-nominated as Stavanger Conservative Party`s (Høyre) mayor for the municipal elections in 2015 and re-elected, thus became Christine Sagen Helgø the mayor representing the largest municipality of the Conservatiove Party (Høyre).
Shahzad Rana is Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft. Rana is known as a serial entrepreneur within IT. Shahzad Rana has amongst other things, appeared as a judge in the TV series Skaperen, talent competition for entrepreneurs. Rana has closely followed the developments in Stavanger and believes the time to walk the talk has come.
Eirik Gundegjerde bears overall responsibility for business development. He also has the main responsibility for IT control systems and project methodology within the Group. Gundegjerde has a number of board appointments within the Lyse Group, he is chairman of the board in Lyse Link, deputy chairman of the board at Altibox and Smartly. He is a member of the board in Lyse Fiber and Lyse Fiberinvest. Gundegjerde is also chairman of the board in the project «Norwegian Smart Care Cluster».
Svein Olav Simonsen has been the Regional Director of NHO Rogaland since March 2016. He comes from a position as Vice President Sales and Marketing Eur-Caspian Region Weatherford where he was employed since 2012. Simonsen has broad experience from the oil industry and banking, including as Vice President of DNB Energy Division Stavanger and leadership role in Halliburton.
Thor Moen leads Smart City of Smart Innovation Østfold and works as a Special Advisor for Smart City for NCE Smart Energy Markets. Moen can refer to more than 10 years’ experience in the energy industry in Norway. He started his career in The Norwegian Armed Forces, where he was from 1987 to 2001. Moen has an MBA from BI.
Daniel Ras-Vidal is Senior Innovation Advisor at Abelia and general manager at FIN – the Association of Norwegian Innovation Enterprises. He has 10 years of experience of working at the intersection of business and politics in different roles at the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO). His prime area is innovation policy, including detailed knowledge and extensive overview of the Norwegian innovation system and the startup scene and the framework conditions influencing its future developments. Ras-Vidal holds a European Master of Society, Science and Technology (ESST) from the University of Oslo.
Nordic Edge Expo 2016
Abelia members receive 20% discount on the regular conference ticket. Enter discount code ABELIA20 in registration.
