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Our leadership

Get to know the team leading the way to make data do more around the world.

Girish Rishi

Girish Rishi

Chief Executive Officer

Girish Rishi

Girish Rishi

Girish Rishi is the Chief Executive Officer at Cognite, the leading Industrial DataOps platform company that harnesses the power of data and AI to deliver actionable insights to the energy and industrial sectors. Most recently, Rishi was the CEO at Blue Yonder, a leading supply chain software company. During his tenure, the business transformed into the cloud, driving strong growth, profitability, innovation, customers, and employee satisfaction. Prior to his CEO position at Blue Yonder, Rishi held executive leadership positions at Motorola, Tyco, and Symbol Technologies, where he led global businesses that delivered IoT, software, and services. Rishi has a master’s degree in public policy from Johns Hopkins University, an MBA from the University of Hartford, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Mumbai.

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Dr. John Markus Lervik

Chief Strategy and Development Officer & Co-Founder

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Dr. John Markus Lervik

You can’t go green when you’re in the red. Digitalization can make sustainability profitable by enabling cost cuts, improving efficiency and reducing environmental footprint — all at the same time — and in most cases, it comes hand-in-hand.

Dr. John Markus Lervik is the Chief Strategy & Development Officer and co-founder of Cognite, serving as CEO from the foundation to 2022. Throughout his career, Lervik has channelled his passion for liberating data and innovating with technology into companies that revolutionize the ways we work. After finalizing his PhD at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), he co-founded Fast Search & Transfer (FAST) in 1997 and served first as Chief Technology Officer and later as Chief Executive Officer until Microsoft acquired the company in 2008 for USD 1.3 billion. He then took the position of Vice President of Enterprise Search at Microsoft before leaving in 2009 to found the software company Cxense, which was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in 2014. In 2005 Lervik was recognized by Forbes as a member of the E-gang for his pioneering work in the technology sector.

Laxmi Akkaraju

Laxmi Akkaraju

Chief Delivery Officer

Laxmi Akkaraju

Laxmi Akkaraju

The implementation of smart edge solutions will be key to enable a wide range of applications: from automation and predictive maintenance, monitoring air quality and energy use, to predicting traffic patterns, empowering us to make the right decisions in real time.

Laxmi Akkaraju has more than 20 years of experience in technology, strategy, and business transformation from leadership positions at companies such as GSMA, TietoEVRY, Holte Consulting, and Mu Dynamics. Akkaraju has a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Colorado.

Paul Grenet

Paul Grenet

Chief Revenue Officer

Paul Grenet

Paul Grenet

Paul Grenet brings extensive experience driving global technology companies’ sales organizations and go-to-market strategies. He is heading all aspects of Cognite’s revenue performance, including managing its global sales and customer success organizations and executing its go-to-market strategy. Prior to Cognite, Grenet served as the Global Head of Sales for PTC, an industrial software company, for their Internet of Things (IoT) and Augmented Reality (AR) businesses. He also served as Head of Field Strategy, Operations, and Planning and was the General Manager for the EMEA region for PTC.

Christine Nilsen

Christine Tønsberg Nilsen

General Counsel

Christine Nilsen

Christine Tønsberg Nilsen

Christine Tønsberg Nilsen is responsible for all legal operations in Cognite globally. Christine has extensive legal experience and is a specialist in technology law and SaaS, with a focus on strategic and commercial assessments. She is very interested in thinking outside the box and is known for having digitized and streamlined the legal department in Cognite in record time through the implementation and use of legal-tech tools.

Christine has previously worked in the technology department of SANDS and been Chief Legal Officer in the listed technology company NEXT Biometrics. In addition to her law degree, she has a degree in entrepreneurship and a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

Liat Berger

Liat Berger

Chief Human Resources Officer

Liat Berger

Liat Berger

As the Chief Human Resources Officer, Liat Berger plays a crucial role in driving Cognite's scale-up strategy and energizing the company's global workforce. Prior to Cognite, she spent 10 years as Senior Vice President of People and Organization, Corporate at Aker Solutions, and previously held the position of Head of P&O for the Subsea Organization at the same company. Liat holds a degree in Business Administration from Universidade Federal do Parana and specializes in Group Dynamics and People Management.

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Petteri Vainikka

Chief Marketing Officer

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Petteri Vainikka

Petteri Vainnikka is the Chief Marketing Officer at Cognite. Vainikka’s professional career spans across enterprise SaaS technologies, where he has found himself at the intersection of emerging transformational technology development and its commercial applications for customers. Prior to Cognite, Vainnikka worked in senior product management, marketing, sales, and general management positions for companies such as at Sumea, Rovio, and Cxense. Vainnikka has a master’s degree in technology from Aalto University in Helsinki.

