After six years with offices in Torvkvartalet, Business Region Kristiansand is moving into Rådhuskvartalet together with the rest of the administration of Kristiansand municipality.
The Kristiansand region has great ambitions in the business field. Business Region Kristiansand shall be a catalyst and facilitator for a comprehensive business initiative that strengthens the region's competitiveness, attracts investments and creates new jobs.
As a business unit in Kristiansand municipality, Business Region Kristiansand is also responsible for the municipality's internal business work, such as case processing and analysis.
- "I'm delighted that this team is finally in place on the second floor and that the Collaboration and Innovation area is now gathered in one place," says Bernt Jørgen Stray, Director of Collaboration and Innovation.
Bernt Jørgen Stray, Director of Collaboration and Innovation in Kristiansand municipality. Photo: Kristiansand municipality
Stray also points out the importance of the business community for us as a municipal organization.
- With Business Region Kristiansand in the City Hall Quarter, I also hope that the business perspective will become more visible in our municipal everyday life. We are and should be a citizen-oriented organization, but the business community is absolutely crucial for urban and local development, employment, development of municipal services, our income base and room for manoeuvre, and much more. As a municipality, we are working to improve our ability to exploit the potential inherent in business and business development.
A new phase with the same mandate
Over the past few years, Business Region Kristiansand, which is headed by Geir Haugum, has grown to a team of 13 dedicated employees. Four of these are business advisors in permanent positions. The team as a whole works strategically with a focus on regional initiatives related to, among other things, host attractiveness, competence attraction and development, new establishments, and positioning and visibility. This is done in close collaboration with the ecosystem and business actors in the region.
- This move to the City Hall Quarter marks a new phase for us in a way, but our mandate remains the same. We believe that the physical proximity to other units and municipal management will strengthen synergies and facilitate even better collaboration internally. At the same time, we look forward to continuing to be outward-looking, active and accessible to the business community," Haugum concludes.
