In this interview series, we would like for you to meet the people of NBCC’s Council Board who uphold and continuously work to maintain and develop the 115-year long history of trade between the UK and Norway. Please meet Philip Rambech, Council Member of the Norwegian-British Chamber of Commerce.
Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us, Philip. Can you please tell us about yourself?
Philip Rambech was born and raised in Norway by Norwegian/Scottish parents. He has over the years had many hats in several businesses. Everything from big corporate with $1Billion+ P&L responsibility to being his own boss and only employee.
Since he started off as a young engineer, he’s seen the world with Ericsson and Sony Ericsson. Firstly, he spent 2 years in Saudi Arabia followed by 7 years in the Asia Pacific based out of Singapore. In Singapore, he was ultimately being responsible for all of Ericsson’s mobile phone business in the Asia Pacific.
In 2001, he came to the UK as the 1st Managing Director for Sony Ericsson Mobile. They were able to take pride in delivering Smartphone apps to the market already in 2003, 4 years before the first iPhone was launched.
Phillip left big corporate in 2007 and went on to working with a number of start-up companies in Advisory and Board roles. The firms he is involved with range from Cyber Security and Artificial Intelligence through to Emotional Intelligence development.
What are your thoughts on the relationship between Norway and the UK going forward?
The United Kingdom is already the largest trading partner for Norway. As the UK finds its feet in the post-Brexit and post-Covid world, a lot of efforts are being made by UK Government to create fertile ground for Business Innovation and growth in the UK. This is probably the best possible time for Norwegian businesses to look to the UK as their next growth stage. This is where NBCC is there as the “Bridge across the North Sea” for small and large companies.
What would you say are the benefits of being on the board of; the NBCC?
As a proud Board member of NBCC, I strive to better position our organisation as the initial sounding board for Norwegian companies looking to the UK.
In many cases, UK Government and industries just want access to the best innovations, products and services out there. We, therefore, spend quite some time arranging highly topical events covering a range of industries.
We further pride ourselves on serving the entire UK with great connections with various Regional Chambers of Commerce and topical events in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Newcastle.
Can you offer advice to others who work along the Norwegian-British axis?
Do your homework! Whilst UK is Norway’s biggest trading partner, Norway took the last slot on the Top10 list for Goods and Services imports into the UK in 2019, so don’t automatically expect the red-carpet treatment.
There is a huge risk of spending a lot of time and effort chasing the business opportunities, so I’d invite companies to take a call with us at NBCC and we’ll see if we can help.