Kristin Aamodt is set to depart from her managing director position at Equinor Technology Ventures (ETV), a corporate venturing subsidiary of Norway-listed energy supplier Equinor, next month.
Gareth Burns, managing director of the corporate’s clean energy fund, Equinor Energy Ventures (previously Statoil Energy Ventures), will oversee a recently combined unit dubbed Equinor Ventures as vice-president.
Equinor (then Statoil) hired Aamodt in 2008 and she held a series of project management and offshore operations roles before joining ETV predecessor Statoil Technology Invest in 2017.
Under Aamodt, the unit participated in more than 20 deals including rounds for Data Gumbo, SeekOps and Upwing Energy. She was named in Global Corporate Venturing’s 2019 Powerlist.
Aamodt will take up a Norway-based investment director position at Canada-headquartered venture capital firm ArcTern Ventures in August, where she will identify renewable energy, smart mobility and sustainable food technology developers in Europe for investment.
ArcTern Ventures had secured $153m in January 2020 for its second clean technology vehicle, from limited partners including Equinor and Norwegian state-owned fund Nysnø Climate Investments.
Aamodt said she will engage with both groups for co-investment initiatives. John Egil Johannessen, a former ETV investment director, had joined Nysnø in 2019.
Concerning her new job, Aamodt told GCV: “Accelerating the green shift coming out of this [economic downturn caused by Covid-19] is a major opportunity, which in turn is creating opportunities for a range of new technologies and startups. The European Union’s Green Deal is only one example of efforts that have been strengthened [during the pandemic].
“For a player like ArcTern with a long track record in cleantech investing and a strong network in North America, the expansion to Europe is an opportunity to tap into very strong startup ecosystems on this side of the Atlantic.
“I look forward to contributing to that, and I will now be focused on sourcing investment targets in Europe – the high-impact, high-margin businesses with the ability to massively scale.”
Photo of Kristin Aamodt courtesy of ArcTern Ventures.
