eSmart Leadership Team & Executives

Knut Johansen

CEO

Knut holds a M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Norwegian University of Technology in Trondheim, Norway. Knut is the CEO and founder of eSmart Systems AS, established in 2012. Prior to that, Knut founded and led Navita Systems, headed OMX Technology Energy Systems (now NASDAQ), founded and led Hand-El Scandinavia, a spin-off from the Institute for Energy Technology in Halden, Norway, and headed the department for energy systems at the Institute for Energy Technology. Knut has more than twenty years’ experience innovating, developing and delivering IT solutions to the energy industry world-wide. He has delivered IT solutions to physical and financial power exchanges in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia beginning with the deregulation of the Norwegian power market in 1991, a precursor for deregulation processes worldwide. Knut has also delivered IT systems to the balancing, spot, and financial energy markets, as well as the clearing of exchange products and OTC to Nord Pool, the Nordic power exchange. He’s been responsible for ETRM and grid system deliveries to a large number of prominent energy companies, including E.ON, Statoil, Hydro, Statkraft, Fortum and Mercuria. Knut was the initiating driver behind of the Norwegian Centre of Expertise, Smart Energy Markets. NCE Smart Energy Markets is supported by the Norwegian Authorities.