Interview with Tor Inge Thun

Tor Inge Thun
Chief Product and Integration Officer at NFM Group
Start date: October 2022

I am 46 years old and grew up in a small district called Klæbu, outside Trondheim. I am married and have three children – twin daughters aged 20 who just completed their conscript service in the Norwegian Armed Forces and a two-year-old son.

Where have you worked in the Norwegian military?

My career started in 1996 as a recruit in the Norwegian Armed Forces at Sessvollmoen in the Military Police educated within intelligence gathering. I had a second function as an assistant Intelligence officer in the 6th Armoured Brigade and from there, I transferred to the Naval Academy and the Coastal Ranger class. 

In the Coastal Rangers, I was a sniper team leader, patrol commander, admin officer and assistant intelligence officer. I deployed to Afghanistan twice as an intel officer and from there I transferred to the Naval Special Warfare Group as a staff officer and material project officer. That lead me to the Norwegian Defence Material Agency where I worked on several large projects including the Nordic Combat Uniform (NCU) acquisition.

Have you had contact with NFM in the past?

My first direct experience with NFM was in 2002 when as a sniper, I was invited to give feedback to Toivo Horvei, the CTO of NFM Group, on the NFM Bear Rig at the Coastal Ranger Command. Since then, I’ve used various types of equipment from NFM – while operational. Later I had regular contact with both Equipnor AS and NFM throughout my work as a Project Material Officer. Since 2016, I have liaised with NFM on the new modular combat vest system with ballistic protection, for the Norwegian Armed Forces.  

Career highlight

I consider the P4038 contract with Equipnor AS, signed August 2020, the biggest achievement of my career. The contract has a possible length of 15 years based on two options of five years each, which is an exception to the normal contract length of 4-7 years. The contract is focused on incremental development based on end-user dialogue, and it will supply the Norwegian Armed Forces with a highly modular and scalable vest system. Sometime after this was completed, I was asked to join NFM to lead a new Product and Integration Unit (PIU). I felt honoured to receive this opportunity. 

Due to the long-standing relationship I have had with NFM and Equipnor, the job offer seemed like the perfect fit, providing a smooth transition from a military career to a civilian one. 

What do you hope to achieve at NFM?

I look forward to establishing a functional and effective relationship between sales, marketing, and R&D, which is both exciting and challenging. I also look forward to learning more about the different aspects of the NFM Group as a whole.

My first and foremost motivation is to ensure that end-users will demand NFM products and that our competitors will strive to match them.

FUN FACTS

• I spend most of my spare time with my children, but occasionally I do get an opportunity to play one of my many guitars in my basement rehearsal room.  
• I tested green boots when I was a sniper. It was a good idea, but they turned black when wet so they were pointless – considering we had already been issued black boots 
• I’ve scuba-dived down to 52 meters, which is borderline crazy. The lowest time at 50m on clean air is around two minutes  
• I started playing Ice-hockey aged 37. On my first practice, I fractured two ribs and did not play again that year 

Advice you would give to a younger you

Stay true to what you are passionate about and don’t try to manage everything at once.