Jon Sivert Nielsen joins Interimleder AS as Senior Adviser

With Jon Sivert Nielsen in place as senior adviser at Interimleder AS, we are further strengthening our team at a time when interim management and change management are an increasing part of the new labour market. With his varied background and network, including 22 years in the Kværner Group and board memberships throughout several countries, Jon Sivert has valuable experience when it comes to matching needs and goals with the right strategy, expertise, and resource.

Jon Sivert Nielsen holds a master's degree in civil engineering from NTNU and a master's degree in business administration from NHH. As well as solid experience as a senior leader in large and medium-sized enterprises. Jon Sivert has devoted 22 years of his career to the former Kværner group, where he was CEO of several large subsidiaries for several years. After Kværner, Jon Sivert has been CEO on both a permanent and interim basis in Norconsult AS, Blom ASA, JGO Betong AS, Otrum AS, Oras AS and Friskgruppen AS. Companies which span over many different industries.

He will now take the role of senior adviser in Interimleder AS after completing several interim management assignments himself, most recently for Friskgruppen as CEO. Jon Sivert also holds extensive experience with strategy consulting and M&A as a partner in Norscan Partners.

Great dialogue is crucial

For Jon Sivert, great dialogue is crucial for any leader to master.

– Whether I have worked with companies in the heavy, mechanical industry or health and welfare, being able to listen and quickly establish a good dialogue with the people in that company is key.

The same applies to the way Jon Sivert goes about communicating and matching companies with interim managers.

– It’s important to understand what the client really wants through good conversations – not just by reading papers and reports. This allows me to truly get to the core of their needs, he adds.

Jon Sivert himself has participated in many turnarounds in his career, which has consistently been successful.

– I have always valued it as important – when a company is facing problems — to identify what the viable part of the company is, and what will represent its future. Where can we accelerate growth? If the till is empty, it’s of course critical to resolve the issues quickly, but without the confidence of owners, board members and employees, it will be difficult. Therefore, it’s important to pinpoint the future – as quickly as possible – to set out a strategic and viable direction.

– Interim leaders shouldn’t be missionaries

Jon Sivert – who is based in Oslo – has also been chairman of the board of companies in many countries, including Singapore, Spain, Canada, South Korea, and the Nordic countries.

– You learn a lot from working in different countries and cultures. Although it can be demanding, it’s also an enrichment! Respecting and familiarizeing yourself with the work culture in another country can be compared to understanding the culture of a new company as an interim leader.

Jon Sivert points out the fact that interim leaders shouldn’t be missionaries but rather be humble yet to stern when needed. It’s important to balance working with people and be able to adapt yourself.

– Understanding the company's uniqueness and DNA as soon as possible is vital. With experience, you see that there are often some commonalities, but I always home in on the given company's specific situation. After all, I am the one who must understand them, not the other way around, he explains.

In essence, as an interim manager, to get this type of company understanding you need to talk directly to the people in the enterprise. This way you quickly uncover what kind of attitude and understanding the different people have to the company's situation, colleagues and a new person coming in. That is important for a new working relationship and good team.

– Interimleder AS is a leader in Norway in connecting managers and leaders to businesses, for a limited period. My task, together with my new colleagues at Interimleder AS, will be to match companies or organizations – which is facing the need for a new leader – against our massive database of roughly 3,000 interim leader candidates, in order to find the most suitable person to fill the intended role, Jon Sivert sums up.

– It’s Jon Sivert's broad and deep experience from Norwegian and international business, combined with his wisdom and fine human qualities, that makes him a rare and great addition to the further development of interim management in Norway. We are very pleased to have Jon Sivert on the team, says CEO of Interimleder AS, Vegard Rooth.