We were not looking for the next big thing. We have been here all along.
General Oceans operating company founders have one thing in common. At some point early in life, they found a way to turn excitement into career. They were educated enthusiasts turned technology users who saw needs and opportunities to do things better. They were product developers who went on to build companies and inspire brilliance.
General Oceans seeks to make a difference in the world of ocean technology by leveraging the combined knowledge and business acumen of a group of innovative companies with a successful track record of bringing pioneering technologies to market. The group is structured to enable rapid funding and execution of greenfield projects to quickly respond to market needs.
We grew up in ocean technology. General Oceans’ trailblazing crew boasts lauded contributors with decades of industry knowhow working side-by-side with fresh talent eager to bring new ideas to the table.
Forward movement is our culture. Scientific integrity, an unparalleled user experience, and sustainable business practices have been embedded in our companies from the start. We do not just see the ocean as a resource to save. We look to explore further, grow understanding, and genuinely excite generations to come about its rich possibilities.
General Oceans central leadership team’s mission is clear. Maintain a lean group of experts in their fields who support operating companies in scaling faster, developing the best talent, funding and organizing collaborative projects, and integrating the knowledge and business acumen contained across the group.
Atle founded multiple companies in the oceanographic sensor space and from 1999 onward, focused on growing the last one, Nortek, into a global technology leader.
Under his leadership, Nortek opened subsidiary offices in eight countries, launched technical expertise centers in Europe and the United States, and established a global network of representatives. Most recently, Atle founded Hefring Engineering, a subsea vehicle company, in the United States.
Atle received a Master of Science in Physical Oceanography and Applied Mathematics from the University of Oslo and holds several pivotal patents in the industry.
Anton joined General Oceans as CFO in June 2022 and brings over 20 years of international financial experience. Immediately prior to joining, Anton was the CFO at Tquila Group, a privately held investment group investing in property and disruptive technologies. In the past he was Finance Director of the European Division of the K2 Group, a large technology and talent placement agency. Anton also worked as Group Controller for Deep Ocean Group, a subsea services provider.
Anton brings a wealth of experience successfully managing finance teams from incubation to maturity. His sector experience includes subsea services, staffing, consulting services, property, renewables, and telecommunications. Anton holds an MBA from the University of Liverpool, degrees in accountancy, and is a registered Chartered Accountant with SAICA.
Freda began her career with the United States Army Corps of Engineers as a coastal design engineer.
In 2008 she joined The Nortek Group to grow business and customer connections in the Southern United States. She went on to lead Nortek’s North American business, expanding the talent base, revenue, technical offerings, markets served, and office locations before moving on to lead Nortek’s global marketing program. She is now focused on Boston startup, Hefring Engineering, delivering a new autonomous subsea vehicle, along with building the General Oceans organization.
Freda holds a Master of Engineering in Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering from the University of Florida and an MBA from Boston University.
General Oceans is set up as a partnership structure. Partners are appointed based on leadership in their respective operating company. They routinely engage in meetings of the minds to set the course for the group, allocate resources, and conceive collaborations.
Finn Ivar was appointed CEO of Nortek in 2019 following over six years of service as the Chairman of the Board. He brought over 25 years experience in corporate leadership and finance, including senior global positions in offshore energy, M&A and social impact investment.
Immediately prior to joining Nortek, Finn Ivar was EVP at Norfund, where he oversaw investments in developing nations to drive sustainability and improve quality of life. His successful track record of scaling global businesses is vital to Nortek’s current strategic growth initiatives.
Finn Ivar holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and International Relations from Concordia College and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University.
David Bradley was appointed Managing Director of Tritech International in October 2014 after having been with Tritech International for 3 years prior in the role of Operations Director. Before joining the company David worked with Jabil Circuit, a US based Contract Manufacturing Services company, as Senior Director of Supply Chain services in several countries in Asia; Singapore, Hong Kong and India. Prior to his tenure with Jabil, he spent 18 years with Philips Consumer Electronics starting out in the Netherlands as a practicing electronics design engineer. David held several technology roles at Philips before moving to a more commercial role in sourcing electronic components in Hong Kong and Singapore as General Manager of the company commodity teams.