Geir Engdahl

Geir Engdahl

Chief Product Officer & Co-Founder

Geir Engdahl

Geir Engdahl

The great challenge industry faces is speeding up the time it takes to turn a great proof of concept into a quality-controlled, real, cost- and time-saving product. We are committed to helping industry operationalize great ideas better and speedier than ever before.

Geir Engdahl is the Chief Product Officer and co-founder of Cognite. Engdahl runs Cognite’s R&D department, leading the development of Cognite Data Fusion. In 2011, Engdahl founded Snapsale, a machine learning classifieds startup. He served as CEO and CTO until Schibsted acquired the company in 2017. Before that, he spent three years working as a senior software engineer for Google in Canada. Engdahl has a master’s degree in computational science from the University of Oslo.

Francois Laborie

Dr. Francois Laborie

Executive Vice President, Strategic Projects

Francois Laborie

Dr. Francois Laborie

There is more pressure than ever before for industry to take transformative action, using the right technology to uncover, understand, and act on data. Understanding our present is the first step towards realizing a more sustainable future, while delivering value to the bottom line.

Francois Laborie has previously run Cognite’s Americas region and managed Cognite’s overall marketing activities, including product marketing, and the Cognite partner network, as Chief Marketing Officer. He spent the preceding 11 years with the software company Vizrt, where he served as COO and CCO, responsible for all commercial and operational activities. Laborie has a Ph.D. in computer science from the Toulouse Research Institute in Computer Science (IRIT).

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Jeff Coulter

Chief Financial Officer

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Jeff Coulter

Jeff Coulter is the Chief Financial Officer at Cognite. He most recently served as Senior Vice President of Finance at Instructure where he led financial planning and analysis (FP&A) and has held leadership positions at Blue Yonder, Intel, and Procter & Gamble. He holds an MBA in Finance and a BS in Org Psychology, both from Brigham Young University.  

Emmanuelle-Camus

Emmanuelle Camus

President, Cognite EMEA

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Emmanuelle Camus

Emmanuelle Camus is the President of Cognite EMEA. Prior to joining Cognite, Camus spent 25 years at PTC in various leadership roles focused on business transformation and served most recently as their Senior Vice President of Alliances EMEAI. She has extensive experience in driving exponential growth in Europe & India through B2B sales and leveraging strategic alliances & partners and a strong background in solving Industry 4.0 challenges, digital transformation, Corporate Social Responsibility and Diversity, Equality & Inclusion. She is a graduate of NEOMA Business School.

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Ryochi Egawa

President, Cognite Japan

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Ryochi Egawa

Ryochi has been President for Cognite Japan since 2022, and has over 15 years experience working with Cognite co-founder John Markus Lervik. In 1997, he joined Oracle Corporation Japan, and later worked as a sales director at IBM Japan, Autonomy, and Fast Search & Transfer, a leading search engine company, where he was responsible for implementing search and recommendation solutions for numerous websites. In 2010, he participated in the launch of Cxense, a cloud-based revenue maximization and UX improvement solution for media, as Representative Director. Following the acquisition and merger with Piano Softwear Inc. of the U.S., he has served as the representative of Piano Japan K.K. since February 2020.

Girish Rishi

Girish Rishi

Chairman of the Board of Directors, Cognite

Chief Executive Officer, Cognite

Girish Rishi

Girish Rishi

Girish Rishi is the Chief Executive Officer at Cognite, the leading Industrial DataOps platform company that harnesses the power of data and AI to deliver actionable insights to the energy and industrial sectors. Most recently, Rishi was the CEO at Blue Yonder, a leading supply chain software company. During his tenure, the business transformed into the cloud, driving strong growth, profitability, innovation, customers, and employee satisfaction. Prior to his CEO position at Blue Yonder, Rishi held executive leadership positions at Motorola, Tyco, and Symbol Technologies, where he led global businesses that delivered IoT, software, and services. Rishi has a master’s degree in public policy from Johns Hopkins University, an MBA from the University of Hartford, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Mumbai.
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Øyvind Eriksen

Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, Cognite

President and CEO of Aker ASA

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Øyvind Eriksen

Øyvind Eriksen is the President and CEO of Aker ASA and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cognite. He joined Norwegian law firm BAHR in 1990, where he became a partner in 1996 and a director and chairman in 2003. As a corporate attorney he has worked on strategic and operational development, mergers and acquisitions, and negotiations.

Eriksen has held several board positions in different industries, including shipping, finance, asset management, offshore drilling, fisheries, media, trade, and industry. Eriksen is currently chairman of the board in Aker BP ASA, Cognite AS, Aker Capital AS, Aker Holding AS, Aker Horizons AS, Aker Property Group AS, C4IR Ocean, and REV Ocean AS. He is a board member of several companies, including Aker BioMarine ASA, Aker Energy AS, Aker Carbon Capture AS, The Resource Group TRG AS, TRG Holding AS, and the Norwegian Cancer Society.

