ABGSC and the ABGSC Women in Finance Foundation support Women’s Finance Day at NHH

Above, from left: Marianne Daae (Managing Director, ABGSC Women in Finance Foundation) and Johanne Welle Smogeli (Head of the Women’s Finance Day) appear together with panel participants Mari Rindal Øyen (Country General Manager, Nordnet), Kristian B. Fyksen (ABGSC Co-head of Investment Banking and CEO of ABGSC Norway), Marius Lorentzen (Head of Programming and TV at Finansavisen), Hild Kinder (Partner at KinderStiff Consulting) and Liv Loge (Managing Director, JP Morgan) (image credit: FOTO NHHS).

On 21 March the ABGSC Women in Finance Foundation, together with ABGSC, attended the Women’s Finance Day at NHH in Bergen. They served as the main partners of the event, having done so since 2019.
The event brought together approximately 120 participating students, who had the opportunity to learn about the finance industry though a variety of presentations, panel debates and workshops, as well as by interacting directly with representatives from a variety of firms.
The day kicked off with an opening speech by Head of the Women’s Finance Day Johanne Welle Smogeli and the Foundation’s Managing Director Marianne Daae. Then followed a panel debate on the future of the finance industry, with a particular focus on the emerging role of artificial intelligence and how it will impact students entering the industry. ABGSC’s Co-Head of Investment Banking and CEO of ABGSC Norway, Kristian B. Fyksen, was one of the panel debate participants, along with Hild Kinder from KinderStiff, Liv Loge from JP Morgan and Mari Rindal Øyen from Nordnet Bank. This was followed up by a live interview between Tiril Støle from Storebrand Asset Management and the two hosts of the “Finansjentene” podcast, Thea Stensaker (of Danske Bank) and Lone Sjursen Kleveland (of Gjensidige); the podcast, which the Foundation has previously supported, aims to de-mystify the finance industry.

Above left: ABGSC’s Thea Bruun Klausen, Nanna Kjeskstad and Simon Skåland Brun at ABGSC’s stand during the Women’s Finance Day. Above right: Tiril Støle (Storebrand Asset Management) and the hosts of the “Finansjentene” podcast, Thea Stensaker (Danske Bank) and Lone Sjursen Kleveland (Gjensidige) (image credit: FOTO NHHS). 

During the day session, students also had the chance to meet representatives from a total of 24 different firms that were presenting at exhibit stands; they could also attend a total of 10 workshops hosted by the various firms. ABGSC representatives Nanna Kjekstad (of the Investment Banking team) and Simon Skåland Brun (of the Equity Research team) hosted a workshop called “Understanding Multiples and Peer Valuation”. In the evening, the students joined the firm representatives at a banquet, during which they got the chance to further mingle with industry representatives and learn more about what it’s like to work in the finance industry.

Above: Nanna Kjekstad (of ABGSC’s Investment Banking team) and Simon Skåland Brun (of ABGSC’s Equity Research team) host a workshop for students during the Women’s Finance Day. 

Above: Students participate in workshops during the Women’s Finance Day (image credit: FOTO NHHS). 

For the last couple of years the event has also included an extra workshop session (this year held in February) called the “Women’s Finance Program” (“WFP”). This year the WFP featured eight workshops on topics related to the financial industry, which were attended by a total of 95 female students. During the WFB, ABGSC hosted a blind valuation seminar, during which Nanna Kjekstad, Knut Isak Willoch and Håkon Jacobsen Sperre of the Investment Banking team were joined by 30 participating students.
The Women’s Finance Day has since its launch become an important and popular student event at NHH. This year’s lead organiser, Johanne Welle Smogeli, shared the following thoughts on the event: “For this year’s Women’s Finance Day, we have built on the fantastic traditions of previous years, but also aimed to refine the event to make it even more impactful. Our goal has been to arrange a day where quality beats quantity; as such, we have been eager to cooperate closely with selected companies that we believe will truly be relevant to our aim of encouraging students to develop a curiosity and passion for finance. This year we aimed to maximise the impact of the workshops by offering them at three different levels of experience (rather than two, as had previously been the case). The highest level catered to students with a well-developed set of finance skills, who were able to further refine their understanding and therefore be more prepared for internships and potential jobs in the finance industry. Simultaneously, the lowest level presumed no prior knowledge on the part of participants, meaning that we were able to welcome a much broader selection of participants, who hopefully had their interest piqued. We are thrilled to have been able to reach a larger number of more junior NHH students, thus de-mystifying the finance industry early in their academic journeys”.
 
 
About Women’s Finance Day at NHH
Women’s Finance Day is an initiative at NHH that aims to encourage female students to pursue a master’s degree in finance and ultimately a career in the finance industry. The annual two-day event consists of workshops and speeches with leading financial institutions and influential people within the industry, in addition to exhibit stands which offer students the chance to interact with representatives of various companies.