Martin Rossen potentially has a major integrity problem as a board member of Denmark's new super fund, the Danish Export and Investment Fund (EIFO, formerly EKF), which was recently strengthened by six billion kroner by the government, with a maximum of 2026, when he will now be an independent advisor. This is reported by Christoph Ellersgaard, a power researcher at CBS, and Jesper Olsen, chairman of Transparency International Denmark, to Kforum.
The problem, according to observers, is that Martin Rossen has gone from being head of communications at Danfoss, where it was more transparent which interests he represented, to being an independent advisor, to whom anyone can in principle buy access, and where we do not know who his clients are.
- Either he should resign, or it should be clearly and publicly stated how he separates his private consulting from his board role. And then he should make publicly available who his clients are and how much they pay. Otherwise, it cannot be defended, Christoph Ellersgaard tells Kforum and continues:
- You will have to ask him to explain how he will ensure his impartiality. I find it difficult to see that being an independent consultant and at the same time having to represent the public's interests at EIFO is compatible. That would severely limit his future clientele if he is to maintain his impartiality.
Not a structural legal disqualification problem
Martin Rossen was elected to the board of EIFO in 2022, appointed by then Minister of Business and Industry Simon Kollerup (S), while he was the head of global communications and sustainability at Danfoss.
On the board of EIFO, Martin Rossen receives a fee of 200,000 kroner per year, while he privately earns money by advising clients. It is not a structural legal disqualification problem, as the law currently stands, but it potentially opens up a lot of specific cases of disqualification.
- Martin Rossen, the foundation's administration and the Ministry of Business and Industry must consider whether there is a structural disqualification problem. There may very well be. In any case, he will have to declare his client list to the foundation's administration and chairman, says Jesper Olsen, chairman of Transparency International Denmark.
He refers to the fact that Kasper Fogh Hansen from Rud Pedersen had to withdraw from the government's expert group on tech giants because he and Rud Pedersen did not want to share their client list.
Rejects competence issues
Martin Rossen responds in an email to Kforum that his competence in the foundation is not affected by his new job as an independent advisor.
“[I] think that EIFO is best for law, but for my own account I would like to add that my competence is independent of whether I work for Denmark's largest industrial company or open a business with currently a turnover of zero kroner. Regardless, I will be out the door if a case arises that concerns something I have knowledge of or interest in,” writes Martin Rossen in the email.
In a written response, EIFO's assessment is, among other things, that disqualification is specific to the individual board members and their personal circumstances.
- EIFO continuously obtains information from the board members regarding any conflicts of interest. In addition to the rules of impartiality, we also point out that all board members are obliged to maintain confidentiality in relation to anything they may have gained knowledge of in connection with the performance of their duties for EIFO, the foundation writes.
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