LayerOne appoints dedicated management team and takes steps to industrialize graphene materials
LayerOne is pleased to announce the appointment of a new management team and board of directors. LayerOne was founded in 2021 with an ambition to industrialize graphene materials, acquiring the Norwegian graphene startup Abalonyx. The appointment of the new team is an important milestone and will provide the necessary skills and know-how to build and strengthen LayerOne as a globally leading supplier of advanced materials.
The new management team consists of: Chief Executive Officer - Einar Eilertsen, Chief Technology Officer - Filippo Giordanino, Chief Commercial Officer - Alessandro Dani, Chief Financial Officer - Christer Strand, Chief Marketing Officer - Annette Frotjold, Irene Skrugstad – Chief People Officer and Chief Legal Officer – Stian Vikebø.
- I am excited to join the LayerOne management team and to contributing to the growth and to the success of the company. LayerOne has a highly competitive technology portfolio, an experienced team of talented scientists and engineers, and a relevant position in the global graphene market and ecosystem, says Filippo Giordanino, the new CTO of LayerOne.
- I am pleased to have assembled a strong team that has the expertise required for LayerOne to continue advancing its position. With this team I am sure we will succeed with our strategy and plans going forward, says Einar Eilertsen, CEO of LayerOne.
Accelerating the move to the next material age
LayerOne’ s mission is to make industrial value chains more sustainable using new advanced materials and provide high quality graphene materials at an industrial scale to meet customer needs and cost expectations.
- Advanced materials like graphene have a huge potential, their unique properties make them ideal for diverse applications and industrial sectors. We will strive to bring down costs and enable new use-cases in close partnership with globally leading customers. With our highly skilled team I am sure LayerOne will contribute to change the way we use these materials in the future, says Eilertsen.
At the heart of LayerOne’ s strategy is long-term partnerships with customers. LayerOne is committed to support customers over several years and develop products and applications in close cooperation with them.
- LayerOne is in a unique position, we have a competitive product portfolio that will enable us to enter different markets. With the full financial and industrial support from owners and industrial partners, we have a strong foundation. We are already strengthening the commercial and manufacturing side of the organization, says Alessandro Dani, CCO of LayerOne.
A factory for full scale production
LayerOne’ s ambition is to build a full-scale production unit for graphene in Europe. The pilot plant will help boost the advanced material industry and create new export-oriented jobs.
- The next step in our journey is to build a pilot factory in Norway and we plan to announce more details in near future, says Eilertsen.
The manufacturing will employ a new production technology and enable us to supply significant quantities of graphene and graphene oxide to our customers.
Management biography
Einar Eilertsen -Chief Executive Officer
Einar is the new CEO of LayerOne.Prior to this, Einar worked as COO in Kongsberg Innovation where he invested in and advised early-stage industrial technology ventures. From his role as Director – Innovation portfolio in Eltek, Einar also has experience from corporate innovation and industrialization in a globally leading power electronics company.
Einar graduated with a PhD in materials science and chemistry from the University of Oslo and has been a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley.
Filippo Giordanino - Chief Technical Officer
Filippo joined LayerOne on March 2022 as the new CTO. Filippo has an international experience within EssilorLuxottica, a global leading manufacturer in the eyewear industry. In EssilorLuxottica Filippo has held different roles within the R&D, the Engineering and the Manufacturing departments, and spent 3 years in USA in a chemical business unit as Senior Chemistry Manager.
Filippo graduated with a PhD in Chemistry and Material Science from the University of Turin, and has been a visiting PhD student at Haldor Topsøe in Denmark.
Alessandro Dani - Chief Commercial Officer
Alessandro holds the role of CCO at LayerOne since May 2022. Alessandro has previously worked in Germany for Evonik Industries a specialty chemical company. During this 4 years period, he took over various roles in innovation, supporting the development of internal entrepreneurship programs and covering himself the role of Corporate Entrepreneur. Earlier in his career, Alessandro worked as a Chemistry Consultant for Argotec, a startup based in Torino operating in the aerospace industry.
Alessandro graduated with a PhD in Chemistry and Material Science at the University of Turin and spent a period as PostDoc at the Max-Planck Institute Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam.
Christer Sørgard Strand – Chief Fiancial Officer
Christer started as CFO for LayerOne in May 2022. Christer has previous experience from Bergen Engines, where he worked as Head of Controlling, and Deloitte auditing various industries. In addition, he has worked as CFO in a tech startup, and has served as board member for several entities.
Christer is part of a highly skilled management team in Clara Venture Labs (CVL). Through CVL Venture Support he actively contributes to rapid scaling and success of LayerOne in his field of expertise.
Stian Vikebø – General Counsel
Stian is the new General Counsel of Layerone. Before joining the company, he spent nearly eight years as inhouse legal counsel with an international oil and gas service provider. He also holds extensive experience from different tier one law firms in Norway. Stian graduated with a master’s in law from the University of Bergen.
Stian is part of a highly skilled management team in Clara Venture Labs (CVL). Through CVL Venture Support he actively contributes to rapid scaling and success of LayerOne in his field of expertise.
Irene Rya Skrugstad – Chief People Officer
Irene joined LayerOne in April 2022 as interim CPO. Irene has 25-year HR leader experience from different branches. She has a Master from BI, Oslo in Value Creation & Strategy.
Irene is part of a highly skilled management team in Clara Venture Labs (CVL). Through CVL Venture Support she actively contributes to rapid scaling and success of LayerOne in her field of expertise.
Annette Frotjold - Chief Marketing Officer
Annette has been working with marketing, branding, communications, and design for industrial companies most of her career. She has a bachelor’s in communication sciences from Italy, where she also managed marketing and communications for the EPC company, Demont. She has also worked ten years with marketing and communications in Bergen Engines.
Annette is part of a highly skilled management team in Clara Venture Labs (CVL). Through CVL Venture Support she actively contributes to rapid scaling and success of LayerOne in her field of expertise.
Board of Directors
Simen Færevaag Fredriksen – Board of Directors
Simen has a background as Investment Manager in Aker ASA where he focused on building Aker’s portfolio within renewable energy and clean technology ventures through acquisitions and active ownership. Simen was acting CFO in Aker Clean Hydrogen during the IPO and the following six-month period. Before Aker, Simen was doing corporate finance in the investment banking division of Swedbank focusing on M&A, IPOs and private equity placements, and before Swedbank, two years at EY focusing on audit and advisory.
Simen has a MSc degree in Corporate Finance from Cass Business School, part of University of London.
Martin Bech Holte – Board of Directors
Martin has a background as Investment Director of Aker ASA and is former CEO and Senior Partner of McKinsey Norway, where he worked for 12 years and gained extensive knowledge in several industries and expertise
Martin holds a MSc in Economics from the Norwegian School of Economics NHH with a PhD in Economics from Stockholm University and has been visiting scholar at Harvard University.
Christian Dethloff – Board of Directors
Christian has over 30 years’ experience from industry, consulting, and investment banking. Christian is former CEO of Elkem Solar and has experience from Procter & Gamble, Boston Consulting Group, Orkla and SEB.
Christian holds a PhD in chemical engineering from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany