Alumni Conference 2026: Resilience and growth
The world has become more turbulent, and technology is advancing at an ever faster pace. Norway is set to spend enormous sums on defence and preparedness. What does this mean for business and industry? That is the starting point when more than 500 NHH alumni gather for the Alumni Conference 2026.
From haircuts to pizza to funeral services
Through Askeladden, Martin Schütt has played a central role in launching and developing a wide range of businesses. Among the best-known are:
- Cutters, the hairdressing chain that started in Norway before expanding to Sweden and Finland. Schütt still owns a 5% stake in the company.
- Digg Pizza, serving pizza in three minutes across numerous cities in Southern Norway.
- Verd Gruppen, which acquires and develops local funeral homes. Five businesses have been acquired so far.
- Dr. Dropin
- If you want to innovate, you have to listen to the uninformed.
Serial entrepreneur Martin Schütt comes to the Alumni Conference 2026 with clear advice for Norwegian business leaders: forget the hype, be sceptical of industry experts, and copy what works.
- A wonderful lineup
The Alumni Conference has become an important meeting place where NHH highlights and analyses issues of current relevance for business and society.
- In 2026, the interplay between geopolitics, security, and technology is an essential topic to address,” says NHH Rector Helge Thorbjørnsen about this year’s conference.
- We look forward to welcoming a wonderful lineup of sharp minds and good friends of NHH to the stage.
Time: 9. October 2026. Place: Radisson Blu Scandinavia, Oslo
Beware of industry experience
Martin Schütt is one of the conference’s featured speakers. Through the Askeladden & Co community, he has helped launch companies in fields ranging from medical records to pizza, and industry experience is something he believes should be viewed with caution.
Schütt will participate in the innovation segment of the programme. He is ready to challenge some traditional assumptions about how new ventures become success stories.
One of Schütt’s key messages is that entrepreneurs should not be dazzled by the latest “hype”.
- We need to look beyond the hype. People still need companies that make things they actually want, and that is not necessarily limited to apps, e-commerce, and AI.
Stay the course and persevere
Schütt is careful to distinguish between innovation and invention. When we innovate, it is innovation itself that should be the focus, rather than reinventing the wheel.
- Business is built on companies copying one another, so we might as well talk openly about it, he says.
When building something new, Schütt believes perseverance is one of the most important qualities an entrepreneur can possess. In his view, success may require years of endurance.
- People are attracted to luck, and that is fine, but if you want to build something substantial, you must be able to keep going, ideally for decades. The history books are full of examples of that.