Rector Helge Thorbjørnsen is NHH’s academic and administrative leader and acts as the school’s official representative. He took office 1 August 2025 for a fixed term of four years until 31 July 2029.

Martin Skancke was appointed as new chair of the NHH board, in the summer of 2025.

NHH has three vice-rectors with responsibility for respectively academic affairs, research and faculty affairs.

RECTORS 2025-2029
Helge Thorbjørnsen, Rector  E-mail: helge.thorbjornsen@nhh.no Phone: (+47) 55 95 95 35
Steffen Juranek, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs E-mail: steffen.juranek@nhh.no Phone: (+ 47) 55 95 98 63
Katrine Vellesen Løken, Vice Rector for Research E-mail: katrine.loken@nhh.no Phone: (+47) 55 95 92 18
Kurt Richard Brekke, Vice Rector for Faculty Affairs E-mail: kurt.brekke@nhh.no Phone: (+47) 55 95 94 07
DIRECTORS
Bjørg Marit Eknes, Director Organization and Governance E-mail: bjorg.eknes@nhh.no Phone: (+47) 55 95 99 98
Geir Mikalsen, Director of Communications and External Relations E-mail: geir.mikalsen@nhh.no Phone: (+47) 55 95 93 49

Download high resolution pictures of the rectors

Rector Helge Thorbjørnsen

Helge Thorbjørnsen (b. 1975) is a professor at the Department of Strategy and Management.

He received his Dr. Oecon (PhD) degree from NHH in 2003 and has been a professor since 2008.

Thorbjørnsen's research interests include consumer psychology, behavioural economics, happiness, decision-making, and technology adoption.

He was Vice Rector for Research at NHH from 2013 to 2018 and Dean of the Doctoral Programme from 2011 to 2018.

Thorbjørnsen has been involved in several business- and tech start-ups and serves as chairman or member of the board of several corporations and organisations. He is also research director at the Centre for Applied Research at NHH (SNF) and a PI at the research centre DIG (Digital Innovation for Sustainable Growth).

Thorbjørnsen’s profile page at the Department of Strategy and Management

Vice Rector for Academic Affairs, Steffen Juranek

Steffen Juranek (b. 1982) is a professor at the Department of Business and Management Science. He is a German citizen and holds a PhD (2012) from Goethe University in Frankfurt. He joined NHH in 2013, was appointed associate professor in 2017, and promoted to full professor in 2023.

Juranek has developed a strong pedagogical competence. He was awarded the NHH Inspirational Teaching Award in 2024 and received the title Excellent Teaching Practitioner in June 2025.

He also has an extensive research portfolio, with the main interests within organisational and innovation economics. He leads and teaches in The New Innovation School at NHH, and has served as Programme Director for the Executive MBA in Seafood Management since 2022.

Juranek’s profile page at the Department of Business and Management Science

Vice Rector for Faculty Affairs, Kurt Richard Brekke

Kurt Richard Brekke (b. 1969) is a professor at the Department of Economics.

He holds a PhD from the University of Bergen (2003). Brekke joined NHH as a postdoctoral fellow in 2005, and was promoted to full professor in 2009.

His research focuses on industrial organisation, and he has an extensive publication record in the field, with a focus on competition and regulation policy, especially in healthcare and pharmaceutical markets.

From 2016 to 2020, he served as Chief Economist at the Norwegian Competition Authority and from 2021 to 2025 as Head of the Department of Economics at NHH. He is a member of the Competition Appeals Tribunal and the Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, and has been appointed to several government policy committees.

Brekke has also broad experience as a research director at SNF and has also led BECCLE (Bergen Centre for Competition Law and Economics) and the Centre for Business Economics at NHH.

Brekke's profile page at the Department of Economics

Director Organization and Governance, Bjørg Marit Eknes

Bjørg Marit Eknes (b. 1969) is Director for Organization and Governance, and has the main responsibility for The Offices of HR, IT, Financial Services and Property Management.

Eknes has an MSc degree in economics from NHH and has recently taken an Executive MBA in Technology and Innovation of Finance at NHH Executive. Her education also comprises an MBA from Bond University in Australia, and she has completed AFF's Solstrand programme.

Eknes came to NHH from Sparebanken Vest, where she was a member of the bank’s corporate management group for several years and held different positions as Executive Vice President. She is chair of the board of Landkreditt Bank AS, a board member in Eidesvik Offshore AS, and has broad experience from several other boards.

In March 2020, she was named one of «Norway's 50 leading Tech women» by Abelia and the ODA network.

Director of Communications and External Relations, geir mikalsen

Geir Mikalsen (b. 1965) is Director of Communications and External Relations, and head of the administrative office by the same name. His areas of responsibility include media and public relations, research dissemination, cooperation with the business world, alumni relations, marketing, organizing events, services to students and the general public and more.

Mikalsen holds a master’s degree in Comparative Politics/Political Science from the University of Bergen.

Before he joined NHH, Mikalsen was Vice President Marketing and Communications at Bergen Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He has also been Director of Communications at Rieber & Søn, ASA, and has held several positions at TV2, including channel editor and Head of Communications.