Øyvind Schage Førde

EY Family Enterprise Award of Excellence Class of 2023, Norway

CEO and Chairman, Aars AS, Norway

Aars AS continues to develop profitable businesses, all while helping to solve some of the challenges facing today’s society.

Harald Aars Møller founded Aars AS in 1936 by setting up a car dealership and mechanical workshop outside Oslo. Over time, the group has found its way into real estate and a range of companies across various industries. Aars AS owns, leads, develops, invests and engages with numerous companies that will benefit from its active ownership. Aars is both a family office and an investment company. The group works actively with ownership, investments, capital allocation and risk management to secure stable and long-term economic growth for business owners in a sustainable manner.

Today, Aars is one of Norway's largest family-run businesses. The group has its footprint across businesses in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the Baltics. For more than 85 years, the Møller family has created jobs and played an important role in the Norwegian society’s development. The third and fourth generations of the family now manage the group.

Harald Aars Møller's son, Jan Møller, took over the group in 1972. Jan's son, Harald Møller (third generation) was appointed as the chairman in 2004. Most recently, in 2018, Øyvind Schage Førde became the Chairman and CEO of the group. Øyvind Schage Førde is the great-grandson of Harald Aars Møller. Before taking this role, Øyvind had a career as a lawyer at the law firm Selmer, whilst in parallel gaining extensive board experience in the Aars companies.

Through active ownership with a long-term view, Aars will continue to develop profitable businesses and meet new customer needs, all while helping to solve some of the challenges facing today’s society.

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