Isak Adserø completed his master’s degree in Strategic marketing management at BI Norwegian Business School in 2022. Today, he works as a Marketing Specialist at Norsk Hydro. With a global presence, Hydro is a world-leading aluminum- and energy company, and one of Norway’s biggest organizations. The company’s communication and marketing department focuses, among other things, on increasing awareness of the business and highlighting Hydro’s sustainable initiatives.
“In this role, I work, among other things, on marketing and communicating our aluminum profiles to a larger audience, often using our customer collaborations as examples. Aluminum is a material found everywhere in all kinds of products, such as in the automotive industry, furniture, buildings, as well as in mobile phones and computers.”
Isak works in the business division Hydro Extrusions, which produces so-called extruded aluminum profiles. The business division is one of the world’s largest of its kinds, with over 100 production facilities in over 40 countries. This necessitates various marketing strategies and measures, and Isak is pleasantly surprised that there is more room for creativity than he had expected.
“Even though there are structures and procedures in place, there’s also a high degree of freedom to think creatively and solve problems in new and innovative ways.”
Isak’s creative side is linked to his lifelong interest in music:
“I wanted to be a rockstar when I was young. Actually, I still do.”
Good lecturers, one of BI’s strengths
The opportunity to combine the strategic aspect with the creative, is among the reasons why Isak became interested in marketing, and why he chose to pursue both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree.
“I didn’t feel in any way that I was finished learning after my bachelor’s degree, and I had heard a lot of positive feedback about the master’s program at BI.”
After completing his studies, Isak particularly highlights the lecturers at BI as a strength:
“All the lecturers contributed in different ways, but some definitely stood out and were a great inspiration to me. The lecturers are undoubtedly one of BI’s great strengths, and I felt that absolutely everyone seemed engaged and inspiring”, says Isak before adding:
“If I have to highlight one, I’d like to commend Carlos Velasco, who guided me and my master’s partner with our thesis. Carlos specializes in sensory marketing, an extremely exciting field I had little knowledge of before meeting him.”
Having hobbies is important
Isak initially secured a place in Norsk Hydro’s summer internship program before getting a new internship at the same place through BI. Eventually, he was offered a permanent position at the company:
“I also worked part-time as a consultant at Implement Consulting Group for a year, and a year at Norsk Hydro. Although it was busy, it was entirely possible to balance as along as I stuck to good routines. It was incredibly rewarding to apply the knowledge I learned in practice.”
Throughout both his bachelor’s and master’s studies, Isak spent a lot of time and focus on achieving good results. His solid efforts were rewarded with the “Best Student” award when he graduated from BI last year. At the same time, he encourages all students not to spend all their time on work and studies. Hobbies are important. He himself has never completely given up on music and the big dream of becoming a rockstar.
“Making room for other things to think about is important. It also helps you with creative processes.”