Norstat appoints Olav Nistad as Chief Information Officer

Olav joins Norstat with over 17 years of experience in technology roles for FMCG and consultancies. For the past seven years, he has been CIO at Orkla Foods Norway, the Norwegian operating company of Orkla Foods — one of the leading branded consumer goods groups in the Nordics, Baltics and Central Europe. In that position, Olav had strategic and operational responsibility for the IT function, including digital transformation initiatives across ERP, IT/OT and cloud data platforms, and repositioned IT from a cost centre to a strategic partner to drive competitiveness. Additionally, he has led workstreams on Analytics and Business Intelligence at Orkla. Previously, he was a senior consultant at Bekk Consulting, delivering software engineering and project management for clients across the public and private sectors in Norway.

The CIO role is new at Norstat, with clear objectives: the technical integration of acquisitions and the implementation of unified operations, technology, and systems across the company’s global footprint. Olav will support growth through operational excellence and scalable infrastructure, ensuring that all employees have access to the technologies best suited to delivering high-quality data collection services and running projects efficiently.

Siv Rønstad, Norstat’s Chief Technology Officer, will transition her role to focus on initiatives driving product and technology development, including digital solutions like Norstat Express and Norstat Studio, to support commercial ambitions. Siv will also manage the continuous development of Norstatpanel, which now has a total network of 14 million respondents across 45 countries.

Technology is a core component of everything Norstat does in data collection, from production systems and panels to the digital products and solutions delivered to clients. Olav will join as Chief Information Officer in the autumn of 2026, reporting to Erling J.B. Eriksen, Chief Executive Officer.

Erling J.B. Eriksen, Chief Executive Officer of Norstat, commented:

“I’m delighted to welcome Olav to the management team. Creating this new role reflects Norstat’s ambition to operate as one company across all our markets, and Olav’s track record leading digital transformation makes him ideally placed to deliver it. Clients should see long-term benefits as we implement enterprise technology and best practices to improve efficiency and project delivery, while freeing up resources to develop our panel and digital products with greater intensity.”

Olav Nistad, Chief Information Officer of Norstat, added:

“I’m very happy to be joining Norstat at such an exciting point in its development. The company has built an impressive position in data collection across Europe and the Americas, and I look forward to working with the highly capable IT team and developers to integrate technology further, scale our infrastructure, and ensure we have the right foundations to support the company’s growth ambitions.” 

For more information, please contact:

Erling J.B. Eriksen, Chief Executive Officer, Norstat

+47 922 28 606

erling.eriksen@norstatgroup.com

Olav Nistad, Chief Information Officer, Norstat

+47 982 19 386

onistad@gmail.com

About Norstat

Norstat is one of the leading data collectors for market research and insight in Europe and the Americas. We use well-grounded research methods to collect reliable data about any desired topic or target group. This information helps our clients to make the right decisions and become better in what they do. We don’t confine ourselves to a specific method of data collection – we do whatever works best: scientifically proven, fair to the respondents and sustainable for the industry.