About Advania Our Story Board of Directors Management Annual report Our story Advania traces its roots to three Nordic countries, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Over a long period of time each country generated a crucial component of what eventually was braided into one company, Advania AB, in 2012. In 1939 an Icelandic entrepreneur founded EJS, an office equipment repair workshop in Reykjavik. He soon expanded his business, opened a store and started importing office machinery, cash registers etc. EJS eventually became a dominant IT business in Iceland. In 1952 the Icelandic government and the city of Reykjavik founded Skýrr, an IT company whose purpose was to take a leading role in computing and recordkeeping in Iceland. The company was privatized in 1995 and later became the core element in a group of companies – including EJS – that merged under the Skýrr brand. In 1971 the IT company Nokia Elektronic AB – later renamed Datapoint Svenska AB – was founded in Sweden. The company sold Datapoint computer terminals but later became a network pioneer and a key system integrator in Sweden. In 2003 Datapoint merged with Virtus AB, an IT-company which was founded in 1994 and grew rapidly. Virtus soon became a key player in the Swedish market, focusing on Mircosoft based solutions and offering storage & backup services. In 2003 one the strongest and most comprehensive system integrators in Sweden was created when Datapoint and Virtus merged. The new company was named Kerfi AB. In 1991 Merkantildata Applikasjon was founded in Norway, originally as a business unit within Merkantildata (later ATEA). The company focused on implementing ERP solutions in the Nordic market, industry solutions for retail, property management, logistics, legal and transport & waste management. In 2000 the company changed its name to Hands and was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. In 2005 Hands was unlisted, as it was acquired by the Icelandic company Kögun which later merged with Skýrr (see above). Despite changes in ownership Hands kept its Norwegian identity and acquired Nett.2.3 and Completo in 2005. 2009 2010 2012 2015 2017 2018 In 2012 Advania AB was born, when Skýrr from Iceland, Kerfi from Sweden and Hands from Norway merged and became a key challenger in the Scandinavian IT-market. Since then four companies have been acquired and merged with Advania, the listed Swedish IT company Caperio included. 1,200 Employees 25 Location 5 Countries 1939 Founded Advania employs around 1,200 individuals in 25 locations in Sweden, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Denmark. We operate in all aspects of society, serving clients in healthcare & life sciences, banking & finance, infrastructure & telecommunication, policing & homeland security, education & exports, social & family services, industries & commerce, transport & tourism, fisheries & agriculture. Annual report The annual report for 2017 is now available. Annual report 2017 ENG Annual report 2017 SWE Board of Directors Thomas Ivarson Thomas Ivarson has a broad international business experience. He has held several senior executive and management positions in the IT industry, at Ericsson and later EHPT AB in Sweden, CMG Wireless Data Solutions BV in Holland, Logica PLC in London, etc. He’s an investor in small and medium size companies and has significant experience of merger & acquisitions. He sits on several boards of directors. Thomas has an M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from Chalmers Technical University in Gothenburg and a business degree from the University of Gothenburg. Gestur G. Gestsson Gestur G. Gestsson has been the Group CEO of Advania since 2009. He has extensive management and board experience in IT and telecommunications. Previously, he was the CMO and later CTO at Vodafone Iceland, CMO of the interactive gaming company Betware and CEO of the Icelandic pioneering ISP Margmiðlun. He has served as Chairman of the Board of top-level domain registry Internet in Iceland and had the same position at Vodafone in the Faroe Islands. Gestur holds a degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Iceland. Aðalsteinn Jóhannsson Aðalsteinn Jóhannsson has over 20 years of experience from investment banking and entrepreneurship globally. Aðalsteinn has lead and participated in over 200 transactions worldwide throughout his career, specializing in technology related businesses. He has been a sell side and buy side advisor on numerous landmark transactions and has also raised capital from world renowned investors in Europe and the United States. Aðalsteinn is the founder of Beringer Finance and its majority owner. Aðalsteinn holds an executive education degree from Harvard Business School, an MBA and a B.Sc. in International Finance from Reykjavik University. Benjamin Kramarz Benjamin Kramarz has vast experience in investing in and building businesses across the Nordic Region. He is currently a partner with the Nordic based private equity fund, VIA equity, and is an active board member in several Nordic based technology companies. Benjamin holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MPA from Harvard School of Government. In addition, Benjamin has earned a B.Sc. in Economics and an M.Sc. in Economics from the University of Copenhagen where he was awarded with the Crown Prince Frederik Fellowship. Vesa Suurmunne Vesa Suurmunne is a CEO of Nordic Mezzanine Advisers Limited. His prior management positions include Hambro European Ventures, Hambros Bank Limited, Arctos Asset Management and the Industrialization Fund of Finland. Vesa holds a Master of Science in Technology from Helsinki University of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Business Studies from Helsinki School of Economics. Management Gestur G. Gestsson Group CEO He was previously CMO and later CTO at Vodafone Iceland, CMO at Betware and CEO at Margmiðlun. Gestur has an extensive board experience, especially in IT and telecommunication. Mikael Noaksson Group COO He was CEO of Advania Sweden, Director of Advania Sourcing and BU Manager of Advania Consulting Lilja Brynja Skúladóttir Group Controller Previously she worked at KPMG and Icelandic Group Ltd, which is listed on the Icelandic stock exchange. Tomas Wanselius CEO Advania Sweden He was CEO and previously Sales & Marketing Director of Caperio and CEO of OBH Nordica AB and CEO of Portal AB Ægir Már Þórisson CEO Advania Iceland Previously he was Director of human resources at the company and Managing Director of consulting at Capacent. Espen Hartz CEO Advania Norway He joined Advania as Director of Sales and Marketing from Bluegarden AS, where held the same position. Previously he was salesa manager at Bluegarden and Key account Manager at Atea. Sami Grönberg CEO Advania Finland Previously the CEO and Senior partner of Vintor Oy. Before joining Vintor he held various positions within Telecom Operator. Robert Schwartz CFO Advania Sweden and Advania Norway Previously he was CFO of Advania Group. Prior responsibilities at Advania include Business Controller and Accounting Manager. Our business Business Areas Global Offerings Regional Focus About Our story Board of Directors Management News