Oslo Business Forum

What Oslo Business Forum does

Oslo Business Forum AS is a privately held Norwegian company (organization number 916 482 019, headquartered at Kongens gate 2, Oslo) that operates a leadership and business innovation event platform. The company was founded in 2015 and employs 11–50 people. Its core product is the annual flagship conference held at Nova Spektrum in Lillestrøm (September 16–17, 2026), which assembles 3,000 leaders with 60% C-level representation for two days of executive networking and world-class speaker content. Operating geographies span Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland via wholly-owned affiliates Nordic Business Forum Oy (Finland) and DenkProducties B.V. (Netherlands).

The product portfolio extends beyond the flagship event into a year-round platform. OBF+ is a corporate digital subscription (NOK 19,000–99,000 annually by company size) providing livestream, public screening licenses, and 365-day on-demand access to OBF content. OBF Membership is a premium executive tier bundling the Executive Summer Summit, the Executive Community Event, in-person tickets, and OBF+ digital access for Norway's most influential business leaders. OBF Event produces custom corporate events, while content products (executive summaries, podcasts, webinars, and a documentary titled "Bak kulissene") sustain demand generation throughout the year. There is no proprietary technology stack identified — the platform runs on web/streaming infrastructure and HubSpot-hosted content delivery.

Revenue is generated through four streams: conference ticket sales (individual and group), OBF+ corporate subscriptions (recurring), OBF Memberships (recurring), and a multi-tier sponsorship ecosystem (Main, Strategic, and standard partners including PwC, Knowit, Eidra, BI, Deloitte, IBM, Google, Cisco, Thon Hotels, and Coca-Cola). Go-to-market combines enterprise field sales to HR/L&D decision-makers, direct sponsorship sales, and event-driven demand generation anchored on the annual conference. Documented enterprise customers include DNB (747 employees attending), Simployer, Schibsted, Posten og Bring, with community members including Equinor and Telenor.

Name

Oslo Business Forum

Legal name

Oslo Business Forum AS

Website

https://obforum.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Oslo Business Forum AS is a Norwegian private company that organizes an annual flagship leadership conference and operates the OBF+ digital learning subscription, serving C-level executives and corporate HR/L&D buyers across Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. Revenue derives from ticket sales, corporate subscriptions, executive memberships, and multi-tier event sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Conferences and Leadership Events

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive Leadership Summits (C-Suite, Board, Strategy Offsites) (THAHAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Conferences & Conventions Operations Services (Registration, AV, Logistics) (MPAGAGAM), Meeting & Conference Planning & Coordination (HSACADAA), Sponsorship, Exhibitor & Partnership Management Services (THAHACAK)

Keywords

• Leadership conferences
• Executive networking events
• Business summit services
• Corporate learning subscriptions
• Professional development events

Headquarters

HQ city

Oslo

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Conference Tickets: Revenue from selling in-person attendance tickets to the annual Oslo Business Forum conference. The event hosts 3,000 leaders with 60% C-level executives. Ticket categories include standard passes, VIP passes with exclusive evening events, and group bookings. Early bird pricing available.
2. OBF+ Corporate Subscriptions: Annual subscription service providing corporate clients with livestream access to conferences, public screening licenses, and 365-day access to recordings for their entire workforce. Priced by company size (1-100 employees: NOK 19,000; 101-250: NOK 39,000; 251-500: NOK 59,000; 501-1,000: NOK 79,000; 1,000+ employees: NOK 99,000). Recurring annual revenue model with enterprise upsell potential.
3. OBF Membership: Premium executive membership providing exclusive access to the Executive Summer Summit (June 4, 2026), Executive Community Event during flagship conference (September 17, 2026), in-person tickets to annual OBF, and OBF+ digital access for all employees. Targets Norway's most influential business leaders and companies.
4. Event Sponsorship and Partnerships: Revenue from corporate partnerships including Main Partners (PwC, Knowit, Eidra), Strategic Partners (BI, Porsche, Deloitte, Thon Hotels, IBM, etc.), and standard Partners (Google, Cisco, HP, ServiceNow, etc.). Partners gain brand visibility, thought leadership opportunities, networking access, and lead generation access to C-level executives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Oslo Business Forum organizes an annual flagship leadership conference in Norway bringing together 3,000+ business leaders (60% C-level) for two days of executive networking and learning from world-class speakers. The company extends its event reach through OBF+, a corporate digital subscription providing 365-day livestream and on-demand access to conference content for entire workforces, and an exclusive OBF Membership program targeting Norway's most influential business leaders.

