ABOUT GUNNLAUGUR
Responsibility and Learning
I am the CEO of the Reykjavik Fintech Cluster, a fintech hub in Reykjavik, Iceland. I am one of the founders of Veriate, a discussion system for media and web sites.
I wrote Ábyrgðarkver (English: A Little Book on Responsibility), a book on personal responsibility in light of the banking crisis of 2008, published in 2012 and I have written several articles on social issues.
I have worked in many disciplines and do therefore intuitively and systematically deal with complex matters that combine challenges in finance, marketing, negotiation, law, public relations, creativity, technology and business strategy.
I am an abstract thinker, striving to understand the underlying forces and laws of the world. I strongly believe that if the world of ideas and the real world collide, it is probably the world of ideas that needs to adapt. At the same time, we must act on what we think we know and heroically take on the world, with an eagerness to learn and grow from our experience.
CONSULTING
Having previously built a financial consulting company, I have recently worked on projects with a wider scope, building on my varied experience and studies. Often what is needed is cross-discipline competence, even if what needs to be done is in a particular field. My work combines finance, marketing, negotiation, law, public relations, creativity, technology and business strategy. I take on responsibilities as a board member in some cases. Contact me if you have questions or thoughts.
SPEAKING
I like to talk about big ideas and interesting stories. I used to coach speakers and I try to make my own talks intellectually satisfying as well as entertaining. I discuss matters ranging from economics, philosophy and business to personal responsibility, ethics and creativity.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
I'm CEO of the Reykjavik Fintech Cluster, a fintech hub in Reykjavik. I like to stay in touch with interesting companies and entrepreneurs and I have founded a few companies myself. Get in touch by e-mail below.
RESPONSIBILITY
I wrote Ábyrgðarkver (English: A Little Book on Responsibility), a book on personal responsibility in light of the banking crisis of 2008, published in 2012. It was a response to what I believed was a knee-jerk reaction to the crash, the erroneous conclusion that freedom was the problem. On the contrary, I showed that the financial bubble, internationally and especially in Iceland had been inflated by government sponsorship and responsibility for the banking system, disconnecting what Nassim Nicholas Taleb calls 'skin in the game' and creating a moral hazard as banks and their lenders behaved differently than they would have without believing in government bailouts. The system disconnected personal responsibility.
The book went further and argued that personal responsibility was important in our journey through life, as we learn from experience, attempt to think clearly and as well as learning from others. In this regard, I have recently found a kindred spirit in Jordan B. Peterson, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, who has reached great fame. I had the initiative of inviting him to speak at Iceland and spread his wisdom. We sold out two events.
Contact me and see if we can work together.
