ÍSOR’s Board of Directors has appointed Mr. Árni Magnússon as Director of Iceland GeoSurvey, ÍSOR. Árni´s position as CEO of the company will commence on July 1st. He will replace Dr. Ólafur G. Flóvenz, the director of ÍSOR since its founding, who will now focus entirely on professional and scientific research.
The position of CEO of ÍSOR was advertised at the beginning of March with the deadline for applications being March 30th. The unanimous conclusion of the board of ÍSOR was that Mr. Magnússon was the most qualified applicant.
Mr. Magnússon worked for the engineering firm Mannvit from 2013-2020, most recently as Managing Director of international marketing and later as Managing Director of Mannvit in Hungary. He served as Managing Director of renewable energy at Íslandsbanki (Glitnir) from 2006-2013, where he established and managed the Bank’s international division in the field of renewable energy. He was an Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Industries and Innovation and later at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs during 1995-2002 before becoming the Minister of Social Affairs from 2003-2006.
Mr. Magnússon has served on the boards of numerous companies, corporations and institutions both domestically and abroad. Amongst other things, he was Vice-Chairman of the Icelandic Energy Cluster, board member of the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) and on the board of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE). He was also Chairman of the board of the Icelandic International Development Agency (ÞSSÍ) for several years, served on the board of the Ministry of Industry and Landsvirkjun’s Marketing Office (MIL) and managed the government’s project on geothermal exploration in cold areas.
Mr. Magnússon graduated from the Bifröst Cooperative College in 1983 and completed MIB studies in International Business at the Bifröst University.
As ÍSOR’s Board of Directors welcomes Mr. Árni Magnússon to the company, it offers sincere thanks to Dr. Ólafur G. Flóvenz for his commitment as CEO and his contribution to Earth Sciences. Ólafur has been devoted to geothermal research since 1979, first as a research scientist and Head of Department of Geophysics and later as Director of the Research Division of the National Energy Authority. When ÍSOR was established in 2003, he was appointed CEO and has held that position ever since. Under the solid and dedicated control of Dr. Flóvenz, geothermal research at ÍSOR has continued to grow and is one of the most respected research institutes in the field of geothermal sciences in the world today.