Haraldur Thordarson

Chairman of the Board

Haraldur Thordarson is the Chairman of the Board of Fossar Investment Bank.

Haraldur has an extensive experience working within the financial industry and is CEO of VÍS Group, Fossar Investment Bank’s parent company. Haraldur is one of the founders of Fossar Investment Bank and served as CEO from 2015 to 2023. He was Managing Director of Capital Markets at Straumur Investment Bank from 2011 until 2015 and sat on the bank’s Management Board during the same period. Haraldur played a key role in developing the bank’s growth strategy and new business opportunities. In the years 2007 until 2010 Haraldur was the Group Treasurer of Exista hf, an Icelandic financial service group, and Head of Funding at the same company from 2006. Before that Haraldur worked within the Treasury function at Kaupthing Bank.

Haraldur holds a B.Sc. in Business Administration from Reykjavik University and a Global Executive MBA degree from IESE Business School. He is also a certified securities broker.

Marta Gudrun Blondal

Board member

• marta.blondal@fossar.is

Marta Gudrun serves on the Board of Directors of Fossar Investment Bank.

Marta is the EVP of Corporate Development at ORF Genetics. She has worked at ORF Genetics since 2018, and up until the end of 2022 she was also the General Counsel of BIOEFFECT. From 2014 to 2018, Marta was the Deputy Managing Director and General Counsel of the Iceland Chamber of Commerce. During the same period, she was the Secretary General of the Nordic Arbitration Centre. Prior to that, Marta worked at Juris law firm, at the Icelandic Directorate of Immigration, the Ministry of the Interior and the Court Case Review Commission. Marta is an attorney and has extensive knowledge of the legal environment of Icelandic companies as well as good corporate governance. She has been involved in the publication of the Icelandic Corporate Governance Guidelines since 2014.

Marta also serves on the Board of Directors of VÍS Group/Skagi, Fossar Investment Bank’s parent company, as well as the Icelandic fuel distribution company Olíudreifing.

Marta holds a master’s degree in law from the University of Iceland and a bachelor’s degree from the same school. She is licensed as a district court attorney.

Anna Baldursdottir

Board member

Anna Baldursdottir serves on the Board of Directors of Fossar Investment Bank.

Anna is a consultant with extensive experience from the financial industry. She has successfully led teams in the start-up culture of Icelandic banking and within an established UK commercial bank. After several years in Leveraged Finance she applied herself in Remediation reviews leading teams and providing judgement on a wide range of issues in relation to restructuring practices and the sale of interest rate derivatives to small and medium sized businesses.

Anna has a degree in Economics from the University of Iceland, a M.Sc degree in Finance from London Business School and a LEAD management degree from Stanford University

Kolbeinn Arinbjarnarson

Board member

Kolbeinn Arinbjarnarson serves on the Board of Directors at Fossar Investment Bank.

Kolbeinn Arinbjarnarson is CEO & Co-Founder of Deepair Solutions and Cirravia. He is a seasoned airline executive and business model transformer. He founded Calidris, which developed technical solutions for airlines. In 2010, Calidris was sold to Sabre Corporation in the United States. Kolbeinn worked for Sabre as a Managing Director for 4 years until he left the company to work as an independent advisor and investor.

Kolbeinn has a degree in Engineering from the University of Iceland and a M.Sc. degree from Stanford University.

Guðný Arna Sveinsdóttir

Board Member

Guðný Arna serves on the Board of Directors of Fossar Investment Bank.

Guðný Arna is currently the Chief Financial Officer at Embla Medical, having joined the company from Kvika Banki, where she held various financial roles. Guðný Arna spent a decade at the pharmaceutical company Teva/ Actavis, working in Switzerland and the United States, including as CFO for the company’s generic drug development. Prior to that, she worked at Kaupþing from 2001 to 2008, serving in various financial roles, including CFO. She has also held positions at Eimskip and PWC in Stockholm.

Guðný Arna holds a Cand.oecon. degree in accounting and auditing from the University of Iceland and a master’s degree in accounting and finance from Uppsala University.

Vilhjálmur Egilsson

Alternate Board Member

Vilhjálmur is an Alternate Board Member of Fossar Investment Bank.

Vilhjálmur has extensive experience in management and strategic planning in both the private and public sectors. He served as Rector of Bifröst University from 2013 to 2020. Prior to that, he was Director General of the Confederation of Icelandic Employers from 2006 to 2013, and before that, he served as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries from 2004 to 2006. In 2003, Vilhjálmur was a member of the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). From 1987 to 2003, he was Managing Director of the Iceland Chamber of Commerce, concurrently serving as a Member of Parliament for the Northwest Constituency from 1991 to 2003. Earlier in his career, he worked as an economist for the Federation of Icelandic Employers. Vilhjálmur has broad experience in corporate governance, having served as a board member of Skagi hf., VÍS Insurance hf., and Innviðir slhf., as well as Vice Chairman of the Board and Audit Committee member of Harpa ohf., and Chairman of the Board of Menntaskóli Borgarfjarðar.

Vilhjálmur holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Southern California and a Business Administration Degree from the University of Iceland.

Salome Gudmundsdottir

Alternate Board Member

Salome is an Alternate Board Member of Fossar Investment Bank.

With two active board roles, seven former board positions, a CEO and COO roles Salome has gained a significant strategic governance experience. She has extensive insights into the field of innovation and technology and the venture capital industry.

Salome was the CEO of Klak – Icelandic Startups from 2014 to 2021. She then became an advisor and a board member for Eyrir Venture Management and has subsequently held management positions for its portfolio companies. She has been a board member of the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce since 2018.

Salome is also an instructor at the Executive MBA at Reykjavik University where she teaches Executive Simulation in collaboration with IESE Business School, and oversees the Final Project run by MIT Venture Design Center. She brings years of cross boarder collaboration, funding private projects and mentoring aspiring women.

Salome holds a BSc degree in International Business Administration from Reykjavik University and an AMP executive degree from IESE Business School.