The Landsvirkjun board has appointed Hördur Arnarson as Managing Director with effect from 1 Jan 2010 at the latest.
Hördur, who is 46 years old, completed his electrical engineering studies at the University of Iceland in 1986 and went on to obtain a doctorate from Danmarks Tekniske Universitet in Copenhagen four years later.
He began working for food machinery company Marel ehf in 1985, becoming CEO in 1999, a position he held until 2009. Since May this year, Hördur has been Managing Director at the Sjóvá insurance company where he has been leading the restructuring of the organisation, a process that is expected to be completed by the end of the year. He is married to historian Gudný Hallgrímsdóttir with whom he has three children.
On his appointment, Hördur said: “This is both an exciting opportunity and a real challenge. Landsvirkjun is a hugely important company for the Icelandic economy, and it is imperative that operations remain stable and profitable. Troubled financial markets have clearly caused problems for the company, but the underlying operation is solid and we have every reason to be optimistic. We have a great depth of specialist knowledge in the fields of electricity generation and energy matters. We have a vital role to play for the Icelandic nation, not least in the restoration of the economy in the immediate future.”