The interim Central Bank Governor of the Icelandic Central Bank - Sedlabanki Island, Svein H. Øygard will give a guest lecture on Wednesday 23 September at 13:00-14:00 in Tårnbygningen room T401: Managing the Financial Crisis: The Iceland Case."
The McKinsey consultant Svein H. Øygard was the interim Central Bank Governor of the Icelandic Central Bank - Sedlabanki Islands from February to end August 2009. Many people was very positive to his nomination, both domestic and abroad he earned praise. The German Handelsblatt spoke of Øygard as "the Man for the Impossible" (Der Mann fürs Unmögliche).
Headhunted The Norwegian Minister of Finance Kristin Halvorsen suggested Øygard to Iceland, and she gave a statement on the matter to VG in February: "- We know that he is a very competent person and he has a very complex experience which Iceland may benefit from."
Øygard got his education in economics from the University of Oslo. He was State Secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Finance during the period 1990-1994. He has also been working at the Norwegian Central Bank from 1983-1990. He has been an associate at McKinsey since 1995, and Øygard is now back among his colleagues in Oslo.
Iceland on it`s way back on track - "The ship is about to be drained for water. Now is the time to set sail to get any further," Svein H. Øygard commented on to Aftenposten the day after he returned home from his six months as Central Bank Govenor on the saga island Iceland.
Øygard will present a lecture on Wednesday which offers an exclusive insight into the Icelandic finance crisis.
Questions to be addressed How could a country like Iceland become a hedge fund? Why did its banking system collapse? What were the consequences for politics, companies and households? How did it feel to be parachuted in as Central Bank Governor (Sentralbanksjef) in a country in crisis - as the only foreigner holding such a position in another country?
What were the actions taken? How does it feel to be on an IMF-programme? What can the Icelandic crisis learn us about economic crisis in general and the way forward for the global economy.
