Program

Karianne Oldernes Tung is the Minister of Digitalisation and Public Governance, she is responsible for ICT and public administration policy, electronic communications, state employer policy, management of government buildings and properties, administrative coordination of the County Governors, and national efforts related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

We are proud to announce that the Norwegian Minister of Digitalisation and Public Governance will deliver a video address at the AI Aqua Conference. She will share her insights on the crucial role of artificial intelligence and digitalisation in shaping a sustainable and forward-looking aquaculture industry.

Caspar M. Lund is Head of AI at Sopra Steria, Norway’s largest consultancy within digitalisation. With 25 years of experience at the intersection of technology and strategy, Caspar helps clients leverage the opportunities technology provides to take clear and competitive strategic positions.

Claus Nygaard is an expert in business development and artificial intelligence. He is the Director of Claus Nygaard & Partners and a professor at the Institute for Learning in Higher Education in Copenhagen. He has an extensive academic career focused on business strategy, learning, and the integration of technology.

Nygaard has published 30 books, including titles on Generative AI and e-learning. In 2024, he published the textbook "Prompt Engineering – A Foundational Guide", which focuses on how to effectively interact with large language models such as Gemini, ChatGPT, and Copilot.

Claus Nygaard always takes a practical approach when delivering lectures, workshops, and networking events on AI. His focus is on demonstrating the best use cases for AI application, ensuring that the technology supports and enhances business development.

Sverre Benjaminsen, as Chief Commercial Officer at iteam, is responsible for the aquaculture sector. He works at the intersection of technology and business, leading the development and scaling of AI solutions on a modern data platform based on Azure. With a particular focus on aquaculture, he helps companies adopt artificial intelligence to generate insights, streamline operations, and strengthen sustainability."

Kristian Tangstad has 17 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, with specialized expertise in automated systems, product development, and management. In his role as Director of Digital Services at Eyvi, he leads the development of digital solutions for land-based fish farming. One of his most exciting projects is Hima Rjukan, where Eyvi is using artificial intelligence to improve operations. Eyvi and Kristian’s team are currently developing a fully AI-driven operational system for the aquaculture industry. Kristian believes there is significant potential to leverage data and AI to create smarter, more efficient solutions for the aquaculture sector, and he will share how he has already started doing this at Hima Rjukan at the AI Aqkva Conference.

Øystein Falch is responsible for sales and business development at ReelData in Norway. With a background in finance (MBA, Arizona State University) and extensive experience in the seafood sector, he focuses on leveraging technology to enhance fish welfare, improve efficiency, and reduce environmental impact. Øystein has held leadership roles across aquaculture, venture capital, and food industries, and is the co-founder of Subsea Farming, developing technology for submerged aquaculture for exposed and offshore sites. His work spans globally, including projects in Asia, Africa, and Central America.

Eirik Sandal primarily works with technology, digitalization, data privacy and IT security, fintech, marketing law, and intellectual property rights. He has served as project manager in major technology and digitalization projects, where he provides support with outsourcing and procurement agreements, licensing of intellectual property rights, and regulatory assessments related to data privacy and data usage.

Eirik also has in-house experience from Norway’s largest media group, where he particularly assists product teams with product development and data strategies.

In addition, Eirik has experience advising clients in film and television production, content distribution, and matters related to trademarks, patents, and trade secrets.

Rune Smistad is Senior Project Manager at AquaCloud, and lead on the FedAqua AI project, and Sensor Data efforts. Rune is also coordinator for the resource group for digital transformation and advisor to the competence program Seafood Digital, by NCE Seafood Innovation. He has a background that spans across technology and business development projects in the broadcast Industry for over a decade, and instrumental in developing the Media City Bergen Lab and Norwegian Cognitive Center. He came to the seafood industry after working as innovation advisor at the University of Bergen and a secretary to the UIB AI committee. 

Jon Åge Stakvik-Løvås leads Salmon Evolution’s work on data collection, storage, analysis, and insight. He holds a Master of Science in Engineering (M.Sc.) in Engineering Cybernetics and previously worked in development and data analysis in the oil and gas industry before transitioning to aquaculture.

Jon Åge has hands-on experience in integrating raw data from various sources into valuable insights and decision support tools for domain experts and operational personnel in the aquaculture sector.

He is the project manager for the FHF project Salmosense, which has opened up new opportunities for applying AI directly to time series data.

1. Jonas Juselius holds a Ph.D. in quantum mechanics and has long experience with high-performance computing, numerical methods and programming. He has worked in software development and leadership for many years and used to lecture in molecular quantum mechanics and functional programming at  UiT The Arctic University of Norway. In 2022 he co-founded Oceanbox with the mission of making high-resolution oceanographic data and methods easily and readily available to stakeholders. Occasionally he takes to the mountains to fly his paraglider.

Kristine Langaunet have more than 8 years of experience in the aquaculture industry, including key roles at feed producer BioMar, Kristine has worked across R&D, product strategy, marketing, and finance related to aquaculture feed. Today, she is a Senior Sales Executive at Tidal, where she collaborates with salmon farmers to implement advanced camera-based technology and AI that provide better insights, improved fish health, and stronger decision support. Kristine is passionate about how technology can be applied practically and profitably in daily farming operations at the pen level."

