Odd Arne Kristengård officially takes over as new Maritech CEO

Odd Arne Kristengård has officially taken over the role of CEO for Maritech Systems AS, a Norwegian traceability and business software developing company.

Kristengård – who had been serving as acting CEO of the firm since June, following Janne T. Morstøl’s resignation – initially began working with Maritech in 2010, spending the last six years as COO. Effective as of 1 November, he is the company’s confirmed chief executive officer.

Maritech Board Chair Mette Kamsvåg said Kristengård will be responsible for captaining the company into its next strategic phase of development.

“Maritech has grown rapidly and become a leading software company with global reach. We are convinced Odd Arne is the right person to lead the company through the next phase of consolidation and development. Building infrastructure to support a rapidly expanding technology company is no small task, and Odd Arne has been crucial in steering the company's technological vision in the right direction. His expertise will ensure we have the right foundation, tools and processes to support our further global growth,” Kamsvåg said.

Kristengård, who has extensive IT development and management experience, and holds degrees in IT and economics from Molde University College and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, is eager to help facilitate and optimize Maritech’s future growth.

“The recent years represent a tremendous development for us as a company,” he said. “Now we are entering a new phase where we are reorganizing and revising our strategy to equip ourselves for further international growth, and to take the next step within product development. Our most important mission is to lead our customers into the future and enable them to supply the global market with healthy, safe and sustainable seafood, as well as smart logistics with the least possible footprint.”

Currently, Maritech has 109 employees and operates offices in Norway, the U.S., Canada, Chile, and Iceland. In recent years, the company said it has delivered on impressive growth rates while innovating high-quality solutions, trends Kristengård said he hopes to continue.    

“Since 2014, we have delivered an annual growth rate of 23 percent, at the same time we have built an extremely strong team and world-class solutions. We are very proud of what we have achieved so far,” Kristengård said. “Personally, I believe that the most important step has been the creation of our Innovation Lab – one of Central Norway's largest development environments, where a top team of employees together create a digital seafood platform for the global market. They are creative, bold and ambitious, and we have succeeded in uniting new and old cultures. We have become a company that the very best want to work for. With a strong, common motivation to succeed together as one team.”

Kristengård’s transition to CEO comes after Maritech announced last month the launch of its new logistics solution for the seafood industry: Maritech Supply Chain. The solution is “tailored to support and digitize complex processes” across the seafood supply chain, Maritech said in a press release. It also simplifies and facilitates secure interactions between exporter, carrier, terminal, and customs clearance.

Photo courtesy of Maritech Systems