“There aren’t many who start a new business journey in their sixties, but I’ve always been a creator. It’s about seizing the opportunities presented to you, regardless of age.”
Meet Mari
Meet our wonderful colleague, Mari, a physicist, 70 years young, still as curious and playful as a child!
Mari not only has a burning passion for technology, innovation, and people, but she is also an entrepreneur—and became one for the second time at Vulkan when she was 63.
In the 1980s, she was one of the pioneers in solar energy, far ahead of her time. And that’s Mari: forward-thinking, curious, and convinced that there’s always a solution out there somewhere.
Childhood and the Joy of Creating
Mari grew up on the family farm in Drammen, surrounded by beautiful nature, horses, cows, pigs, and cats—a paradise for children, and especially for those who loved creating things.
It was a place and a time offering complete freedom to experiment. Mari was encouraged to join in developing and crafting tools, something she became passionate about in her grandfather’s old smithy. There, in that small forge, the seed was planted for Mari’s creativity and problem-solving skills. And she wanted more.
Hungry to create, she packed her bags, moved, and enrolled at the University of Oslo. Blindern was her next step, and when Mari arrived in Oslo, chemistry was initially on the agenda. But the young student quickly realized that physics captured her interest much more. “It’s pure logic and analysis, not just memorizing rules, as in chemistry,” she laughs. The choice was clear, and Mari immersed herself in the theory of relativity, later working as a scientific assistant with a focus on solar energy systems.
The Pioneer Who Refused to Give Up
In the 1980s, long before solar energy became commercially viable, Mari created advanced solar collectors capable of harnessing up to 60% of sunlight’s energy. The technology was ahead of its time—and the costs were too high. “It was frustrating to be 40 years too early,” she admits. Over the years, however, solar energy has become a part of people’s everyday lives, and Mari smiles when she sees modern solar collectors today. “It’s wonderful to think that some of the things I was involved in back then are now in use.”
A New Entrepreneurial Journey in Her Senior Years
After her groundbreaking research, Mari rediscovered her joy of creating, and at the age of 63, she co-founded Vulkan Engineering along with two colleagues from Siemens.
When Siemens shut down the Process Department, Mari and her team witnessed invaluable expertise being lost.
“It was a critical knowledge area, and we didn’t want this expertise to disappear,” Mari says.
The entire Vulkan team spent their first year working from her small apartment in Oslo. Mari laughs heartily at the memory. “There aren’t many who start a new business journey in their sixties, but I’ve always been a creator. It’s about seizing the opportunities that come your way, regardless of your age.”
An Inspiring Work Culture
What truly motivates Mari today is the open and inclusive culture at Vulkan Engineering. She describes an environment with the freedom to discuss ideas and—most importantly—to learn from mistakes.
“I get so excited when I’m wrong,” she says with a playful twinkle in her eye. “It means I’ve learned something new.”
Mari mentions a colleague who has a unique ability to see the best in people and bring it out. “Erik Floberg is someone I learn from every single day,” she says.
“Mari was my math and physics teacher at the engineering college, and she turned the most boring subjects into the most exciting by using practical examples. She’s an unstoppable optimist, creative, and solution-oriented!” says Erik Floberg.
And learning is something Mari is exceptionally well trained in. “As a former teacher, I was trained to look for mistakes, but in a job like this, it’s about seeing the best in people and helping them flourish.”
She adopted this philosophy after experiencing leadership styles that were warm and created cultures allowing people to grow and improve.
“I always think about how I can be the person who makes others feel excited,” she says. “That’s so important at work.” But inclusion and warm leadership styles weren’t exactly common practice in the past.
The Barrier Breaker
Being a female scientist in the 1970s was far from easy, but Mari was one of the few who broke through. As the only female scientific assistant at the Department of Physics at the University of Oslo, she experienced a drastic change in how she was treated. “When I went from being a student to a colleague, suddenly no one greeted me anymore,” she recalls.
Eventually, she summoned the courage to ask a colleague: “Why don’t you say hello anymore?” The answer was honest but brutal: “We don’t know how to treat you now that you’re one of us.”
It took two long years for her to become accepted, but she never gave up. Throughout her years there, she saw more women being hired, and slowly but surely, attitudes changed.
In 2014, Mari won Siemens ‘Innovator of the Year’ award for her groundbreaking ultrafiltration concept. This solution is now implemented in projects worldwide and serves as yet another testament to her relentless optimism and creativity that continue to pave the way for new solutions.
Mari hopes her experiences can inspire young people today to challenge prejudice and never give up: “If I could do it, so can you!”
Playfulness and Creativity – The Key to Innovation
For Mari, playfulness and creativity aren't just essential ingredients in a job—they're fundamental to a fulfilling life. Her heart especially goes out to the children and young people growing up today in a society marked by information overload and challenges with belonging.
She encourages young people not to compromise themselves for popularity, but instead find out what they truly enjoy, and surround themselves with friends who share those interests. “When you discover who you are, life becomes so much richer,” she says.
Her colleague Eskil reminisces:
“When Siemens had layoffs in 2016, Mari passionately marched straight to management, clearly stating it was nonsense to let go of the younger employees. ‘You should rather lay me off—it’s the young people who are our future!’”
There’s no doubt about why the Vulkan team works so well together. “We are incredibly proud and grateful to have Mari on our team!”
