Aker Solutions Announces New Additions Management Team (Norway)

Oil services group Aker Solutions signals a stronger focus on international growth and engineering through an expansion of its executive management team. Three members have been added, of which two are non-Norwegian citizens.

Wolfgang Puennel, a German citizen, has been appointed head of the new Well Intervention Services business area. Mr Puennel’s experience includes working 20 years for Weatherford, where he held various management roles. Since 2009 he has worked as an independent advisor for a Germany-based renewable energy company.

Mark Riding, a British citizen, takes up the newly created position of head of corporate strategic marketing. Mr Riding is an oil industry professional with 28 years’ experience in senior roles and international assignments. He joins from Schlumberger where he has been responsible for deepwater corporate strategic planning, sales, and technology development worldwide. In his new role, Mr Riding will co-ordinate contact and relationship with key customers, country strategies and corporate M&A opportunities.

Valborg Lundegaard, a Norwegian citizen, has been promoted to lead the new Engineering business area within Aker Solutions. Ms Lundegaard has 25 years’ oil and gas industry experience, including a number of management positions within Aker Solutions. She will head up a 3000-strong engineering team, located predominately in Oslo, Kuala Lumpur and Mumbai.

“I am pleased that we have been able to attract such experienced people to our management team. Wolfgang and Mark’s global experience will strengthen the international development of Aker Solutions. Valborg’s track record is already well known amongst our customers and throughout our organisation, which is why she has been tasked with developing our global engineering operation,” says Øyvind Eriksen, executive chairman of Aker Solutions.

“The expansion of our management team reflects an ambition to create an organisation that is designed to further improve performance within four key areas: build stronger customer relationships; improve operational performance; retain, attract and inspire the industry’s top talents; and strengthen our R&D and technology initiatives. The management team will help us reach ambitious targets in this respect,” adds Eriksen.

Meanwhile, the board of Aker Solutions has decided to extend Øyvind Eriksen’s assignment as executive chairman until further notice. This will allow the new organisation to continue implementation of the company’s strategy at full pace, including separation and listing of Aker Contractors. These strategic milestones will further clarify the profile and mandate of the future CEO of Aker Solutions.

As part of the strengthening of Aker Solutions management, Per Harald Kongelf has been appointed chief operating officer (COO). Kongelf will assume his new position as soon as he is relieved of his current temporary assignment as head of the future Aker Contractors company. The process to recruit a new president & CEO to Aker Contractors continues.

Aker Solutions ASA, through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“Aker Solutions”), is a leading global oil services company that provides engineering and construction services, technologies, product solutions and field-life solutions for the oil and gas industry. The Aker Solutions group is organised in a number of separate legal entities. Aker Solutions is used as the common brand/trademark for most of these entities.

Aker Solutions’ parent company is Aker Solutions ASA. Aker Solutions has aggregated annual revenues of approximately NOK 46 billion and employs approximately 20 000 people in about 26 countries.

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Source:Aker Solutions, February  17, 2011;