Stig Wølstad-Knudsen is new Director at NORCE in Stavanger

Wølstad-Knudsen has more than 30 years of experience from the oil services industry, particularly within subsurface and subsea.

“NORCE as an institution here in Rogaland has meant a great deal to me for many years. I have been at NORCE’s Ullrigg drilling rig testing equipment, and I have worked as a commercialisation partner with some of my new colleagues at NORCE. I now look forward to taking on NORCE’s societal mission and contributing to ensuring that research and knowledge are put to use,” says Wølstad-Knudsen.

The Resource Centre for Research and Innovation is a new division at NORCE. As executive vice president, Wølstad-Knudsen will have overall responsibility for the departments Property, Operations and Security, Project Support, NORCE Digital and Technology Park Rogaland.

“I have a genuine interest in HSE and emergency preparedness, which shapes both how I think about safety and how I lead,” he says.

Wølstad-Knudsen is from Sandnes, where he still lives. He will be part of NORCE’s corporate management team and will serve as NORCE’s site manager in Rogaland. The latter means that Wølstad-Knudsen will be a natural point of contact for local and regional stakeholders.

“I want to bring the NORCE name more to the fore locally here, and I want to help raise NORCE’s profile in the region,” he says.

Outside work, he has been active as a dog handler and operational leader in the local branch of Norwegian Search and Rescue Dogs, and as deputy chair of the same organisation nationally.

NORCE CEO Camilla Stoltenberg is pleased that Stig Wølstad-Knudsen is now in place.

“With his broad experience, Stig will be important in helping us achieve our goals of delivering excellent research, innovation and services that are put to use, and of strengthening the role of research in society. I am particularly pleased that we have appointed such a capable site manager in Stavanger. This underlines the importance of the region to us,” she says.