Ole joined the NPA secretariat in February 2013, during the development process of the 2014-2020 Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme. For 8 years prior to this, Ole was the Director of Nordregio in Stockholm with an international staff of 30-35 people.
To Ole’s credit, he was a driving force behind the Arctic Cooperation initiative bring together all other European cooperation programmes in the Arctic. The Arctic Cooperation has benefitted from his track record within regional development and planning in the Nordics, to the extent that the initiative has now led to further phases. During his tenure, Ole also facilitated the Joint Secretariat to professionalise and set up new routines for working together with the Managing Authority in Umeå.
On 7th December, the NPA Management Group celebrated Ole's retirement with a small reception where the Co-Chair John Maxwell offered several kind words and observations of Ole’s positive working style and professionalism.
Ole's last working day is 20th December, although he will continue to carry out some tasks for the Programme during the first half of 2018. From 1st January, Ole's successor will be Kirsti Mijnhijmer, who has worked at the Joint Secretariat for the past 10 years as Programme Manager for Information and Communication, and prior to this with the Interreg North Sea Region Programme.
We wish Ole a relaxing, and active retirement!