From managing strategic search partnerships to helping drive new commercial opportunities across Opera's products, this conversation explores collaboration, long-term relationships, and why the strongest partnerships are built on shared value.

Q: Can you start by telling us a little about your role at Opera and what your day-to-day looks like?

A: I'm part of Opera's commercial team and have been with the company for 10 years. My primary focus is managing our search partnerships, which represent a critical part of Opera's revenue portfolio. I work across the entire product ecosystem, including desktop, GX, mobile, and increasingly Opera Ads.

What makes the role particularly exciting is that every partnership has its own story. It's never just about commercial agreements. There's usually a product element, a feature component, or an innovative idea that creates value for both sides. That combination of product thinking and commercialization is what I enjoy most.

There isn't really a typical day. Because I sit in Europe, my mornings usually begin by catching up with developments from the US and China, responding to partners and internal teams, and helping move conversations forward.

After that, I spend time reviewing performance data, looking at revenue trends, identifying opportunities, and understanding what's changing in the market. Staying informed is a big part of the job. Whether it's AI, browsers, new products, or industry developments, understanding what's happening helps generate ideas and create more meaningful conversations with partners.

The rest of the day is largely about communication. I spend a lot of time working with partners, product teams, marketing, and leadership. It's a highly collaborative role, and that's what makes it so rewarding.

Q: What does a truly successful partnership mean to you - beyond revenue?

A: A successful partnership creates value for both sides.

If only one company benefits, it won't last. The strongest partnerships are built around solving real problems together and creating outcomes that neither side could achieve alone.

Of course, revenue matters, but that's rarely the reason a partnership succeeds. Success comes when both organizations are contributing something meaningful, building something valuable, and helping each other grow.

That's when partnerships move beyond transactions and become genuine collaborations that benefit the business, the partner, and ultimately the user.

Q: Your role sits between partners, product, marketing, and internal teams. What makes cross-functional execution work successfully in practice?

A: Communication. It sounds simple, but it's one of the most complex parts of the job.

Every team has different priorities, objectives, and ways of working. At Opera, we're also spread across different countries, cultures, time zones, and areas of expertise. On any given day, you might be working with engineers, marketers, analysts, lawyers, finance teams, and product leaders.

Bringing all of those perspectives together isn't always easy, but it's also one of Opera's greatest strengths.

When people with different backgrounds and expertise come together, you get better ideas, more creative solutions, and perspectives you wouldn't have considered otherwise. That's often where innovation comes from.

What makes Opera special is the diversity of thought across the company. It's difficult to replicate, and it's one of the reasons we're able to approach challenges differently.

Q: Where do partnerships usually become the most challenging, and how do you balance partner expectations with commercial goals and product realities?

A: Partnerships become challenging when there's no longer a clear sense of shared value.

The strongest partnerships are built around a common objective and a mutual understanding of what success looks like. Both sides need to feel that they're solving a problem together and creating something meaningful.

That's why I often come back to the idea of a win-win partnership. It may sound like a cliché, but after 10 years in this role, I've found it's absolutely true.

Some of the partnerships I helped establish during my first year at Opera are still active today. The reason they've lasted isn't because contracts were signed. It's because we've continued to create value for one another over time.

Relationships matter as well. Technology makes collaboration easier, but there's still no substitute for sitting down together, exchanging ideas, and having honest conversations. That's often where the best opportunities emerge.

Q: How do you protect commercial goals while still allowing flexibility for technical, operational, and product constraints?

A: For me, it always comes back to one principle: customer first.

Whenever we're evaluating a new opportunity, I encourage both partners and internal teams to start by asking what creates the best experience for the user.

If you build something genuinely valuable for customers, the commercial outcomes tend to follow naturally.

Of course, there are always technical, operational, and business considerations to navigate, but keeping the user at the center helps align decisions and create clarity when priorities compete.

Q: In your experience, what helps partnerships grow into long-term success stories?

A: The same principles that make any partnership successful: creating value, focusing on users, and continuing to innovate together.

Markets change, products evolve, and business priorities shift. The partnerships that endure are the ones that continue adapting while staying focused on the value they're creating for each other.

When that foundation exists, long-term success becomes much easier to achieve.

Q: Looking back, what kind of moments make you feel, “This is exactly the kind of impact we want to create at Opera”?

A: The biggest reward is seeing partnerships stand the test of time.

When you've worked with a partner for a decade and you're still finding new ways to create value together, that's incredibly meaningful. It shows that the relationship is built on something deeper than a commercial agreement.

There are also moments of recognition that remind you you're making a difference. Whether it's Spotify highlighting the impact of Opera's music player features on its users or AliExpress naming Opera its Affiliate of the Year, those moments validate the work we're doing.

Opera has always been recognized for its products, design, and innovation. Being recognized by our partners carries a different kind of meaning. It tells us that we're not only building great products, but also creating value for the businesses and people we work with every day.