David holds a masters degree in Applied Electronics from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and degrees in Electronic Engineering and Mathematics also from TCD.
Mike was appointed General Manager of Klein Marine Systems in October 2020. Mike comes to the company with many years of technical and business management experience covering a broad range of technologies and industries including Aerospace & Defense, Commercial Aerospace, Homeland Security, and Medical. He has held various roles with Lockheed Martin Aero eventually leading advanced technology development for a wide range of aircraft platforms.
Mike served in roles with a number of companies including leadership with BAE Systems, VP of Engineering for Elbit Systems, SVP of Engineering for American Science & Technology, and SVP of Engineering for Protom International. Mike holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in engineering management.
The Board was elected in 2022 and provides effective and entrepreneurial leadership of General Oceans. It is collectively responsible for promoting the long-term success of the group, by ensuring the creation and delivery of sustainable stakeholder value under its guidance.
Stein has been appointed Chair of the Board of General Oceans.
Stein has more than 20 years of leadership experience from Norwegian and International energy companies as former CEO of E.ON International Markets, SVP of Corporate Strategy in E.ON SE, CEO of Multiconsult and CFO in Statkraft. He is currently the Chair of Oslofjord Varme AS and Vice Chair at Gasum OY, board member of Nettpartner AS.
Stein has worked extensively with leadership, strategy and M&A issues, and has been a central figure in leading large-scale transformational projects.
Prior to entering the energy industry, he worked for more than ten years within telecom.
Stein holds a Master of Science in Business from the Norwegian School of Management, Executive Education from IMD, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Asta Stenhagen joined General Oceans board of directors from December 2023. She has over two decades of legal, finance, and operational experience from her roles at Morrow Batteries, Tietoevry, Wilh. Wilhelmsen Group, and lawfirm Thommessen, as well as numerous board positions in listed and private companies.
Asta has served amongst as the General Counsel in Morrow Batteries ASA, Head of Legal, Security and Compliance at Tietoevry Corp., Executive Vice President of Legal and Risk at EVRY ASA, and Legal Counsel at Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA.
Asta holds a Cand. Jur (Master of Law) Degree from the University of Oslo (UiO), including legal subject matters from University of Århus (Denmark) and project management from UiO.
Kim Steinsland was a board member of Nortek AS from 2018 – 2021 and joined the board of General Ocean in May 2023. He is Managing Director of the Norwegian technology company Scanmatic AS and has worked within technology for field instrumentation, control systems and hydro acoustics his whole career.
Prior to his present position in Scanmatic he was central in the merger and creation of Volue ASA in 2020, where his role was Executive Vice President and responsible for the IoT division.
Despite almost two decades in management, Kim insists on being a true technologist. He holds an MSc in Engineering Cybernetics from NTNU and a BSc in Industrial Electronics, in addition to Innovation Management studies at INSEAD.
Saskia, together with Torfinn Kildal and Gustav Martinsen, represents the second-largest shareholder, Ferd, on the Board of Directors. She is an Investment Professional at Ferd and was part of the deal team when Ferd invested in General Oceans. In addition to General Oceans, Saskia is responsible for several of Ferd's investments within the consumer industry, including both listed and private companies, and is a board observer at Brav AS. Prior to joining Ferd she worked as an equity- and credit research analyst at the Nordic investment bank, Carnegie in Oslo and Stockholm.
Saskia holds a Bachelor of
Science in Finance from St. John's University in New York, where she graduated
summa cum laude and competed on the University golf team in NCAA Division 1.
She is a Norwegian citizen and resides in Norway.
Torfinn has more than 30 years experience from executive and non executive positions in private and public listed companies mainly in maritime and energy industries. Torfinn was CFO and CEO of Simrad Group, and has been Exec VP Corporate Business Development of Kongsberg Gruppen and CEO of Kongsberg Maritime.
Currently , he is Chairman of Oswo and board member of Glamox AS, Mintra Holding AS, Norkart AS.
During his years in leadership postions Torfinn has worked extensively with strategic and operational projects related to profitable growth and enterprise transformation.
Torfinn is also involved in social entrepreneurs as chair of Lifetools AS. He holds a master in Business Administration from Norwegian School of Economics (NHH), Executive Education from IMD
