Seaweed champion lands key aquaculture role at Nofima

Norwegian food research institute Nofima has appointed Linn Anne Bjelland Brunborg as director of its Aquaculture Division. Bjelland Brunborg, 47, is leaving her position as general manager of seaweed-based flavourings producer Orkla Ocean and will take up her new role at Nofima on January 1.

“We are very happy that Linn Anne is joining our team. As an institute for applied research, close contact with industry is important. Before gaining solid experience as a leader in the private sector over the past 10-12 years, Linn Anne worked as a researcher,” said Nofima chief executive Bente Torstensen.

Bjelland Brunborg studied human nutrition at the University of Bergen and started her professional career as a researcher at Norway’s National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research, Nifes, in Bergen. She worked for flour, grain, bread and bakery products supplier Norgesmøllene before joining Orkla in 2012. There, she held a number of senior positions and worked as general manager of Orkla Ocean for the past three years.

Food for everyone

“Both from my time as a researcher and from my time in the business sector, I know that there are many research results that can contribute to restructuring [of current food production models],” said Bjelland Brunborg.

“Nofima has a vision of sustainable food for everyone, and here lies the core of what I want to achieve in my new job: we will contribute to and influence the restructuring that is needed in the food industry. We will contribute to innovations that make it possible.”

Bjelland Brunborg is passionate about the ocean’s biodiversity and the decline in seafood consumption, and she would like to influence both authorities and consumers to eat more food from the sea.

Nofima has five offices in Norway. Brunborg will be located at Ås near Oslo.