Kistefos Venture Capital

Gunnar Jacobsen joined Kistefos in 2006. Before that, he served as CEO of BlueCom, a Norwegian telecommunications company focused on the residential market, and earlier held roles in project management at BlueCom and business development at Telenor. He holds a Master of Science in Marketing and Management and a Master in Corporate Finance from the Norwegian School of Management (BI).

Karianne U. Melleby joined Kistefos in 2026 and is responsible for the firm's Venture Portfolio. She was previously Managing Director of Storskogen Norge, the Norwegian subsidiary of Storskogen Group AB, and earlier held roles at DNB, StartupLab and Telenor focused on digital transformation, partnerships and new business development, including an assignment in Asia. She holds a Master of Science in International Business and Management from BI Norwegian Business School.

Mads Helmich Pedersen joined Kistefos in 2024. He previously spent three years at McKinsey & Company working on strategy and M&A, including commercial due diligence on both buy-side and sell-side across various industries, and before that spent five years as a corporate law and M&A lawyer at Advokatfirmaet Selmer, advising private equity houses, venture funds, and public and private companies. He holds a Master of Laws from the University of Bergen and an LLM from King's College London specializing in International Finance and Private Equity.

Mathias Dokkan-Thorsen joined Kistefos in 2022, having previously worked as an investment analyst at a private equity start-up, in PwC's valuation and financial modelling practice, and as an equity analyst at Handelsbanken for four years. He holds an MSc in Business and Economics with a major in Finance from the Norwegian Business School. At Kistefos he supports venture companies with scaling and commercial development and was part of the exit team that sold Semine to Rydoo.

Otto Moltke-Hansen joined Kistefos in 2022. He previously worked in the Investment Banking Division at Pareto Securities, where he focused on M&A and ECM transactions. He holds an MSc in Finance from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH).

Senny (Jens Henrik) Munthe-Kaas joined Kistefos in 2024. He previously worked at Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) as an Associate on its renewable energy infrastructure team and earlier on the fund's Allocation Strategies team. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame.

Ulrik Mannhart joined Kistefos in 2026. He was previously an Investment Principal at Hayfin Capital Management in London, managing investments in the shipping and offshore drilling industries, and earlier spent four years at Fearnley Securities in Oslo as a Credit and Equity Research Analyst covering shipping, offshore drilling and energy. He also held roles as a Credit Analyst in Nordea's Shipping, Offshore and Oil Services division and as an Associate at PwC, and holds an MSc in Industrial Economics and Technology Management from NTNU and ETH Zürich.

Bengt A. Rem joined Kistefos in 2015, having previously served as CEO of Arctic Partners. Earlier in his career he was Executive Vice President and CFO at industrial investment company Aker ASA, headed the department for financial instruments at the Oslo Stock Exchange, and worked as a state authorized accountant at Arthur Andersen & Co. He holds a Master of Science in Business Administration and Finance from the Norwegian Business School (BI) and is a state authorized public accountant from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH).

Board member since 2024.

Gaute Marstein serves as Head of Operations at Avisa Interiors, with experience in the real estate industry. His areas of work include negotiation, contract management, vendor development, tender management, and sourcing. He is pursuing a Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering from IGNOU.

Henriette Gjefle joined Kistefos in 2024. She previously spent 2.5 years at Reiten & Co managing investments in private and publicly traded companies, sourcing and evaluating opportunities and working with portfolio companies, and before that spent 2.5 years as a transaction advisor at PwC Deals providing financial due diligence for M&A transactions. She holds an MSc in Economics and Business Administration with a major in Finance and Accounting from Copenhagen Business School.

Board member since 2024.

Malene Manheim joined Kistefos in 2026. She was previously Head of Group Accounting at Ferd AS, and before that worked at EY as an auditor and later as a Manager in Financial Accounting Advisory Services. She holds a Master's degree in Professional Accountancy from BI Norwegian Business School.

Ola Beinnes Fosse joined Kistefos in 2023, having previously served as CFO of Ice Group. His earlier roles include CFO positions at Aker Horizons, Kleven, and Hunter Group, CFO and acting CEO at Rem Offshore, credit research at DNB Markets, and Credit and Risk Manager at the Norwegian Export Credit Guarantee Agency. He holds a Master of Management from the Norwegian School of Management (BI), with a final thesis in financial strategy.

Ragnhild Wiborg has around 35 years of experience in financial markets. She previously worked as partner, owner and fund manager at Consepio and Wiborg Kapitalförvaltning, served as CIO and portfolio manager at Odin Fund Management, and held investment banking roles at Pareto Securities, ABG Sundal Collier, First Chicago and Scandinavian Bank. She holds a Bachelor/Master in Economics and International Business from the Stockholm School of Economics and Fundacao Getulio Vargas, and studied French and Political Science at the Sorbonne.

Tine Forgaard Drage joined Kistefos in 2026. She previously worked in the Investment Banking Division at Danske Bank, focusing primarily on M&A. She holds an MSc in Economics and Business Administration (Applied Economics and Finance) from Copenhagen Business School.

Tom Ruud has held senior executive roles including Group CEO positions at Aker Norcem ASA, Kreditkassen ASA, and Kistefos AS, and Group EVP at Nordea Bank AB in Stockholm, where he was responsible for large corporate accounts, shipping, and capital markets. He also served as EVP at the Umoe Group and earlier held positions at IBM, DnC, and Norcem. He graduated from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in 1974 and attended an executive program at Wharton.