Eriksen is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution global network advisory board. He has been elected for the period 2021-2023. Eriksen has a law degree from the University of Oslo.

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Kjell Inge Røkke

Deputy member of the Board of Directors, Cognite

Chairman of the Board of Directors and primary owner of Aker ASA

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Kjell Inge Røkke

Kjell Inge Røkke, Aker ASA’s main owner, has been a driving force in the development of Aker since the 1990s. Røkke launched his business career with the purchase of a 69-foot trawler in the United States in 1982, and gradually built a leading worldwide fisheries business. In 1996, the Røkke-controlled company RGI purchased enough Aker shares to become Aker’s largest shareholder. RGI later merged with Aker.

Røkke is currently the Chairman of Aker ASA, The Resource Group TRG AS, and TRG Holding AS, and Director of several companies, including Aker BP ASA, Aker Solutions ASA, Ocean Yield ASA, Aker BioMarine ASA, Aker Property Group AS, Aker Energy AS, Aker Horizons AS, Aker Offshore Wind AS, Aize Holding, Aker Clean Hydrogen AS, Cognite AS, Seetee Topco AS, REV Ocean AS, and Rec Silicon ASA.

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Nabil Abdulaziz Al-Nuaim

Vice President of Digital Transformation, Saudi Aramco

Member of the Board of Directors, Cognite

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Nabil Abdulaziz Al-Nuaim

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Matt Weigand

Member of the Board of Directors, Cognite

Partner, Accel

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Matt Weigand

Matt Weigand is a partner at the American venture capital firm Accel, focusing on enterprise software, consumer internet, and security businesses. He represents Accel on the Board of Snyk and is actively involved with Accel’s investments in Cognite, Cornershop, G2Crowd, MessageBird, Xero, and GoFundMe. Prior to joining Accel, Weigand worked with William Blair’s technology investment banking group. He has a degree from Miami University of Ohio.

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Jake Reynolds

Member of the Board of Directors, Cognite

General Partner, TCV

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Jake Reynolds

Jake Reynolds is a general partner at TCV, one of the world’s largest growth equity firms. He joined TCV in 1997 and has been a technology investor for over 30 years. During that time, his primary investment focus has been in enterprise software and SaaS. He has been actively involved with over 40 private company software investments in his career spanning both minority and majority transactioi

Prior to joining TCV, Jake was an Associate with General Atlantic Partners, a private equity firm focused on late-stage software and service businesses. Before joining General Atlantic, Jake was a member of the M&A group at Lazard Freres & Co.

He is currently on the board of directors of Avetta, Clio, Cognite, Kipu, OneSource Virtual, Rave Mobile Safety, Trulioo, and Watermark. Jake received an A.B. in Geography from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, where he earned Beta Gamma Sigma honors.

Sofie Berge

Sofie Berge

Employee-elected member of the Board of Directors, Cognite

Senior Director, Product Management

Sofie Berge

Sofie Berge

Sofie Svartdal Berge is a Senior Director of Product Management, Lead Product Manager for End User Experience in Cognite. Throughout her time at Cognite, Sofie has embraced various roles, and is serving her third year as member of the Cognite Board of Directors.

With a master’s degree in petroleum engineering (NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology) and extensive experience in digital transformation and industrial SaaS product management, Sofie has been fortunate to be part of Cognite’s incredible journey from well below 100 employees to 600 in just over 5 years.

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Paulo Botura

Employee-elected member of the Board of Directors, Cognite

VP Customer Success

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Paulo Botura

Paulo Botura is the VP of Customer Success Account Management, leading the team responsible for managing Cognite's EMEA customers. 

Paulo started in Cognite in December  2018 as one of the early Customer Success team members and has been working on delivering business value by adopting Cognite technologies since then. Paulo is a Control and Automation Engineer with a Master's in Business Administration. Paulo worked for 10 years in the O&G industry before joining Cognite. While in Cognite, Paulo worked with customers spamming on all industry verticals and was exposed to an extensive breadth and depth of  Cognite's technology and products. 

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Arthur Sund

Employee-elected member of the Board of Directors, Cognite

Solution Architect Lead

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Arthur Sund

Arthur Sund joined Cognite in 2018 and is currently Solution Architect Lead in Global Service Offerings. He is also leading the Cognite chapter of Tekna - The Norwegian Society of Graduate Technical and Scientific Professionals.

Prior to joining Cognite, Sund gathered 10 years of experience building and managing solutions for data and analytics. He built an award-winning team and solutions as Head of Business Intelligence for the music streaming service TIDAL before moving on to Microsoft. His latest role before Cognite was as Chief Data Officer for a loyalty program Software-as-a-Service vendor.