A People Person in a People Company

Hydrogen Mem-Techs new HR Director is a familiar face for us. Why? Because she used to recruit people for us!

Helene Møller Rørvik switched from one side of the table to the other when she started in Hydrogen Mem-Tech in late 2023. From recruiter to candidate herself, so to speak.

"As I worked with Hydrogen Mem-Tech in several recruitment processes, I sort of fell in love with the company. I had a great impression from our candidate meetings, listening to CEO Thomas Reinertsen talking about technology, business development, competence, and people. And to see his decision making and evaluations firsthand. There are some shared values here that is very important for me", says Helene Møller Rørvik.

Hydrogen Mem-Tech is recently certified as a Great Place to Work, a solid proof of a company where people are core to achieve technological and commercial ambitions. It is also a testament to a people-centric philosophy.

As a technology-driven scale-up, Hydrogen Mem-Tech must attract people with diverse professional backgrounds, knowledge, and expertise. That is imperative for innovation and problem solving.

"We have great belief in our technology and our contribution to a more sustainable, low-emission future. That means we will grow as a company and need a lot more talent and expertise in the future", she says.

"Developing technology to make the world a better place is a complex task. We will need people with a multitude of expertise and backgrounds. Innovation thrives when these varied backgrounds merge in our daily operations. It’s like team sports. You need special skills and competence in various positions, but you also want to try to make the team perform even better than the sum of its parts", says Helene, who played handball in her younger years.

Working for Hydrogen Mem-Tech also represents another significant move for Helene Møller Rørvik. Even though she has worked as a recruitment specialist most of her professional life, she started out studying environmental sciences, earning a bachelor’s degree in aqua culture from Griffith University on the Australian Gold Coast, close to Brisbane. 

Back in Norway, she ended up as a recruitment specialist, and eventually starting up and developing a fast-growing Trondheim branch of a national recruitment agency. Combining sustainability, science, and people in one role in Hydrogen Mem-Tech means coming full circle.

"I went to Australia when I was 19. I was adventurous and wanted to be in the sun. And I was also an idealistic environmentalist. But during the studies, I sort of got more interested in people than in chemistry and eventually got myself a side gig in the university’s HR department." 

Helene during her years in Australia, studying environmental sciences and taking a bachelor's degree in aqua culture.

When she came back to Norway after seven years down under, she recognized that the sustainability awareness among businesses was very low.

"This was about fifteen years ago. I brought with me the enthusiasm and environmental spirit from my years in Australia, but that fell flat to the ground here in Trondheim back then. Nobody seemed very interested", Helene says.

"Now everybody talks about sustainability! Working for Hydrogen Mem-Tech is very special in this context, as our technology and value proposition is sustainability through and through, an innovative solution that really can move the world forward in a better direction."