Tinna Traustadóttir and Ríkarður S. Ríkarðsson have been appointed as the Executive Vice Presidents of the new Sales and Customer Service and Business Development and Innovation. The Marketing and Business Development Division will no longer exist.
The major changes currently taking place in Landsvirkjun's market environment will bring both challenges and opportunities. The main drivers are increased global awareness of climate change, which has subsequently increased the demand for renewable energy and innovative solutions in energy production, distribution and utilisation- such as transport and food production, the demanding operating environment of Landsvirkjun's key customers in the aluminium and metallurgical grade silicon industry, new and rapidly growing energy-intensive industries- such as fuel production, data centers, battery production and carbon fiber production, and finally, the diminishing competitive advantage of hydropower and geothermal energy over wind and solar energy.
Sales and Customer Service
In response to these changes, Sales and Customer Service will now handle the contract closure and management of power contracts with Landsvirkjun's current customers, focusing on close cooperation with those customers to ensure ongoing competitiveness. Major changes are also foreseeable in the electricity wholesale and system services markets.
Tinna Traustadóttir is the Executive Vice President of Sales and Customer Service. Tinna holds an MBA from Reykjavík University and an M.Sc. Pharm in Pharmacology from the University of Iceland. Tinna worked at Actavis for a period of 14 years, both in Iceland and the USA, where she acquired extensive knowledge on business development and contract closure in the international business environment.
Tinna joined the Business Development team at Landsvirkjun in 2017, working on various projects associated with the multi-use of energy resources and innovation. She took on the role of Business Development Manager in 2018:
“One of the cornerstones of Landsvirkjun's operations is supporting active customer relationships and partnerships, invested in mutual success. We must continue to seek out new ways to support existing customers in the future. We must also be ready to meet the needs of an emerging generation of customers as well as the changes taking place in the Company's operating environment.”
Business Development and Innovation
The role of Business Development and Innovation is to develop new business opportunities and to manage Landsvirkjun's participation in energy-related innovation. The multi-use of energy sources and innovation, previously the responsibility of the Research and Development Division, will now become part of the new Business Development and Innovation. The success of future business opportunities will depend on Landsvirkjun’s initiative and drive as well as extensive multi-stakeholder consultation.
Rikardur Rikardsson is the Executive Vice President of Business Development and Innovation. Ríkarður holds an M.Sc. in electrical engineering from Stanford University and completed the Program for Executive Development (PED) at IMD in Lausanne.
Ríkarður previously worked in banking before becoming a consultant at McKinsey & Co in Copenhagen. He joined Landsvirkjun‘s Marketing and Business Development and Innovation in 2011 and became Managing Director of Landsvirkjun Power, a subsidiary of Landsvirkjun, in 2017. Landsvirkjun Power offers international hydro and geothermal power advisory and co-development partnerships. Ríkarður will remain in this position alongside his new role.
“Shaping and implementing a new vision of energy development in Iceland over the next 10-20 years, in accordance with the new National Energy Policy, is an amazing and exciting challenge. Its realisation will require extensive collaboration within the Landsvirkjun team and multi-stakeholder cooperation. Both Landsvirkjun and Iceland will be presented with future challenges and opportunities and I look forward to working with all those involved as we seek out diverse and innovative energy solutions, whilst ensuring the positive impact of our operations.”
