In this conversation, Opera’s Marketing Manager shares his journey from punk rock and Tai Chi to marketing Opera Neon, reflecting on creativity, mindfulness, AI, and how personal experiences continue shaping the way he approaches technology, leadership, and innovation.

Q: Can you tell us about your role and the marketing of Opera Neon?

A: I'm Senior Marketing Manager at Opera, currently leading the subscription marketing strategy for Opera Neon. My background has largely been centered around subscription-driven businesses, including Kahoot!, TIDAL (formerly WiMP), and Schibsted’s digital media platforms. Because of that, it’s been particularly interesting to work with subscriptions inside a company where subscriptions are not traditionally the core business model.

What makes Opera Neon exciting is that it’s currently Opera’s only paid browser product, which gives us significant room for experimentation and innovation. We are not constrained by legacy subscription models or established playbooks - we have the opportunity to define what the future of browser subscriptions can look like.

My career journey has taken me through music, media, education technology, and now AI-driven consumer products. From TIDAL and Schibsted to more than four years at Kahoot!, each experience has shaped how I think about consumer behavior, storytelling, and digital growth. Today, I’m bringing that experience into Opera and Opera Neon at a time when AI is fundamentally reshaping how people interact with technology.

Q: What originally attracted you to Opera?

A: As someone who has always been both creatively and technologically driven, Opera had been on my radar for years. The company has consistently shown a willingness to challenge conventions and innovate within a category that many people consider mature. That mindset was incredibly attractive to me.

In Norway, there are relatively few global consumer technology companies, so I’ve always valued staying close to environments that operate at international scale.

I originally joined to lead the marketing of Opera Air, the world’s first mindfulness browser. That felt like a very natural fit for me personally because mindfulness and focus have always been important parts of my life outside work as well.

This year, I transitioned to Opera Neon, which honestly feels like stepping into a completely different technological era - moving from digital wellbeing into agentic browsing and AI-native experiences. What excites me most is the opportunity to contribute to technology that may fundamentally change how people interact with the internet in the future.

I’ve always preferred building products and campaigns for real users. Consumer technology feels immediate, emotional, and deeply human in a way that I find incredibly motivating.

Q: Marketing can be very fast-moving. What do you enjoy most about that?

A: I’ve always enjoyed environments where speed and creativity coexist. Fast-moving industries force you to stay curious, adaptable, and uncomfortable in a healthy way. As long as you continue evolving, you avoid becoming overly dependent on old habits or outdated thinking.

Working on AI products is fundamentally reshaping the way I work. I genuinely feel like I learn something new every day, whether it’s about technology, consumer behavior, or entirely new ways of thinking about user experiences. That constant learning curve is incredibly energizing.

One mindset I’ve never been comfortable with is “this is how we’ve always done it.” As a new person entering an organization, you naturally ask why certain processes exist. When the only answer is tradition, it becomes difficult to innovate.

What I appreciate at Opera is that there is space for experimentation and creative thinking. Of course, there are structures and approval processes, as there should be, but once trust is established, people are given a meaningful level of ownership and freedom to explore new ideas.

Q: You practice Tai Chi, which isn't something you hear about every day in marketing. How did you get into it?

A: I’ve practiced Tai Chi for a few years now, and for me it’s primarily a form of mindfulness and presence.

For a long time, I wanted to learn how to meditate, but I struggled with traditional meditation because my mind was always moving too quickly. At the same time, I had always been fascinated by Chinese philosophy and martial arts culture, so Tai Chi felt like a natural fit when I finally decided to try it

I wasn’t looking to learn how to fight - I was looking for a way to become more present and grounded in everyday life.

I joined a school in Oslo and trained there for about two years under a Tai Chi master. What stayed with me most was the philosophy behind it. Tai Chi is not really about movement alone; it’s about learning how to be fully present in the moment you are currently living in.

Modern life constantly pulls our attention elsewhere. You’re physically in one place while mentally already thinking about the next task, the next meeting, or the next problem.

Tai Chi helped me slow that process down and appreciate the present moment more consciously - whether that’s spending time with my children, driving home, or simply focusing on one thing at a time.

Q: Has Tai Chi influenced the way you approach work?

A: I practice the Cheng Man Ching style of Tai Chi. One of the core principles is learning to stay fully present. Over time, I realized how valuable that mindset is not only personally, but professionally as well.

Whether I’m working on the marketing strategy for an AI browser or sitting in a meeting with colleagues, being fully present changes the quality of your thinking and communication.

It’s very easy in modern work environments to move constantly from challenge to challenge without ever slowing down enough to fully understand the underlying problem. For me, presence creates clarity.

The more present I am, the better I listen, the better I collaborate, and ultimately the better decisions I make.

Q: You also play guitar. How does music help you stay balanced?

A: Music has been part of my identity for most of my life.

I used to play bass in a punk rock band throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, touring across Europe from Norway to Italy. At the time, we were operating at a fairly serious level within the Norwegian punk scene, and those years taught me a lot about creativity, discipline, and collaboration.

These days I spend more time listening to music than performing, but music still plays a major role in how I structure my days emotionally and mentally.

In the mornings, I often listen to jazz because it helps me slow down and focus. Interestingly, when I’m deep into strategic work or finalizing presentations, I tend to listen to extreme metal. There’s something about the intensity and structure of that music that helps me concentrate deeply.

In many ways, music was also my entry point into marketing. I originally started promoting my own band - building newsletters, managing Myspace pages, experimenting online, and trying to understand how audiences engaged digitally.

Q: What makes your experience at Opera meaningful?

A: The people are honestly the first thing that comes to mind.

It’s incredibly rewarding to work alongside talented individuals from so many different cultural and professional backgrounds. One of my favorite examples of Opera’s culture is the international potluck organized by HR in our Oslo office, where employees bring dishes from their home countries - this year representing more than 30 nationalities.

At Opera, diversity is something you experience every single day, not as a corporate statement, but as part of everyday collaboration and conversation. You constantly learn from people who approach communication, creativity, and problem-solving from completely different perspectives.

That exposure teaches you not only about other cultures, but also about yourself.

Ultimately, that’s what makes my experience at Opera meaningful - being surrounded by talented people while helping shape technology that will influence how people live, work, and connect in the future.