Double professor promotion at NHH

NHH Rector Helge Thorbjørnsen congratulated Håkon Otneim (left) and Øyvind Thomassen today on their promotion to full professor. `Fantastic! It feels very good, ´says Otneim. `First and foremost, I am relieved. And very happy,´ says Thomassen. Photo: Ingunn Maarnes-Gjærde.
NHH Rector Helge Thorbjørnsen congratulated Håkon Otneim (left) and Øyvind Thomassen today on their promotion to full professor. `Fantastic! It feels very good, ´says Otneim. `First and foremost, I am relieved. And very happy,´ says Thomassen. Photo: Ingunn Maarnes-Gjærde.
By Sigrid Folkestad

19 May 2026 15:27

Double professor promotion at NHH

Håkon Otneim and Øyvind Thomassen have been promoted to full professor at NHH. Both are researchers at the Department of Business and Management Science.

Håkon Otneim is congratulated by NHH Rector Helge Thorbjørnsen. Photo: Ingunn Maarnes-Gjærde
Håkon Otneim is congratulated by NHH Rector Helge Thorbjørnsen.

`Fantastic! It feels very good. Becoming a professor is an important milestone. It is what you work towards: making things happen and doing good research. The professor title is a confirmation that things are going well, so it is very pleasing,´ says Håkon Otneim.

`First and foremost, I feel relieved, I would say. And very happy,´ says Øyvind Thomassen.

Same position in 2020

`What is slightly funny is that Håkon and I were hired through the same call for applications. Håkon was to be promoted from postdoctoral fellow to associate professor. When I saw the position, I applied as well. In the end, we were both appointed to associate professor positions. The fact that we are receiving the professor title on the same day is very nice, ´ Thomassen says.

Håkon Otneim received his PhD in statistics from the University of Bergen. His research interests include the development and application of non-parametric and semi-parametric statistics, statistical programming and data visualisation.

NHH Rector Helge Thorbjørnsen presents flowers to the new professor, Øyvind Thomassen. Photo_ Ingunn Maarnes-Gjærde
NHH Rector Helge Thorbjørnsen presents flowers to the new professor, Øyvind Thomassen.

Øyvind Thomassen holds a DPhil in Economics from the University of Oxford. His work covers sectors such as grocery retailing, automobiles and construction, as well as topics including cross-category pricing, non-linear pricing, vertical contracts, environmental taxes and market definition in competition cases.

Important contributions from the new professors

`Promotion to full professor is a very important milestone in an academic career, and the department congratulates them both,´ says Jarle Møen, head of department and professor at the Department of Business and Management Science.

Head of department and Professor at the Department of Business and Management Science Jarle Møen.
Head of department and Professor at the Department of Business and Management Science Jarle Møen.

When Otneim and Thomassen were hired through the same associate professor call in applied statistics six years ago, the purpose was to strengthen the department’s expertise in the strategic priority area of business analytics, Møen explains.

`It is very pleasing to see that this investment has borne fruit. Over these years, Otneim and Thomassen have not only delivered excellent methodological research, but have also made major contributions to the development of NHH’s educational offering. Håkon as the first programme director for BEDS, and Øyvind as profile coordinator for the ECO profile,´ says Møen.