Gunn Wærsted
Gunn Wærsted | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 16, 1955 Vråliosen, Norway |
| Occupation | Business executive |
| Known for | CEO of Vital Forsikring and DnB Holdning; CEO of Sparebank 1 Gruppen; senior executive for Norway at Nordea; chair of Telenor ASA |
Gunn Wærsted (born 16 March 1955) is a prominent Norwegian executive known for her influential positions within the finance and banking sectors.
She was born in Vråliosen to Atle W. Wærsted, a power plant manager, and Ester Helgerud. When she was six years old, her family relocated to Drammen. Wærsted completed her siv.øk. degree at BI Norwegian Business School in 1979. That same year, she began her career as a secretary at Andenæsgruppen and rapidly progressed to the role of chief financial officer. After five years, she transitioned to the investment firm Nevi located in Fyllingsdalen. Nevi Investor, founded in 1987 and later rebranded as DnB Investor, was purchased by Bergen Bank, which subsequently merged into Den norske Bank (DnB). Between 1993 and 1995, Wærsted held a directorship at Den norske Bank. Following DnB's takeover of Vital, she assumed the position of CEO for both Vital Forsikring and DnB Holdning from 1996 until 2001. In 2001, she was recruited to lead Sparebank 1 Gruppen as CEO. She stepped down in 2007 and joined the Group Executive Management team at multinational Nordea, where she became the senior executive for Norway in 2008.
During a period of instability at the Norwegian State Railways in October 2000, Wærsted was appointed deputy chair of the board, a role she held until June 2001. After leaving DnB later that year, she took on chairmanship roles at DnB Kapitalforvaltning, DnB Investor, Fondsforsikringsselskapet Vital Link, and Vital Skade. Additionally, she served on the boards of BI Norwegian Business School and Doorstep, while also participating in corporate advisory councils for Orkla Group, Det Norske Veritas, and the Norwegian Banks' Guarantee Fund. From 2005 to 2007, she chaired the Norwegian Financial Services Association and continues to serve on its board as well as that of Finance Norway. Her period as chairman of Telenor ASA was notably marked by a significant dispute with CEO Sigve Brekke.