Product overview

Oslo Business Forum operates as a platform-plus-content model centered on its annual flagship leadership conference (Oslo Business Forum) combined with year-round digital and membership offerings. The core product is the in-person annual conference held at Nova Spektrum in Lillestrøm, Norway, featuring C-level executive networking and world-class speaker sessions. OBF+ extends the event reach through a corporate digital subscription platform providing 365-day access to livestream and recordings with enterprise licensing for group screenings. OBF Membership offers an exclusive tier with in-person tickets, digital access, and entry to exclusive events like the Executive Summer Summit. Additional products include OBF Event (custom corporate event planning), content products (Executive Summaries, Podcasts, Webinars), and the Ambassador Program for students. The portfolio is unified around leadership learning and executive networking, with the annual conference as the primary anchor and digital/membership products enabling year-round engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OBF+ (Digital Subscription Platform): Digital access platform providing 365-day streaming of conference content and leadership resources for corporate clients.
• OBF Membership
• OBF Ambassador Program

Products and services

• Oslo Business Forum Conference Annual two-day flagship leadership conference bringing together 3,000+ business leaders (60% C-level executives) for executive networking and learning from world-class international speakers. Held at Nova Spektrum in Lillestrøm, Norway. Includes standard passes, VIP passes with exclusive evening events, and group bookings.
• OBF+ Corporate digital subscription platform providing 365-day access to livestream and on-demand recordings of Oslo Business Forum content for entire workforces. Includes license to host public group screenings. Priced annually by company headcount: NOK 19,000 (1-100 employees), NOK 39,000 (101-250), NOK 59,000 (251-500), NOK 79,000 (501-1,000), NOK 99,000 (1,000+).
• OBF Membership Premium executive membership offering in-person tickets to the annual OBF conference, OBF+ digital access for all employees, and exclusive entry to the Executive Summer Summit (June 4, 2026) and Executive Community Event during the flagship conference (September 17, 2026). Targets Norway's most influential business leaders and companies, with 100+ companies in the community.
• OBF Event Custom corporate event planning service for organizations seeking to realize their strategy through impactful events. Leverages Oslo Business Forum's speaker network, production capabilities, and event expertise to design and execute bespoke corporate events.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96.1% of attendees recommend Oslo Business Forum
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered main partner, strategic partner and partner.

