‘I’m simply speechless, which is quite unlike me,’ says Lars Erik Lund, Executive Vice President for Strategy and Sustainability at Veidekke.

‘This award comes from my own people. The years I spent at NHH are among the most formative of my life. Five wonderful years, and five years where I also doubted and thought a lot about what my future would hold.’

A LONG PROCESS

In August 2021, Lund posted a very personal message on social media. He was suffering from depression. He has since spoken openly about the challenges, experiences and choices he made during the process, both by being open about his problems and as a public face of mental health issues. 

This award comes from my own people. The years I spent at NHH are among the most formative of my life.

Lars Erik Lund

‘As someone regarded as successful, with a good job and a family, I felt a great deal of shame about admitting that I struggled with mental health issues. That is one of the reasons it took me so long – 25 years, in fact,’ he says.

An entire year passed from when he wrote the text that would come to mean so much to so many, until he decided to publish it on social media. That was in the late summer of 2021. The reactions were not long in coming. The sound from the computer was unmistakable – it pinged and pinged every time someone reacted or commented.

‘I experienced mixed feelings when it took off. I'm not one to shy away from attention,’ he continues, and says that after a few seconds a slightly depressing thought hit him:

‘I have been a fairly invisible executive vice president. Now I’m an invisible executive vice president with depression. Maybe that's all that’s going to come of this.’

Rolf Assev is Alumn of the Year 2020: ‘A nice surprise after a difficult and strange year’

Countless superlatives have been used to describe Rolf Assev, and he was the preferred choice of many to become alumn of the year. The recipient of the award himself has recently emerged from a difficult time.

Lund was praised for his openness by professionals, colleagues and others who were struggling. The feedback from the last group in particular meant a lot to him.

BACK TO NHH

After having worked for a long time, Lund decided to go back to school. That was in spring 2021. He decided to take  the sustainability programme at NHH Executive.

‘I can’t praise Professor Lars Jacob Tynes Pedersen and Associate Professor Sveinung Jørgensen at NHH enough. They have meant so much to me throughout this process.’

‘In what way?’

‘In the sustainability programme they have opened my eyes to new perspectives. Value creation can change the world for the better. Sustainability is good business if you manage to do it right.’

I can’t praise Professor Lars Jacob Tynes Pedersen and Associate Professor Sveinung Jørgensen at NHH enough.

Lars Erik Lund

Both Jørgensen and Pedersen believe Lund is a worthy winner of this year's NHH Alumni of the Year.

‘Lund is a brave and worthy winner. He is a fairly unique ambassador for diversity in the workplace, and Lund coming back to NHH, with all his life experience, is both fantastic and instructive for fellow students and also for us lecturers,’ says Pedersen.

Jørgensen adds:

‘Lund is an important ambassador for us. He sees that the programme he has taken can be used in practice. There are opportunities and responsibilities in sustainability. Sometimes you have to do some heavy lifting for the common good,’ says Jørgensen and adds:

‘We are also very happy that he’s a guest in our brand-new episode of Adventures in Sustainable . It’s the weekend's recommended listening.'

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