Rolf Østbye (17 April 1898 – 20 November 1979) was a Norwegian businessperson. He was born in

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

as a son of rector Niels Johan Hagerup Østbye (1866–1952) and Johanne Elisabeth Mellbye (1873–1962). From 1923 to 1931 he was married to Reidun Berg (1899–1976), and from 1933 he was married to Ellen Martinsen (1904–1997), a granddaughter of

Gustav Martinsen Gustav Martinsen (5 November 1843 – 19 March 1920) was a Norwegian industrial leader and politician for the Conservative Party. He was born in Drammen to merchant Martin Christophersen and Oline Gulbrandsen, and was the father of Haavar ...

. He worked in Ringnes Bryggeri, Lillehammer Bryggeri and Bjølsen Valsemølle at a young age, but took education as a

chemical engineer A chemical engineer is a professional equipped with the knowledge of chemistry and other basic sciences who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of Product (chemistry), products and deals with ...

. He was hired in Standard Telefon og Kabelfabrik in 1947, and became chief executive officer in 1949. In 1953 he was hired in

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norway, Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around th ...

, becoming Director-General (CEO) in 1956. He stayed in this position until 1966; after this he was chairman of the board from 1967 to 1970. From 1966 to 1973 he chaired the Norwegian Trade Council, which is now a part of

Innovation Norway Innovation Norway is a state-owned company and a national development bank. The company's programs and services are intended to stimulate entrepreneurship in Norway. Its head office is in Oslo, and an office in each of the Norwegian counties. It a ...

. He was also a supervisory council member of Forsikringsaktieselskabet Norden.

References

1898 births 1979 deaths Businesspeople from Oslo 20th-century Norwegian engineers 20th-century Norwegian businesspeople Norsk Hydro people {{Norway-business-bio-stub