Helge Thorbjørnsen will be the new rector at NHH
The NHH Board has today decided to appoint Professor Helge Thorbjørnsen (49) as the new rector. Thorbjørnsen will assume the position on 1 August 2025, succeeding Øystein Thøgersen.
‘Thorbjørnsen is a visionary, action-oriented and inspiring leader. He will be able to ensure the quality that NHH has today as a leading European business school, while at the same time he will add new perspectives and be a driving force for further development, says Chairperson Karen Helene Ulltveit-Moe.
Helge Thorbjørnsen holds a PhD from NHH. He was employed as an associate professor at the Department of Strategy and Management in 2003. Five years later, at the age of 32, he was promoted to professor. Thorbjørnsen has held a number of posts and positions at NHH over the years, including as vice-rector for research and dean of doctoral program.
‘In the board's assessments, we have emphasized Thorbjørnsen's strategic and development-oriented profile combined with his ability to implement. He will be a unifying rector who is able to balance innovation with the organisation's need for anchoring and stability, says Ulltveit-Moe.
Thorbjørnsen says that he is very much looking forward to starting his job as rector.
‘NHH is a fantastic institution with outstanding students and staff. In a world that offers great challenges and opportunities especially in technology and sustainability, NHH can and should play an even more important role. I look forward to leading the work on making NHH's research and study programs even more relevant, international and innovative, and to ensure that we train economists and leaders for the needs of the future,’ says Thorbjørnsen.
Thorbjørnsen researches and teaches in subject areas closely related to NHH's core business, such as innovation, technology adoption, branding, decision-making behaviour, and more recently also quality of life and happiness. He has board experience from several companies and organisations, and is currently, among other things, chairman of the board at SNF, board member of VIS, the Norwegian Consumer Council and AFF.
Thorbjørnsen takes over as rector from Øystein Thøgersen and takes office on 1 August. Thøgersen has been rector at NHH since 2017, and he has held this position for two periods.