Guided by experience.

Gestur G. Gestsson, a founding member and the chairman of the board at Advania, is a renowned figure in the IT and telecommunications sector. His leadership as the Group CEO of Advania from 2009 to 2019 is marked by remarkable achievements and strategic growth. Gestur's extensive experience extends beyond executive management, with a significant history in board participation across IT and telecommunications. His earlier roles include serving as the CMO and later CTO at Vodafone Iceland, CMO of the interactive gaming company Betware, and CEO of Margmiðlun, a pioneering Icelandic ISP. Presently, Gestur also presides as the Chairman of the Board for atNorth, in addition to his contributions to various other boards. He holds a degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Iceland, highlighting his extensive expertise and leadership skills.

Years with Advania: 16

Years in IT: 30

Years in C-level roles: 25

Years in Boards of directors: 22

Mikael Noaksson, a co-founder of Advania and the Advania Group CSC (Strategy & Culture), plays a pivotal role within the company. His profound expertise in both strategy and corporate culture has been instrumental in shaping Advania's long-term objectives. Mikael's commitment to fostering a cohesive and motivating workplace culture has not only enhanced internal collaboration but also elevated Advania's reputation as an industry innovator. His ongoing contribution remains invaluable to the board and the company at large.

Years with Advania: 27

Years in IT: 29

Years in C-level roles: 20 

Years in Boards of directors: 12 

Elisabeth Vestin is a lawyer and expert in intellectual property, data, technology and commercial law, with over nineteen years of experience of advising Swedish and international companies in the technology industry. Elisabeth holds a Master of Laws from the University of Lund (Sweden), and a Master of Laws in Innovation, Technology and the Law from the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). In addition, she has trained on the bench at the District Court in Lund (Sweden).

Michael Bruun is global co-head of Private Equity within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. He is a member of the Asset Management Corporate Investment Committee, Asset Management Growth Equity Investment Committee, Sustainable Investing Group Investment Committee and Asset & Wealth Management Diversity and Inclusion Council. In 2021, Michael was named head of EMEA Private Equity within Goldman Sachs Asset Management and from 2019 to 2021, he was head of Private Equity and Growth Equity investing for India. He joined the Merchant Banking Division in 2010 and worked in London and New York. Prior to that, Michael was a member of the Nordic Mergers & Acquisitions team in the Investment Banking Division (IBD), after initially joining IBD in 2005. He joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in the Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Division in 2004. He was named managing director in 2013 and partner in 2016.

Michael serves on the boards of Advania, LRQA, Norgine, Northvolt AB, Parexel and Kahoot. He is vice chair of the Human Practice Foundation in Denmark and a trustee in the UK.

Michael earned a BA in Economics from the University of Copenhagen and an MSc in Economics. 

Colin Brown has worked in the IT sector for over 30 years and is now a Non-Executive Director, advisor, coach and investor. Joining Computacenter plc from the UK civil service, Colin experienced multiple promotions and led the UK Public Sector business for five successful years before becoming CEO for Computacenter Germany. Returning to the UK he became General Manager for Services for Microsoft, before joining Softcat plc as Managing Director and leading them through their successful IPO in 2015. The company continued to enjoy sustained year on year growth under Colin’s leadership until his departure in 2020. He joined Content+Cloud as Non-Exec Director in April 2022.

Marianne Horstmann has worked in the IT sector for over 25 years. Latest she was CEO for NetDesign - part of TDC Group - leading a full Company turnaround from HW sales/classic service provider into a lean digital service provider of managed services growing recurring revenue contribution significantly and improving EBITDA margin. Earlier Marianne was SVP with responsibility for Infrastructure Outsourcing Services at Atea. Before Atea Marianne worked at HPE as Country Manager for Technology Services and later she was promoted to Region Manager for HPE’s Communications & Media Solutions vertical for General Western Europe. Also 11 years with different leadership roles at Ericsson add to her experience and knowledge. Today Marianne is VP at GlobalConnect with among other things responsibility for retention and development of the 250 main accounts. As an honorary Office Marianne was appointed Member of the Danish Government's Cyber Security Counsel for two years in 2020-2021. Marianne holds a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University in Denmark.

Lill Beate Pedersen has more than 10 years of experience within the IT industry, and 20 years of experience in finance management and business development from several industries in Norway and internationally.  Lill Beate holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and Economics from the Norwegian School of Management (BI).