Marit Lieng appointed new top executive at Helse Bergen: ‘A clear and inclusive leader’

It's been summer, but there's been little quiet time in the offices at Helse Bergen. Now, the most important appointment of the autumn is in place. Marit Lieng is taking over as the new Chief Executive Officer – and she's no random pick. She's one of the country's top clinicians in her speciality, and word about the new boss has been doing the rounds at Haukeland for a while.

Let's get one thing straight from the start: Marit Christine Lieng is no bureaucrat brought in from a consulting firm. She's a surgeon. She's a researcher. And perhaps most importantly – she knows the hospital's heart and soul. I've spoken to people who work closely with her, and the same descriptions keep coming up: "Clear, but without raising her voice. Inclusive, yet with a decisiveness that leaves a mark."

From the operating theatre to the executive office

It's a long way from holding a scalpel to running one of the country's largest health trusts. But that's exactly the heart of why the board chose Marit Lieng. She has a PhD in research on women's health conditions, and her CV is packed with peer‑reviewed articles in respected medical journals.

She has dived deep into issues like pelvic floor injuries, complications from caesarean sections, and the development of minimally invasive surgical techniques. In other words: she knows what it takes for staff to succeed, because she's been there herself.

Now she's swapping the operating room for the negotiation table. It'll be an interesting transition to follow – especially because Helse Bergen is facing some pretty tough challenges ahead.

Here are the biggest challenges waiting

Taking the helm at Helse Bergen is no walk in the park. Budget pressure is real, recruitment challenges are global, and the demand for faster treatment isn't going away. I'd wager Marit Lieng has these three items at the top of her to‑do list:

• Balancing the budget in a storm: Like every other hospital, Bergen is struggling to make the numbers add up without compromising patient safety.
• Recruiting specialists: The fight for the best doctors and nurses is tougher than ever.
• The waiting lists: Those Covid backlogs need to be cleared, and political expectations are sky‑high.

But this is where her background really comes into play. Marit Lieng has led complex research projects in Gaza and Palestine – a collaboration with a major university and local health authorities. If you can navigate humanitarian crises and war zones to improve maternity care, then a challenging budget round in Bergen should be manageable.

A new era for Haukeland?

Staff I've spoken to describe her as incredibly skilled professionally, but also as someone who fosters "an open‑door atmosphere". That might sound like a cliché, but in an industry where burnout is an epidemic, it's crucial. She's known for listening to employees – truly listening – before making decisions.

It will be incredibly exciting to see how Marit Christine Lieng shapes Helse Bergen going forward. Will she double down on research and education like she has in the past? Will she use the surgeons' perspective to cut unnecessary red tape? One thing is certain: Marit Lieng is the boss Bergen needed right now – not a theorist, but someone who has seen patients up close and knows what actually works in practice.