Gunnar will be Blue Bank Governor

The Board of Directors of the Blue Bank has appointed Gunnar Ólafsson as the next CEO of the Blue Bank in Þingeyri.

Gunnar has extensive experience in innovation and social issues in the Westfjords. In recent years he has run Djúpið, a community and innovation centre in Bolungarvík, as well as setting up numerous start-up projects and taking an active part in the development of innovation in rural areas. Gunnar lives with his family in Bolungarvík. 

"I am excited to join the good team at the Blue Bank. We see the same possibilities, the same opportunities in challenges and will continue the impressive pioneering work done to date. My experience will hopefully be useful and increase in equal proportion to the resolution of the tasks at hand. I am pleased with the confidence shown in me and look forward to taking this project further."

Ketill Berg Magnússon is chairman of the Blue Bank:

"We at the Blue Bank are very lucky to have Gunnar. He has exceptional experience in innovation, is vigorous and very easy to get people to think outside the box. The Bluebank is a model for innovation in rural areas and with new policies we want to be a boiling pot for creativity in the Westfjords. We are confident that Gunnar will strengthen the Blue Bank as a home for creative Westfjords and a place for creative guests."

Gunnar succeeds Birta Bjargardóttir, who has been CEO of the Blue Bank since 2021 and will step down from another position on 1 September.

The Blue Bank at Þingeyri is a non-profit institution established in 2017 when Landsbankinn ceased operations at Þingeyri and offered the premises for operations. The founding members were private parties, Ísafjarðarbær and the Ministry of Municipal Government. The Blue Bank's financing through 2024 was secured through agreements with Arctic Fish, Ísafjarðarbær and the Ministry of Infrastructure.  

The role of the Blue Bank is to provide a framework for creativity in the Westfjords, guided by diverse business, sustainability and quality of life. 

For further information please contact Ketill Berg Magnússon (ketill@gmail.com - telephone 8984989).