Ivar Bruvoll is perhaps the toughest guy I’ve met. He can take any amount of adversity – in fact opposition really gets him fired up. If I were to pick one guy I believe could take the bridge from an enemy’s control in a war, it would be Ivar.
When I started to work in the recruitment company U-MAN in 1990, Ivar had already been the company’s salesman since a few months. The company was owned by a scientologist, used the OCA test as the primary tool in recruitment, and was regularly hounded by WISE for the weekly statistics. It paid 6% of its gross income to WISE for the use of the personality test – even though the test’s copyright was probably never owned by Hubbard, or after his death, L. Ron Hubbard Library. U-MAN was run by LRH Admin Tech and scientology was the backbone of the company. But Ivar was no scientologist. In fact he threatened to throw the office furniture out the window (without opening the window first) if he discovered a hard link between the company and the Church of Scientology. The link wasn’t hard enough and the office kept its tables and chairs.
Ivar has an unbreakable personal integrity. He never bowed for the personal pressures to make him into a scientologist. I suspect he is one of the very few people having attended a conference aboard the Freewinds (the CoS ship) without being a member of the International Association of Scientologists. The IAS officers kept hunting him down around the ship, but he wouldn’t yield and left the ship no more a scientologist than when he boarded a week earlier.
I was the CEO for U-MAN Norway from 1990 – 2000 and then left the position to Ivar. The company has since changed name to Performia with the advent of a Net-based testing system, and Ivar is still going strong as the man in charge of the daily operations.
When I left the CoS in 2009, I met with scientologist friends to explain to them why I was leaving. I also met Ivar. He was one of three people during my 25 meetings that really got it – why I left. Given the plummeting of the church in the last three years, it must be an interesting show for Ivar to watch standing in the middle of the storm without being a member. As the main stock holder of the company is an OT8 (a former very good friend of mine and a person I highly respect, Mårten Runow), Ivar gets to see the inside view while staying outside.
No matter how the CoS meltdown will pan out, Ivar will always stand the ground, will always do well. Ivar is a highly professional business man, knows people well, can assess the wide range of candidates for any job position – and he is a very straight shooter. He doesn’t mince words and he doesn’t compromise on getting the results he aims for.
I hope to one day in the future again be able to work together with Ivar.
Geir Isene - uncut 
Love it GEIR. Brings back many memories.
Geir, I was curious about a couple of things. First, I can imagine different possibilities but what in particular was Ivar’s reason for being against a “hard link between the company and the Church of Scientology”.
Also, why does the fact that the main stock holder is an OT 8 give Ivar an “inside view”?
On the first question, I think we should ask Ivar – because I don’t really know… mixing business and religion, perhaps? Selling something with an ulterior motive (turn clients into scientologists)?
On the second one; Mårten is very much in play with the company . and Ivar and Mårten is very close. So, Ivar would get very close to the inside “feel” of the CoS without being a member.
Okay, thanks. I assumed Ivar would have been open about it and voiced his reasons, since he was very open about being against the connection. It would be interesting to have him comment on this since the reasons could vary.
Even more interesting is what you say about Ivar and Mårten being very close. Since they are, and you yourself still highly respect him (Mårten), he must be one of the good products of Scn, in spite of the CoS. For that reason, it seems to me that Ivar and him being close might have caused Ivar to become interested in Scn by now. That would be a really interesting point to have him comment on too. 🙂
I have a really good friend who sounds remarkably like Ivar. He knows Scientology terms, understands many of the concepts and enjoys hanging out with the Scientologists he has met. He has no interest in jumping in to Scientology, rather, he takes an idea and works it all the way through and then another and then another. He asks penetrating and informed questions that often result in answers like, I never really thought about that.
He told me that he considers that a business should have its specific purpose, and that purpose should not be mixed with other purposes (like religion, politics, orgies — i.e. sex-religion-politics) that may prove detrimental to offering the best possible service and opportunity in an environment conducive to business.
Ivar, you are truly remarkable and certainly fit the amazing title. Good for you and a pleasure to meet you!