Arlington, VA and Reykjavik, Iceland – August 5, 2019 — Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, who was the President of Iceland for 20 years, has joined the board of Kerecis Limited. Kerecis is pioneering the use of fish skin for tissue regeneration.
President Grimsson served as Iceland’s President for a record five terms, from 1996 to 2016, making him one of the world’s longest serving Heads of State.
Since leaving the presidency, Grimsson has been Chairman of the Arctic Circle, which brings together over 2,000 participants from more than 70 countries annually. He was also Chairman of the International Renewable Energy Agency’s Global Commission on the Geopolitics of Energy Transformation.
Before entering politics, he lectured at the University of Iceland and became the country’s first professor of political science. He entered Parliament in 1978, and was Iceland’s Minister of Finance from 1988 to 1991. He earned his bachelor’s and doctorate degrees in economics and political science from the University of Manchester.
“President Grimsson has been an outspoken proponent of the preservation of ocean resources, green energy and on dealing with environmental issues resulting from climate change,” said G. Fertram Sigurjonsson, founder and CEO of Kerecis. “His experience and expertise are a perfect fit with our vision of sustainably harnessing nature’s remedies to help regenerate the human body. He was also instrumental in creating the cooperation between Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective and Kerecis.”
Kerecis develops patented fish-skin products to heal human wounds and tissue damage. The fish skin comes from cod, which is sustainably caught in the pristine North Iceland waters. Production takes place in the Kerecis manufacturing facilities in Isafjordur, Iceland, which is also Presidents Grimsson’s birthplace. The production facility uses only green energy.
