Introducing: Odd Arne Sj?til

What was your dream profession as a kid? At some point, it was a professional football player. I can't remember it being a fireman or anything like that. It was not BCG consultant ??! For what team? Liverpool. 

 What was your first job? Summer job at Sperre St?peri (iron foundry) in Elverum. The foundry would shut down production during the summer break and focus on repair and maintenance work. Tasks like painting, washing windows, vacuuming, and so on. The black molding sand made it a dirty job, but a good experience.

 The most used app on your phone? That's probably the mail app, Safari as well, and Yr.no (weather app). More recently the whoop app has become a favorite. Fascinating to learn more about my own strain and recovery.

 Who is your role model? As a human being, you play different roles all the time. When it comes to being a parent, I would say I look to my parents and other parents who raise by example. In professional life, I have had the privilege to meet and get to know many very skillful professionals. In those situations I always try to learn and find inspiration. So I guess my answer is that I don't have one role model, but many. 

 If you could have dinner with a famous person, dead or alive, who would that be? Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein – most of what we know about the world around us is somehow derived from those guys

 Dog or cat? Dog. I had a dog when I was younger, however I have no immediate plans of getting one now. We live in the middle of the city, and I think there are enough dogs and cats as it is. 

 How does a perfect Saturday look to you? It starts with breakfast with the family. I'll then go for a run in Frognerparken or Marka if I'm at home in Oslo. After that, some sort of activity with the children. Could be playing in the garden or a hike in Marka – a new favorite is to take the boat out for a spin in Oslofjorden. Then I light up the barbeque, we have some friends over for dinner outside - good wine is essential and a proper piece of meat prepared at very high temperatures. In the winter it would involve skiing.

 You wake up stranded on an island. What are the three things you hope to find there? I would think of Maslow's and start with food and shelter. If food and shelter are secured, I would go for company and entertainment. 

 You're an Managing Director and Partner within our Energy Practice Area. What does an Energy MDP do? The MDPs in BCG represent the company and are ultimately accountable for the work we do. That means keeping a close dialogue with our clients to make sure we are relevant and deliver value, work with our teams to provide input and ensure quality of the delivery, and support the personal development of the individuals at BCG. MDPs are also a co-owners of the firm, responsible for making sure the company keeps evolving its value proposition and participating in the General Assemblies. 

 The energy industry is in the middle of two fundamental disruptions which is hitting the world today – the energy transition and the technology revolution. As an MDP in Energy I get to support clients through these disruptions. That could mean finding new areas for growth within renewable energy or low carbon technologies. Or make existing businesses more robust - whether it be oil and gas development and production or service delivery.

 Odd Arne Sj?til is a Managing Director and Partner in the Oslo office. He holds a Master of Engineering within Energy and Environment from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). He spent one year of his studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich.