Q&A with Gisle Vikøyr – CEO Retail24
What’s your role at Retail24?
I am the Group CEO and the Country Manager for Norway. In my role, I am working closely together with the Country Managers and the Nordic Management team in Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark. My job is to facilitate so that we can grow our business in all countries, within all our services. I am also working a lot with innovations, both modernization of existing services and how we should evolve with new services to be an even stronger partner for our customers.
What were you doing before Retail24?
In my early days I was a full time road cyclist and part of the Norwegian National cycling Team. The years before starting Retail24 I worked with sales and merchandising within the retail industry in Norway.
If the story of Retail24 was made into a film, who would play you?
My wife suggested Dolph Lundgren, but he is much older than me….She must think of Dolph as Ivan Dragon in the movie Rocky from 1985….
Do you have a motto for life?
Focusing on the job, I have one self-made motto “Focus on solving challenges, not the challenges themselves”. I also sometimes borrow the motto of the legendary management consultant and writer Peter Drucker “Culture east strategy for breakfast”
If you could try another profession for a day, what would it be?
To be honest, I have no clue! I love working in Retail24. My passion for the job is that I am working together with great colleagues and customers in an industry that is evolving every day. If I should change profession, I would look for a company with a strong culture, exciting work tasks and an innovative mindset.
If you’re not working where can you usually be found?
When I am not at work, I try to spend as much time as possible together with my great family and friends. Not to get too grumpy, I also try to get some exercise 3-4 times a week. I also enjoy traveling, both winter and summer. There is a lot of rain in Bergen where I live, so it is important to have some weeks elsewhere! Relaxing on the sofa is also nice, but with a 9-month-old Golden Retriever, it is not so easy any more:-)