Ellen Marie Kvamme works with digitalization in the aquaculture segment at Lerøy, where she collaborates closely with production staff, suppliers, developers, and designers to create maximum business value through digital solutions. She is passionate about cross-disciplinary collaboration, a strong sharing culture, and the power of user-centered design. Ellen has led several of Lerøy’s innovative development projects.

Before joining Lerøy nearly two years ago, she worked as a product manager in the e-health sector, delivering digital solutions to municipal healthcare services. Ellen is educated as both a nurse and an economist — proving that you don’t need to be a technologist to work in digitalization!

Reinhard Fellner are Director of Customer Success & Insight at Aquabyte, he leads the company’s customer-facing teams, driving the adoption and implementation of AI-powered solutions that deliver positive results for both fish farmers and fish. He brings over a decade of experience from Mowi Norway, where he held various roles in analytics and data-driven decision-making. Reinhard holds a business degree from NHH in Bergen and has also studied Fisheries Management and Natural Resource Management at the University of Alaska. He is deeply passionate about aquaculture, as well as both commercial and recreational fisheries.

Mats Muri Løberg is Head of Marketing at OptoScale, where he works at the intersection of technology, customer engagement, and product development. He plays a key role in communicating how the company’s AI-powered solutions enable better decision-making and improved fish welfare – through close collaboration with customers and by shaping important conversations across the industry. With a master’s degree in marketing from Dublin and several years of experience in both tech companies and creative agencies, Mats is passionate about turning insights and innovation into real-world value. He’s especially focused on making complex solutions accessible and building communication that truly matters – for the people and for the fish.

1. Kasper Løberg Tangen, Head of Section for Fish Health and Welfare, Headquarters, Department of Regulations and Control.

Hans Berg Nåvik works at DNV as a senior researcher in aquaculture. He has a master’s degree in aquaculture biology from the University of Bergen and has experience from developers and suppliers of early-phase technology and fish health services in the industry. At DNV he focusses on how AI and novel technology can be implemented to improve fish welfare and fish health, and the interaction between these technologies and fish biology.

Aya Saad is a Senior Research Scientist at SINTEF Ocean, specializing in AI and computer science for aquaculture. She holds a Ph.D. in Constraint Programming, a Master’s in Computer Science, a B.Sc. in Electronics and Computer Engineering, and an MBA.

Before joining SINTEF Ocean, Aya built a diverse professional background. She led IT projects, optimized IT processes, and implemented ITIL best practices in collaboration with stakeholders. Aya further expanded her expertise as a postdoctoral researcher at NTNU, focusing on robotic vision and AI applications.

At SINTEF Ocean, Aya integrates AI into aquaculture, working on projects involving robotic vision, machine learning, data analysis, and decision support systems to enhance efficiency and sustainability.

Knut Drange holds a master’s degree in computer science and is currently Head of IT and Digitalization at Måsøval.

He has worked with digital solutions for aquaculture since 2006 – nearly two decades navigating the sometimes murky waters between biology, data and technology. With experience from both suppliers and producers, Knut has experienced how the right tools – can we make complex biological challenges a little more manageable.

He’s passionate about digitalization and how technology can help organizations become more data-driven – not just in operations, but also in how we understand biology. One of his focus areas are where artificial intelligence can contribute to biological insight.

Silje Remøy is a Specialist Partner at BAHR, where she leads the Fisheries and Aquaculture team. With 19 years of legal experience, including five years as in-house counsel at leading wild fish and salmon companies, she brings practical insight across the entire value chain. Silje advises on legal aspects within the Fishery and Aquaculture industry, including transactions, commercial contracts, regulatory matters, and employment law.

Mari Aksnes is a member of BAHR’s Fisheries and Aquaculture team, bringing 11 years of public-sector experience gained at the Directorate of Fisheries. Her background provides in-depth knowledge of aquaculture regulations and the associated regulatory framework.

Marianne Hønsi is a Data Analytics Specialist at Google Cloud, leveraging a decade of experience from industry leaders like Google and Microsoft. With a strong focus on cloud solutions for the Norwegian market, she is passionate about bridging the gap between business needs and technological capabilities, finding innovative ways to drive value through data. Marianne holds a Master in Engineering and ICT from NTNU.

Erlend Torgnes is CEO and founder of Optimeering Aqua, the company behind the innovative aquaculture software Bioplan.ai. With deep expertise in applying AI and optimization methods to aquaculture, Erlend and his team are pioneering solutions to tackle the complexities of production planning by combining precision data with precision decision support. Their work leverages advanced multistage stochastic programming techniques, developed in collaboration with leading researchers, to address biological, operational, and market risks in salmon farming.

Under Erlend's leadership, Optimeering Aqua has established itself as a key partner for a number of salmon producers, enabling them to make better-informed decisions, reduce risk, and increase profitability. Passionate about practical, data-driven solutions, Erlend actively bridges the gap between cutting-edge research and real-world aquaculture operations.

Pål Herstad will be serving as the host and moderator of the conference.