• PwCmain partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerMain Partner of Oslo Business Forum. PwC leverages the partnership for brand positioning among top Nordic business leaders and thought leadership opportunities at the conference.
• Knowitmain partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerMain Partner of Oslo Business Forum. Knowit, a Nordic IT and management consulting firm, positions its brand toward C-level executives at the event.
• Eidramain partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerMain Partner of Oslo Business Forum. Eidra provides event partnership for brand visibility among Nordic business leaders.
• BI (Handelshøyskolen BI)strategic partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic Partner. Norway's leading business school leverages partnership for executive networking and thought leadership positioning.
• Deloittestrategic partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic Partner of Oslo Business Forum. Deloitte, a global professional services firm, positions its brand toward Nordic C-level executives.
• IBMstrategic partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic Partner. IBM leverages partnership for technology and innovation thought leadership positioning.
• Thon Hotelsstrategic partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial accommodation partner for OBF 2026. Offers exclusive 10-12% discount rates for attendees. Properties include Thon Hotel Arena and Thon Hotel Lillestrøm near venue, and Hotel Bristol in Oslo city center.
• Entrastrategic partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic Partner. Norwegian real estate company partners for event visibility among business leaders.
• GooglepartnerTechnology or IntegrationPartner company. Google provides technology partnership for the event platform and digital initiatives.
• CiscopartnerTechnology or IntegrationPartner company. Cisco provides technology infrastructure partnership for event operations.
• ServiceNowpartnerTechnology or IntegrationPartner company. ServiceNow provides technology partnership and thought leadership positioning.
• Coca-ColapartnerGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner company. Coca-Cola provides beverage sponsorship and brand visibility at the event.
• Porsche Norwaystrategic partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic Partner. Porsche Norway provides luxury automotive partnership for brand positioning among executives.
• DNBpartnerGTM or Marketing PartnerCustomer and community member. Leading Norwegian financial institution with 2.3+ million retail customers. 747 employees attended OBF 2026.
• EquinorpartnerGTM or Marketing PartnerCustomer and community member. Norwegian multinational energy company. Uses OBF+ for workforce leadership development.
• TelenorpartnerGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity member. Norwegian telecommunications company. Part of the OBF executive community for leadership learning.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Nordic Business Forum: Finland-based annual leadership conference for executives, organized by a sister company of OBF (Nordic Business Forum Oy). Operates a near-identical playbook — flagship conference, premium speakers, OBF+ analogue subscriptions, and corporate partnership tiers — making it the most directly comparable peer in the Nordic executive events space.
• TED (TED Conferences): Premium thought-leadership conference franchise built on world-class speakers and a monetized content library (TED Talks, TEDx licensing, TED Masterclass). Highly comparable as a speaker-driven, content-monetized executive learning brand, though TED operates globally and as a nonprofit.
• Aspen Ideas Festival: Invitation-only executive and thought-leadership festival held annually by the Aspen Institute. Comparable in curated C-level audience, world-class speaker curation, and a content library that extends the event's reach beyond in-person days.

Broad incumbents

• Web Summit: One of the world's largest tech/business conferences, with multiple annual events (Lisbon, Qatar, Rio) and a content/subscription arm. Comparable in C-level audience, marquee sponsors, and global speaker talent, though at materially larger scale and broader scope than OBF's Nordic niche.
• Fortune Brainstorm: Invitation-only executive summits (Brainstorm Tech, Brainstorm Design) targeting C-suite audiences with high-profile speakers and Fortune-brand sponsors. Comparable in audience profile and revenue model, though anchored in the US market and tied to a major media brand.
• Money 20/20: Large-scale B2B conference business for fintech and financial services, owned by Ascential. Comparable in C-level audience, multi-tier sponsorship economics, and content-plus-event monetization, though focused on a specific vertical.
• HubSpot INBOUND: Annual flagship conference combined with year-round content, training, and community for marketing/sales leaders. Comparable in combining a flagship in-person event with recurring digital learning (INBOUND-themed courses) for enterprise L&D buyers.
• Dreamforce: Salesforce's annual mega-conference, typically 150,000+ attendees, combining keynote speakers, training, and partner ecosystem. Comparable as a flagship event-plus-platform model with massive sponsorship economics, though at vastly larger scale and owned by a single corporate.

Emerging players

• Sifted Summit: European tech/startup executive summit organized by Sifted (Financial Times-backed). Comparable in targeting European business leaders, premium content, and corporate sponsorships, though with a tech/startup slant rather than OBF's general leadership focus.

Others

• The Business Leaders Summit (Business Forum Group): Overseeing parent/group entity employing the departing co-founder Marius Røed Wang. Operates adjacent business-forum brands across Europe and is a structurally related entity rather than a pure competitor, but uses a comparable conference-plus-content model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/obforum

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Oslo Business Forum