Sun­na Björg Hel­gadót­tir

I Had to Earn Respect and Trust

Sunna Björg Helgadóttir has been in management positions almost since graduating with her BS degree in chemical and mechanical engineering from the University of Iceland. Her impressive career began at the aluminum plant in Straumsvík, where she worked during summers while studying. Shortly after graduating in engineering, she was offered the position of Assistant Managing Director of Electrolysis at the aluminum plant. While working there, she completed her M.Sc. degree in industrial engineering from Reykjavík University. Sunna now serves as the Director of Technical Services at HS Orka. Before joining HS Orka, she was also an executive at Alvotech.

Young Woman in a Leadership Role

It's safe to say that Sunna's career is admirable, and what immediately stands out is how she, as a young woman, has held leadership positions in large companies that most would consider a man's world rather than one for young women. It's therefore truly interesting to sit down with Sunna and hear about her experience in a world of middle-aged cowboys with industrial helmets.

Sunna describes her work at the aluminum plant in Straumsvík as challenging but enjoyable, and says she had to work hard to prove herself as a young woman. What helped Sunna was the fact that she had personally worked in many of the roles she was now directing as Assistant Managing Director. She therefore knew what she was talking about and could communicate with knowledge and strength when speaking with much older men.

Strong Female Role Models

She says she always advises young women she works with to dare to step outside their comfort zone, speak with knowledge, and not be afraid to treat everyone as equals. Sunna has often been the only woman on her team, and this is still true in some areas today. However, she says that strong female images and role models have been crucial for her in her work, specifically mentioning pioneer Rannveig Rist who supported and shaped her.

It's clear that Sunna herself has continued to blaze the trail following Rannveig Rist. She believes that attitudes and the environment have changed somewhat regarding gender since she began working, as the younger generation is changing, but we still have a long way to go.

Outstanding Women

What Sunna would rather focus on are the women themselves and how they can lead the changes. The women Sunna has met in her work have almost all been outstanding women who are second to none. However, she has noticed that women are naturally more inclined to focus on both their strengths and weaknesses, while the same is not true for most men.

Women should hold their heads high, directing their attention and that of others to the many great talents they possess.

Although it is certainly a good quality to be aware of both strengths and weaknesses, Sunna says it's not always necessary to focus on the weaknesses. She says women should hold their heads high, direct their and others' attention to their many great talents, and let the rest be. It's common knowledge that no one is good at everything, so there's no need to focus attention there.

With Sustainability as a Guiding Light

In her work at HS Orka, Sunna works in a mixed team of specialists and says the atmosphere in the management team is excellent, with no gender differences. The work is diverse, but what is always at the forefront and uppermost in everyone's mind is sustainability and product utilization. Some might say that sustainability is more often on women's minds and that in society as a whole, women are more willing and diligent in championing environmental causes, but within HS Orka there is clearly great equality when it comes to these issues.

The most important thing is to be brave and trust your own intuition. When asked for advice for young women, Sunna says the most important thing is to be brave and trust your own intuition. She says she never hesitated or thought about the fact that she was aiming for a career in a male-dominated sector, and that it helped her greatly to dare to forge ahead, be visible, and trust in her own knowledge and skills.

We thank Sunna for a great conversation and for taking the time to tell us about her interesting journey, which is of course just beginning.

We wish her continued success and look forward to continuing to follow her as she steers her course in whatever field she chooses.