Born on 7 April 1963 in
Frederikstad, Svendsen grew up in
Kråkerøy, an island in the south-east of Norway. After demonstrating interest in mathematics and physics at high school, in 1983 she went to
Trondheim to spend five years studying engineering at the
Norwegian Institute of Technology where she earned an MSc in electronics. She completed her education in 1995 with a master's degree in technology management from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in collaboration with the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2005, she became Vice President and Head of Telenor Nordic Fixed. In 2008, she spent a short period as CEO of
Conax which at the time was owned by Telenor. She returned to Telenor in September 2011 as Executive Vice President Telenor Group and CEO of Telenor Norway, a position she continues to hold. Svendsen also serves on the boards of the banking and financial services group
DNB (since 2011) and (since 2007)
EMGS which provides technical support to oil and gas companies. ==Personal life==