Decisions Under Uncertainty: Fasmer’s Lessons from Finance
Meet the most powerful woman in Norwegian business: Telenor CEO Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer on markets, risk — and leadership when it matters.
This year’s Lehmkuhl Lecture brings a finance lens to leadership.
Lehmkuhl Lecture September 25.
Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer, President & CEO of Telenor Group, returns to NHH to share what decades in corporate banking, capital markets, insurance and digital payments taught her about making good decisions under uncertainty.
An economics nerd
Fasmer’s career is a tour through the financial system’s front lines: Group EVP at DNB with responsibility for corporate banking, executive roles in Fremtind Forsikring, and CEO of SpareBank 1 SR-Bank before stepping up to lead one of Norway’s largest listed companies.
Along the way, she has helped steer organisations through rate cycles, credit risk, structural change, and the digital shift that now touches every transaction and every customer journey.
`I’ve always been an economics nerd, ´she said when she was recognized as The NHH Alumni of the Year in 2024.
`What drives me isn’t the title, it’s solving hard problems and creating results with people. ´
The Lehmkuhl Lecture
The Lehmkuhl Lecture is NHH’s annual keynote held in honor of the school’s "founding father", Kristofer Lehmkuhl. It takes place in the Aula around Lehmkuhl’s birthday (26 September) and features a prominent guest. Recent lecturers include Torstein Hagen (Viking) in 2024, Lise Klaveness (NFF) in 2023, and Nicolai Tangen (NBIM) in 2021.
`The most fun´
The paradox is part of her appeal: Fasmer never set out to be a top manager. She describes herself as analytical and strategic, a specialist who likes people. Opportunities came because others saw the way she built teams, created momentum and delivered.
`If I regret anything, it’s that I didn’t put myself forward earlier, ´ she says.
`Working fully as a CEO is the most fun, I’ve had´.
Back to where curiosity started
Fasmer’s story begins at NHH.
She credits her time here—both the academic rigor and an active student life (NHH-Symposiet, UKEN, the student association)—for setting habits that lasted: curiosity, discipline and community.
`NHH students can shape tomorrow’s business. To create value, you also need to understand where we come from´.