André Wallann Larsen becomes new CEO of Nordland Research Institute

André Wallann Larsen. Photo: Fredrik Stenbro

André Wallann Larsen (47) has been appointed as the new CEO of Nordland Research Institute He will take office on January 1, 2025.

In February, current director Iselin Marstrander announced that she would be stepping down at the end of the year, after ten years in the job. Now, the successor is ready. 

– I am proud and happy that André Wallann Larsen has accepted the position. Larsen has extensive experience in leading knowledge workers. He appears to be a strategic, unifying and solution-oriented senior leader, says Hulda Gunnlaugsdottir, Chair of the Board of Directors of Nordland Research Institute . 

Larsen comes from the position as director of Bodø2024. He has previously been director of Nordland Music Festival and general manager of the Norwegian Soloists' Choir. 

– André Wallann Larsen has built Bodø2024 into a significant organization with 24 employees in a short time. He is used to reporting to the board and owners, and has considerable experience as a board member in organizations himself, says Gunnlaugsdottir. 

– Larsen has demonstrated great social understanding through several interviews. He appears to be a good relationship builder and a leader who understands and values ​​processes with good participation, she says. 

Will further develop the institute

André Wallann Larsen is looking forward to getting to know his new workplace better. 

– I am incredibly happy to have been given the trust as CEO of Nordland Research Institute , he says. 

– I am looking forward to working in a knowledge organization that works with a broad spectrum of societal issues. To meet the challenges of the future, we need new knowledge, an interdisciplinary approach and collaboration with private business and the public sector. 

Nordland Research Institute is the only social science research institute in Norway with both ownership and headquarters in the north. The new director wants the institute to be an important knowledge provider also in the future. 

– Nordland Research Institute has a strong foundation with skilled Researchers who both live and work in the region, and an ambition to strengthen its position as a leading player, both locally, nationally and internationally, says Larsen. 

– My goal is to further develop the institute so that it can play an even more important role in contributing to solutions for the society of the future.

Before Larsen moves into the offices at Mørkved at the turn of the year, he will lead Bodø2024 through the important Capital of Culture year. 

– It has been a great privilege to lead this project, and it is important for me to finish the race and end the year on a good note together with my talented colleagues in Bodø2024, he says.