PRESS RELEASE: Hege Økland, CEO NCE Maritime CleanTech, has been awarded the WISTA LeaderShip Award 2018 by WISTA Norway. She receive the award in recognition of her dedicated and relentless work in building up the clean tech cluster that has laid the fundament for a large number of the clean-tech concepts and innovative solutions coming out from Norway.
Hege Økland has since 2011 been CEO of NCE Maritime CleanTech, which is a world-leading cluster for clean maritime solutions.
The cluster encompasses 90 partner companies that cooperate in the development of new energy-efficient and environmental friendly technologies for the ocean industries, including the electrical car ferry Ampere, and the Urban Water Shuttle zero-emission transportation concept to move more passengers from land to keel in big coastal cities, which will be delivered in 2020. The cluster was initiated and further developed under Økland’s management and is now a Norwegian Centre of Expertise, a governmental program for the most growth oriented and dynamic clusters in Norway. The cluster is also certified with the “Cluster Management Excellence Label GOLD – Proven for Cluster Excellence” of the European Cluster Excellence Initiative, which acknowledges cluster organisations that demonstrate highly sophisticated cluster management.
Hege is authentic, and with a passion and enthusiasm for making our industry green and clean that rubs off on anyone near her. Her dedicated and relentless work in building up the clean tech cluster over many years has laid the fundament for a large number of the clean-tech concepts and innovative solutions coming out from Norway. She has been a clear, visible and outspoken frontrunner, never afraid to challenge the government and key stakeholders to act more and quicker. And she is also a very important supporter of the young generation and other women. She works with a genuine interest for openness and collaboration across clusters and regions, and in attracting and lifting more women into the senior positions of our industry.
Prior to joining NCE Maritime CleanTech, Økland worked in various management positions, including Head of Maritime in research organisation Polytec and Managing Director for the industry development network SNU. Økland is member of the Norwegian Research Councils program board for the Maroff-program and is board member of the hydropower company BKK AS. She also has board member experience from Western Norway University of Applied Sciences.
She holds a Master of Sciences in Business and Economics from Copenhagen Business School and a bachelor degree from BI Norwegian Business School.
The award will be presented at WISTA’s international conference in Tromsø, Norway in October 2018. Please find more info on the conference here: http://wistainternational2018.com
