Board of Directors
Sigurbjorn Thorkelsson
Chairman of the Board
Sigurbjorn Thorkelsson is the Chairman of the Board of Fossar Investment Bank.
Throughout his career Sigurbjorn has worked for international banking institutions in New York, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong and has substantial experience when it comes to building up and leading investment banking operations. The banks he worked for include Lehman Brothers, Nomura and Barclays. In Iceland Sigurbjorn has contributed to venture capital endeavors, been a board member at the prosthetics manufacturer Ossur hf. and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and served as an advisor to the Government of Iceland.
Sigurbjorn has a degree in Engineering from the University of Iceland and a M.Sc. degree from Stanford University.
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
Lilja Dora Halldorsdottir
Board member
Lilja Dora Halldorsdottir serves on the Board of Directors of Fossar Investment Bank.
Lilja Dora was the CEO of the credit institution Lykill Finance hf. from 2011, seeing it through extensive restructuring, rebranding and finally a sale to new owners in 2020. Before joining Lykill she was a full time lecturer at Reykjavik University, mainly focusing on leadership and general management, and working as a lecturer and management consultant for the Open University in Reykjavik. Prior to that she was a national expert at EFTA Surveillance Authority in Brussels and Chief Counselor at the Shell oil company in Iceland. Notable board services are for example Klakki ehf. and Samskip hf. Lilja was the author of a book on formal rules, rights and obligations when establishing a company, published by Reykjavik University et al.
Lilja graduated as a lawyer from the University of Iceland (MA/BA) and qualified as a District court attorney in 1996. She is MBA from Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School and has a degree in management from Leuven University in Belgium.
Brynja Baldursdottir
Board member
Brynja Baldursdottir serves on the Board of Directors of Fossar Investment Bank.
Brynja is the CEO of Motus. Brynja has substantial professional experience in management and strategic planning. She began her career in IT, and worked at Siminn for several years, as Director of Sales before joining Creditinfo Group. Brynja was the Managing Director of Creditinfo Iceland as well as being the Regional Director of Creditinfo Group in Northern and Southern Europe. In addition, Brynja has served on several boards, notably the pension fund Lifsverk and the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce.
Brynja has a B.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Iceland and a M.Sc. degree in Operations Research from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, United States.
Kolbeinn Arinbjarnarson
Board member
Kolbeinn Arinbjarnarson serves on the Board of Directors at Fossar Investment Bank.
Mr. 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.
Alternate Board members and Committees
Adalheidur Magnusdottir
Alternate Board member
Aðalheiður Magnusdottir is an alternate member of the Board of Directors of Fossar Investment Bank.
Aðalheiður is a private investor and the chairman of Fossar ehf. She has worked globally in marketing, advertising and branding for various companies in New York, London and Hong Kong. Aðalheiður runs the nonprofit Art Hall Asmundarsalur and sits on the board of Harpa Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Center.
Aðalheiður has a BA degree in Design and Marketing from Parsons School of Design in New York and a diploma in Art Direction from Central Saint Martins in London.
Gunnar Egilsson
Alternate Board member
Gunnar Egilsson is an alternate member of the Board of Directors of Fossar Investment Bank.
Gunnar is a Partner at Nordik Legal Services where he specializes in tax law, corporate law and securities law. Prior to joining Nordik Gunnar was a manager at the Tax and Legal department of Deloitte Reykjavík, providing legal services to companies of all sizes, primarily in the fields of corporate and tax law. Gunnar has also lectured at the legal and business department of the University of Reykjavik
Gunnar Egilsson has a B.A. and M.A. in Law from Reykjavik University.
Asa Kristbjorg Karlsdottir
Chairman of the Board Audit Committee
Asa worked at Islandsbanki for 13 years as the Executive Director of Financial Reporting. She was responsible for the bank’s financial statements, the bank’s consolidated financial statements and informing the board of Directors and the Board Audit Committee. Asa has extensive experience in the implementation of software solutions for Arion bank, its predecessors and Eimskip amongst others.
Asa is an authorized public accountant with a Cand.oecon business degree from the University of Iceland. There are no financial or other interests between Asa and the leading partners and competitors of Fossar investment bank. Asa is independent of the company and large shareholders.
Sub-Committees of the Board and Auditing
Fossar’s Board of Directors has three sub-committees, an Audit Committee, a Risk Committee and a Remuneration Committee.
Audit Committee
The Fossar Audit Committee acts in an advisory and supervisory role for the Board, which includes monitoring the company’s financial statements, internal control and internal and external auditing. The committee operates according to the rules of procedures for the Fossar Audit Committee.
The members of the committee are:
Asa Karlsdottir, Brynja Baldursdottir and Lilja Dora Halldorsdottir.
Risk Committee
The Fossar Risk Committee acts in an advisory and supervisory role for the Board, including in formulating the company’s risk strategy and risk appetite. The committee monitors the organisation and effectiveness of risk management and the management of liquidity risk, credit risk, market risk and operational risk. The committee operates according to the rules of procedures for the Fossar Risk Committee.
The members of the committee are:
Anna Helga Baldursdottir, Kolbeinn Arinbjarnarson and Sigurbjorn Thorkelsson.
Remuneration Committee
The Fossar Remuneration Committee acts in an advisory and supervisory role for the Board to ensure that the Fossar’s remuneration policy supports the objectives and interests of the company. The main role of the Remuneartion Committee is to develop an annual remuneration policy and monitors its execution. The committee operates according to the rules of procedures for the Fossar Remuneration Committee.
The members of the committee are:
Brynja Baldursdottir, Kolbeinn Arinbjarnarson and Lilja Dora Halldorsdottir.