Daði says Landsvirkjun must learn from leadership dispute

Daði Már Kristófersson says an investigation into the departure of Landsvirkjun’s outgoing chief executive, Hörður Arnason, should yield lessons. He also says he does not recall rejecting a meeting with Arnason, according to mbl.is.

A meeting requested with the company’s board and Landsvirkjun for January was never held, Daði said after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. He said meetings often have to be rescheduled because of unforeseen events, but he did not recall turning down a meeting with Arnason.

Daði believes the public has been well informed about the events leading to Arnason’s departure, but said the explanations may not seem serious enough to make the consequences appear credible. He said he understood why people might doubt them.

“One might have thought that changes in the board’s priorities would not prompt this kind of response, and that is why the explanations may seem implausible given the consequences,” he said. Daði added that he could say little more, having heard the explanations from both the board and Arnason separately.

He said he was concerned that the case could damage the public’s strong trust in Landsvirkjun, a state-owned company. He said state-owned companies must be run responsibly and their governance must command confidence.

“My main aim in everything I have undertaken has been to move decision-making entirely to a professional level,” Daði said. He clarified that he was not suggesting decisions had previously been unprofessional, but that the process may have been somewhat opaque. Anything that reduces trust is negative, he said.

Daði said it was clear that problems had arisen in the board’s communication with the chief executive. “I think it is important that we learn from this, and we need to do that once the dust has settled a little,” he said.

Asked about the risk of losing institutional knowledge as the board, chief executive and finance director change, Daði said Arnason’s departure marked a turning point. Landsvirkjun was an extremely important company, he said, and Arnason’s departure was a loss. He added that changes in the board had often followed elections that brought a change in governing parties.

Daði said that during Arnason’s 17 years in the role, there had been 25 board members. He also noted that elections sometimes bring a change in the finance minister, who represents the company’s owner, and said this was characteristic of state-owned companies.