CICERO appoints three new board directors and a new chair

The board nomination committee has appointed Hanne Rønneberg as the new chair, following the end of Jens Ulltveit-Moe’s tenure in 2025. She has served on the board since 2016 and became deputy director in 2020.

The committee also appointed Henrik Urdal as the new deputy chair and Kjetil Houg and Helge Jordheim as new directors.

“Urdal and Jordheim bring valuable knowledge from the Norwegian research sector, and Houg strengthens CICERO’s experience with the private and financial sector. I am delighted they accepted the nomination”, said Kristin Halvorsen, director of CICERO.

Henrik Urdal

Urdal is a Research Professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). He was previously Director of PRIO and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Peace Research. He has also been a Research Fellow with the International Security Program at Harvard Kennedy School and holds a PhD in Political Science.

“CICERO is an internationally leading scientific environment, conducting high-quality research. This research provides an important foundation for informed political action to address climate change, one of the most significant challenges of our time. It is also a very well-run organisation, so when asked to join the board, I was delighted to accept.”

Kjetil Houg

Houg is the CEO of Folketrygdfondet, managing the State Pension Fund Norway and the State Fund of Tromsø on behalf of the Ministry of Finance. Kjetil has accumulated 28 years of diverse experience in the finance industry. Folketrygdfondet is the largest institutional investor on the Oslo Stock Exchange and also invests across all Nordic markets.

"I am honoured to join the CICERO team and look forward to contributing. I hope to bring new perspectives and contribute to ensuring a well-functioning board. Climate research is more relevant than ever, and CICERO should always be at the forefront."​

Helge Jordheim

Helge Jordheim is a professor of cultural history, and since spring 2025, the director of the University of Oslo’s new, faculty-level Centre for Global Sustainability. He is a researcher and author who has directed multiple interdisciplinary projects on concepts and experiences of time and history, including crisis, Anthropocene, synchronisation and globalisation.

“I am proud and happy to join the CICERO board, learn about the excellent and pivotal research the centre is doing, and contribute to helping the centre navigate a more complex and changing knowledge system, when public and political attention is straying away from issues of climate change and sustainability.”