CONSULTANT | INTERIM CEO AND CCO | BOARD AND ADVISORY

Monica Jill Vaksdal

Fresh eyes, extra hands and senior skills for offshore and subsea technology companies. For the strategic, commercial or process job that matters, but never gets done.

monica.vaksdal@kaifa.no | +47 992 81 255 | monicavaksdal.com | Bergen

+89%revenue growth in one year as CEO of Utel, owned by a listed group
200%revenue growth against plan in year one, Mitta Norway
50%hit rate on tenders in a mature market where the brand was unknown
25 yearssince 2001, from geologist on the operator side to CEO, chair and board roles

When companies call me

  • The important job keeps slipping behind daily operations.
  • New market, unknown brand. Offshore wind, CCS, defence or export.
  • Know-how that could recur as service revenue.
  • Engineering and sales apart. Tenders that do not convert.
  • Order book tied to one cycle and a few operators.

How I work

  1. Understand. Customers, employees and numbers. You get a clear diagnosis.
  2. Prioritise. A few actions with KPIs and owners. You get an agreed plan.
  3. Build. Processes, governance and culture, done with your team, not handed over as a report.
  4. Hand over. It runs without me, with a documented plan.

Ways to work with me

  • Defined project: a strategy, market entry, pricing or process job with a clear scope. Weeks to a few months.
  • Extra senior capacity: one to three days a week alongside your team, short or long term.
  • Interim leadership: CEO or CCO when a leader is missing or a turnaround is needed.
  • Board and advisory: experience around the table.

Why one senior person, not a large consultancy

  • You get the person who does the work. No sales partner up front and juniors behind.
  • Fast start, lean cost. No large team to onboard or pay for.
  • Fresh eyes with industry insight. Outside your organisation, inside your customers' world.
  • Hands-on until it works. I stay for the implementation, not just the recommendation.

Selected results

CEO, telecom softwareUtel ASTurnaround: revenue +89%, result from NOK -3.5M to -1.4M, pipeline from 15.4M to 55M.
Country Manager and CEOMitta ASNew market, unknown brand. Electric drilling rigs as differentiator, 50% tender hit rate, three partnerships.
Team leader and business developmentRocksource ASAFarm-in that became Pil and Bue, producing since 2023. Farm-downs across 12 licences to fund drilling.
AdvisorCCS startupEarly CCS value chain, before the first Norwegian licence rounds. Mapped the pain and built the business model. Did not go on to prequalification.
Advisory boardPetrolia NOCOStrategy and well placement advice on Dugong, among Norway's largest finds that year.
Advisory boardFalck Advisory / HorusMoved a consulting business to a scalable SaaS model with licence pricing.

About me and my values

A change leader with a geologist's training, from the operator side of oil and gas to CEO and board roles. I bring energy and pace, learn new fields fast, and work quickly but grounded in data. I set the direction and build the system, with detail-strong people beside me, and bridge engineering and commerce.

Momentum.Things should move. I get stuck work going, and keep it going.
Honesty and directness.I say what the data shows, including when it is time to stop.
People growth.I develop people into bigger roles, not dependency on me.
Courage.Hard assignments, new markets and unknown brands. I choose them.