The Polarion Advisory Board combines senior security and defence expertise with global networks and first-hand insight into geopolitics, NATO planning, defence technology and procurement realities.
The Advisory Board informs Polarion’s investment thesis, strengthens investment decisions, accelerates our understanding and institutional alignment, and ensures that portfolio companies are developed with a deep appreciation of both operational demands and long-term strategic relevance.
The Advisory Board complements the Polarion management team, led by Thomas Falck, whose background combines strong technical, financial, and commercial expertise, supported by extensive networks built over decades.
Gjermund Eide
Gjermund Eide served for ten years as the Military Adviser to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, covering Stoltenberg’s entire tenure as head of the Alliance.
He is a retired senior officer with more than 40 years of service in the Norwegian Armed Forces. His career includes roles as Military Adviser to both the Norwegian Minister of Defence and the Chief of Defence, spokesperson for the Armed Forces, and contingent commander of Norwegian forces in Afghanistan.
Eide is educated at the Norwegian Military Academy and the Swedish Defence University in Stockholm, and holds a master’s degree from the National War College in Washington, D.C.
He is currently a Senior Adviser at the public affairs firm Kruse Larsen.
Henning-Andre Frantzen
Henning-Andre Frantzen (PhD) is a Major General (ret.) who served as Head of Defence Policy and Long-Term Planning in the Norwegian Ministry of Defence from 2021 to 2025, leading the development of the government’s Long-Term Defence Plan unanimously adopted by Parliament in 2024. Previously, he was Commandant of the Norwegian Defence University College, with responsibility for accredited, research-based military education, including officer and staff training, cyber engineering, and defence studies.
He has served in the Norwegian Armed Forces since 1987, including as Commander of the Medical Battalion, with international deployments to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Afghanistan, and multiple roles in defence planning and policy development. Frantzen holds a Master’s degree and a PhD in War Studies from King’s College London and retired in August 2025 upon reaching the mandatory age limit.
Saira Basit
Saira Basit is the Dean of the Norwegian Defence University College. She is a political scientist on leave from her position as associate professor at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies. She has previously held several positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, served as a visiting researcher in New Delhi, and is deputy chair of the board at the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT).
Basit has a PhD in political science from the University of Oslo. Her research focused on how states manage violent non-state actors in border areas and on Chinese, Indian and Pakistani foreign policy vis-a-vis regional states and great powers, including oil and gas policy and maritime policy.
She has studied several languages, including Swahili, Persian, Urdu and Arabic and has a Master’s degree in African and Asian studies.
Sofie Nystrøm
Sofie Nystrøm is the former director general of the Norwegian National Security Authority, and today is CEO of Fortified Technologies, a Cyber Security company.
She has broad experience from both the public and private sectors, including senior leadership positions within Norwegian Intelligence Service, head of NorCERT, group executive vice president for information and security at DNB, and head of Group Security at Telenor.
Nystrøm holds a Master of Science from Purdue University in the United States and has for many years worked with digitalisation, technology development and national security.
Tom Rykken
Tom Rykken is a former officer and civil servant in the Norwegian Armed Forces with more than 45 years of experience from various parts of the sector, including 11 years as Deputy Director of the Norwegian Intelligence Service.
Tom has worked both nationally and internationally and has extensive networks within the sector. He combines defence and security policy insight with a background in technology development and application.
More relating to the function of the Polarion Advisory Board
The Advisory Board provides strategic input on sector developments, trends and technologies, thereby strengthening Polarion’s investment thesis and enhancing the fund manager’s institutional understanding.
Through this advice, Polarion’s management seeks to ensure that portfolio companies are developed with a clear understanding of operational requirements and long-term strategic relevance.
The Advisory Board’s role is purely advisory. It contributes at the strategic and sectoral level only. The Advisory Board does not provide investment advice, including that it does not advise on or recommend the execution of specific transactions or investments.
All investment decisions and all tactical portfolio management decisions are made exclusively by the Polarion fund manager, in accordance with the fund’s mandate and internal governance framework.
Professional conduct
Polarion is committed to the highest standards of integrity, honesty and professional conduct.
All employees, representatives and members of governing bodies are expected to act with independence, objectivity and due care in all matters relating to the company’s activities.
Decisions shall be taken on the basis of objective and commercial considerations.
Personal interests must not influence, or be perceived to influence, advice, assessments or decisions. This aligns with the type of expectations and formulations found in the conduct and ethical principles of leading Norwegian financial institutions.
Management of conflicts of interest
Polarion maintains procedures to identify, manage and document potential and actual conflicts of interest in a manner that safeguards the interests of clients, investors and the company.
Where a risk of conflict of interest is identified, appropriate measures shall be considered and implemented to prevent or mitigate any adverse effects, and to ensure sufficient transparency towards relevant stakeholders.
This reflects common practice in conflict-of-interest policies in the Norwegian financial sector.
Where conflicts of interest cannot be fully eliminated, mitigating actions may include, for example, excluding individuals from deliberations or decision-making processes where they may have a conflict, enhanced information to affected parties, or refraining from specific transactions, mandates or engagements.
The Polarion Advisory Board and management team share a firm commitment to integrity, transparency and professional excellence, and aim to uphold the confidence of investors, partners and other stakeholders in all aspects of Polarion’s operations.