New CEO in Cautus Geo
Atle Gerhardsen (left) hands over the helm to Odd Sverre Østlie, who last took Pexip public.
10. January 2022
Written by Rino Andersen
Cautus Geo will build an international technology company. As you know, the private equity fund Equip is joining the ownership side. Former Pexip CEO Odd Sverre Østlie (44) will be the new CEO.
For 12 years, Cautus Geo has monitored landslide-prone mountain areas such as Åkneset and Mannen. The company specialises in geomonitoring. This involves automatic monitoring and warning of natural hazards, the environment and climate, building and construction, transport and structures.
In December, the private equity fund Equip became an owner of Cautus Geo. "We want to bring in growth capital, professional owners and new expertise to build a large international group. The Equip PE fund is perfect for us," says Atle Gerhardsen, who has led Cautus Geo for 12 years.
He continues as a co-owner and assumes the role of COO, COO and COO of the company.
- "Odd Sverre Østlie is ideal for Cautus Geo. He has exactly the right background and expertise to develop an international success," say Atle Gerhardsen and Lars Krangnes, who together established the company in the summer of 2009.
Will increase tenfold
In 2021, Cautus Geo reached an estimated turnover of NOK 50 million. Almost all of it comes from the Norwegian market.
- Our ambition is to increase tenfold within three to five years. "We will continue to invest heavily in Norway. Growth will come organically and through acquisitions in and outside Europe," says Østlie.
He has a master's degree in industrial economics and technical management from NTNU and has experience from McKinsey, Tandberg and Cisco. Most recently from the video conferencing company Pexip, which he took public in May 2020.
He is taking over the management of a company that has always made money. EBITDA in 2021 is approximately NOK 15 million.
- "We will continue to enjoy good profitability and be a leading developer of new technology and technological solutions. This is crucial to building a leading position internationally," says Østlie.
Profitable growth
Equip Capital AS is a Nordic private equity firm, founded in 2018, headquartered in Oslo. The aim is to build robust partnerships with entrepreneurs and management teams. Equip takes control positions in profitable businesses with growth potential.
Cautus Geo becomes the 12th company in the Equip portfolio.
- "Cautus Geo has a fantastic starting point. The employees are very competent and passionate about their profession and customers. The company has solutions that provide increased safety, lower climate emissions and reduce customers' time and costs," says partner Torkild Hebbert Haukaas. He is the new chairman of Cautus Geo.
Great potential
- More and smarter monitoring is important for the environment, efficiency, safety and economy for our customers. We have only seen the start of the use of automatic monitoring in geotechnical engineering," says Østlie.
He has experience of taking Norwegian technology out into the world.
- We have some obvious advantages in Norway. We are an elongated country with large distances and relatively harsh natural challenges, and as a society we are keen to use technology smartly.
- "Cautus Geo has been great, combining expertise in geotechnical engineering with software and hardware development. Now we're going to refine it and make it much bigger. We're going to find the companies that can help us become even better," says Østlie.
