DeepOcean CEO steps down. COO steps in

The chief operating officer (COO) of offshore services provider DeepOcean has been named as the acting chief executive officer (CEO) of the company.

DeepOcean said on Monday that the current CEO of DeepOcean, Bart Heijermans, decided to step down from his position as CEO effective November 18, after leading the company through an ownership change.

To remind, Triton, through its investment in the company, became the new majority owner of DeepOcean back in December 2016.

The offshore service provider said on Monday that Ottar Mæland, the company’s COO, would take the role of acting CEO while Heijermans would stay with DeepOcean as a non-executive director on the board of directors.

Mæland has been DeepOcean’s COO since January 2017. He joined DeepOcean in 2007 and held various senior positions as chief commercial officer, asset director, senior project engineer, lead engineer, and project manager. His prior experience includes seven years at Norsk Hydro and three years in process management.

Regarding his appointment, Mæland said: “I am excited to take on the role as acting CEO of DeepOcean and further develop and expand our offerings. As COO of DeepOcean, I am well aware of the challenges and opportunities that the Company faces in today’s dynamic and changing environment.”

Terje Askvig, chairman of the board, added: “We are very pleased that we are able to secure Ottar Mæland as acting CEO in an interim period until we have a permanent solution in place. Ottar has been part of the DeepOcean family for over ten years and has strong expertise in our business areas.

“We are confident that, thanks to his expertise and knowledge of the company and the markets we are operating in, we will continue to drive the positive future development of DeepOcean. This leadership change comes after a successful ownership transformation.

“We would like to thank Bart for his hard work and efforts to execute a successful restructuring and develop DeepOcean into a market leader within subsea services. We are especially grateful that Bart has agreed to remain on the Board as a non-executive director.”