Helle Østergaard Kristiansen receives the distinguished alumna award

Senior Vice President for Gas & Power at Equinor, Helle Østergaard Kristiansen, has received Aarhus University's Distinguished Alumna Award 2026 at the university's annual celebration, writes Aarhus University. Helle Østergaard Kristiansen holds an MSc in business economics and auditing from the Aarhus School of Business (now a faculty of Aarhus University, Aarhus BSS) from 2006.

She receives the award in recognition of her significant impact on the energy sector, where, as one of the only female top executives in the industry, she has broken the glass ceiling and played a pivotal role in the development of both Danske Commodities and Equinor’s global energy trading operations.

The Distinguished Alumna Award is presented to alumni who have made an outstanding contribution to society and brought positive attention to their field and to the university. As a leader, Helle Østergaard Kristiansen has worked to promote greater inclusion in the energy sector and played a significant role in Equinor’s trading of electricity and gas across Europe during a period marked by global uncertainty.

Aarhus University highlights that around 30 per cent of employees at Danske Commodities are AU graduates and sees Helle Østergaard Kristiansen as an example of an alumna who has built a distinguished career both nationally and internationally.

This text is machine translated and post-edited by Mie Skov Jeppesen.