Anders Opedal has been named as Equinor’s new president and chief executive, with a vow to accelerate the company’s growth in renewables.
The change follows the resignation of Eldar Saetre, after six years at the helm.
Opedal, who joined the company as a petroleum engineer in 1997, will move from the position as executive vice president technology, projects and drilling from 2 November.
Equinor’s board chair Jon Erik Reinhardsen said the company was entering a phase of significant change “as the world needs to take more forceful action to combat climate change”.
He added that the board had given Opedal a mandate “to accelerate our development as a broad energy company and to increase value creation for our shareholders through the energy transition”.
Opedal would strengthen the company’s culture and safety performance and was “passionate about technology, digitalisation and industrial development”, Reinhardsen said.
Opedal holds a Master’s degree in Engineering from The Norwegian Institute of Technology and an MBA from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.
He has previously served as chief procurement officer and then as executive vice president and chief operating officer before taking the role as senior vice president and country manager Brazil.
Opedal said he was confident in “Equinor and all our people, and in our ability to change and continue creating long-term value for our shareholders also in a low carbon future”.
He said: “We have a great starting point for what will be a massive transition with our strong assets, outstanding competence, technology and innovation skills, and we have highly engaged people and strong values to guide us in this process.
“Together, we will accelerate the development of Equinor as a broad energy company and our growth within renewables.”
Saetre turns 65 years old early next year and indicated to the board before summer he would be looking to retire.
He will remain available to advise the new CEO until he retires from the company 1 March 2021.
Reinhardsen said Saetre had made the company a stronger and more global energy company well placed “to thrive in the energy transition”.
“The name change from Statoil to Equinor reflects the company’s reorientation and will forever stand as an important milestone during Eldar’s tenure. The Board is grateful for Eldar’s leadership, achievements and long commitment to the company,” he added.
Opedal will establish a transition team and is stepping out of his role as EVP technology, projects and drilling immediately, acting as executive vice president as part of the corporate executive committee until he takes up the new role.
He will receive a base salary of Nkr9.1m (€854,000) with an annual variable pay target of 25% up to a maximum of 50% and a long-term incentive 30% of base salary.
The company’s board said it had systematically and continuously worked with CEO succession planning, considering and assessing a diverse set of male and female candidates throughout the process.