Bjørn Olstad is a Distinguished Engineer at Microsoft, heading up the Enterprise Search Group (ESG). Dr. Olstad previously served as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of FAST, a Norwegian Enterprise Search company that was acquired by Microsoft in 2008.

Before joining FAST, Dr. Olstad was Director of Research and Development for Cardiac Ultrasound at General Electric Medical Systems. He has also served as a professor in computer science at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), where he was the youngest person ever to be awarded a professorship.