On 18th September 2018, Are Brandt (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) was elected IWMA president. One day later, he was formally and officially inaugurated. The former (and late) IWMA president Ragnar Wighus, handed him the torch and the tie (which had been given to him by Karl Sprakel, first president of the organization).
Are Brandt is about to step down from the position as IWMA president. The articles of the association stipulate that a term is a 3-year period and that the president can be re-elected only once. Consequently, the time has come for a new head of IWMA.
The election will take place during the IWMA member meeting which in 2024 will take place in Antwerp on 17th September. The two candidates are Kristian Hox (RISE Norway) and Max Lakkonen (IFAB).
Kristian Hox obtained his M.Sc. in physics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in 2012. He then started working for SINTEF NBL (now RISE Fire Research) where he was head of the extinguishing group from 2013 to 2018. Between 2018 and 2024, he worked as head of section and senior specialust for fire consultant COWI. In 2024, he returned to RISE and is now senior advisor. Kristian has been actively involved in the standardization of water mist and other extinguishment systems since 2016 (CEN/TC 191 WG5, WG6 and WG10). Since 2019 he has chaired the national committee in Norway and still holds that position.
Max Lakkonen is the Managing Director of IFAB GmbH (Institute for Applied Fire Safety Research), with two decades of experience in the fire engineering industry. His career began with nearly ten years in Finnish academia, where he specialized in fluid power and water hydraulics. He was first introduced to water mist firefighting during his academic career, where he developed high-pressure components suitable for both firefighting and water hydraulics. Since then, his career has been deeply connected with water mist firefighting, including senior roles with a water mist manufacturer, managing one of the leading fire test laboratories for mist and sprinkler systems, and providing consultancy on various fire protection systems.
These are merely extractions from the applications. The full applications were distributed via a news flash to IWMA members on 15th August and are available to members upon request.