After having co-founded EY Doberman’s Oslo Studio and driving the company’s Nordic innovation efforts, Guro joins ÆRA, where she’ll fill the much-anticipated role of Head of Realization as part of ÆRA’s leader group. - A clear value-based choice, according to Guro.

- There’s an authenticity in the way we talk, see and meet each other here in ÆRA, all while creating progressive boundary-pushing agendas on behalf of large companies. I want to be a part of how these companies shape society, by joining the community with the boldest position on sustainability in Norway, she says.

Guro describes herself as someone in perpetual “beta mode” – ever-learning, ever-widening her own horizon. Very fitting for ÆRA’s new Head of Realization, as it’s a job meant to take innovative ideas from a theoretical level into the hands of the users.

Strengthened Offerings

With Guro’s position in ÆRA comes a strengthened Business Development offering.

- We are thrilled to welcome Guro to our team. Guro brings us an exceptional level of innovation experience and will undoubtedly elevate our ability to take even more sustainable concepts from ideas to execution, says Therese Zarrabi, Managing Director of ÆRA.

- My appreciation for rapid prototyping and just-enough-research has, historically speaking, accelerated processes from idea to execution. I’ll push this in ÆRA too. Culturally speaking, I also think ÆRA needs a process agnostic colleague. One who honors standards, but more so is always looking for new forms of business and life, adds Guro.

From Idea to Action

Talking with Guro raises one’s spirit. There’s clearly passion in her eyes when she’s asked to explain why we need to start realizing our reports, plans, strategies and ambitions:

- It’s easy to get frustrated over companies not doing more, especially when great ideas are ready to be realized, but are instead kept hostage in PDFs. But realization is a muscle that can be strengthened through practice, which is what I intend to do together with our clients.

Moving swiftly from idea to action is her, and ÆRA’s, way of closing the gap between thinking and doing.

- It’s all about inviting our clients to lead with impact, not just intention. To reach for concepts rather than sustaining a break-even equilibrium for our planet. To raise our collective ambition to a level where we all can thrive, says Guro, careful to note that there’s no blame involved in this perspective.

- When we look at sustainability in a broad sense, we have the environment and climate on one hand and social sustainability on the other, and then there’s everything in between. That’s a lot of change to be made. So, it can't just be talk. We can't just be satisfied with starting a discussion. That level of ambition is not enough. Yes, we need discussion. But we then need that discussion to turn into something tangible. Change you and I see on our way to work, feel when we go to sleep at night, or your kids grow up with, she elaborates.

Beyond Norway

There’s something refreshingly non-Norwegian about Guro’s mindset and presence. Perhaps naturally so, considering she’s spent time living and working in Singapore, New York, Copenhagen and Oslo in the past.

Guro’s past as much as present fits ÆRA’s plans moving forward:

- We are excited to support the global sustainability agenda by really picking up our pace beyond our national borders now, and Guro fits that puzzle perfectly, says Therese.

- This feels like my natural next step, ends Guro.