Silje Skogstad joins our Corporate Advisory Board

We are delighted to welcome Silje Skogstad to our Corporate Advisory Board in her new role as Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer and Managing Director at Swiss Re.

Silje is a communications and corporate affairs executive with extensive international experience in strategic communications, public affairs, corporate strategy, and media relations across the insurance, logistics, and postal sectors. Since November 2025, she has served as Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer and Managing Director at Swiss Re, where she is responsible for global communications and stakeholder engagement.

Prior to joining Swiss Re, Silje was EVP Strategy, Sustainability & Communication at Posten Bring AS in Norway, overseeing corporate strategy, sustainability initiatives, and communications. In parallel, she founded Skope Advisory, providing strategic communications advisory services. Before that, she spent more than 18 years with Deutsche Post DHL Group, initially in several senior communications leadership roles, among them Spokesperson, Head of Media Relations, and SVP Global Media Relations and then as SVP Corporate Strategy.

Earlier in her career, Silje worked as Senior European Banking Reporter, after beginning her professional path as a freelance journalist.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences and Political Sciences from the University of Oslo, a Master’s degree in European Journalism Studies from Cardiff University as well as a Journalism degree from Oslo and Akershus University College.

Talking business & getting personal

We had the opportunity to speak with Silje, who shared insightful perspectives on corporate communications and explained why the field continues to fascinate her. She also reflected on what has recently inspired her thinking and the aspirations she chose to set aside throughout her career.

What originally drew you to your profession?

I see communication as one of the most powerful tools in leadership. It is what connects strategy to action and gives people a sense of direction and purpose. In a complex world, clear communication is not optional – it is how we build trust, align priorities, and move forward with confidence.

Why do you believe an exchange between the corporate world and academia – as it is organized by the Academic Society – is useful?

Too often, theory and practice evolve in parallel rather than together. That is a missed opportunity. The corporate world moves fast but can lack distance; academia brings depth but can lack immediacy. A structured exchange creates necessary tension: it challenges assumptions, sharpens thinking, and raises the quality of decisions on both sides. In an environment shaped by uncertainty and structural change, this kind of dialogue is not “nice to have”—it is essential to stay relevant and effective.

What are the greatest challenges for Corporate Communications nowadays?

The bar for Corporate Communications has fundamentally shifted. Speed, scrutiny, and stakeholder expectations have all increased, simultaneously.

The first challenge is credibility. In a fragmented information environment, consistency and substance matter more than ever, and trust is easily lost. The second is relevance: communication must keep pace with strategy and operations, not lag behind them. Empty narratives are quickly exposed. The third challenge is navigating complexity without oversimplifying. Stakeholders expect clarity, but not at the expense of honesty. This requires communicators to be deeply embedded in the business and confident enough to challenge it when needed. Ultimately, Corporate Communications is moving from explaining the business to shaping it. That shift is demanding – but it is also where the real impact lies.

Which professional experience has shaped you most so far?

The most defining experiences in my career have been periods of change – transformations, crises, and moments of high uncertainty. They force clarity and expose how decisions are really made. They taught me that alignment doesn’t happen by itself, it must be built through real human exchange. And that communication is not about perfect messaging, but about enabling decisions and creating shared understanding under pressure.

Which book, idea, or debate has influenced your thinking recently?

I’ve been thinking a lot about how organizations operate in persistent uncertainty. The key shift is from trying to eliminate uncertainty to building the capacity to navigate it. That requires more adaptive thinking – and for communications, a move away from fixed narratives toward helping people stay oriented as things evolve.

What have you had to unlearn over the course of your career?

I had to unlearn the idea that you can plan your way to success or stay in control of outcomes. In reality, most meaningful situations are too complex and too dynamic for that. What matters more is how you navigate uncertainty – setting direction, making decisions with incomplete information, and adjusting as you go. That has also shaped how I think about leadership: it’s not about creating followership, but about enabling others to succeed and make better decisions themselves.

Thank you Silje, we warmly welcome you to the Academic Society and truly appreciate your valuable contributions! We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate and learn more from your expertise.

You can find all the partner companies on the Corporate Advisory Board here.