Billionaire investor John Fredriksen has stepped down as Chairman of offshore drilling contractor Seadrill. He will be replaced by Glen Ole Rødland, who is currently chairman of offshore flotel provider Prosafe, as well as of Aqualis Braemar.
John Fredriksen, who is currently at #129 place on Forbes billionaires list with the current net worth of $11.4B, said: “I have been actively involved with Seadrill during the 14 years since its inception. While I have now decided to spend less time on board seats, my close involvement and strong support of Seadrill will remain unchanged.
“I will continue to push for business optimization, strategic initiatives such as the recent joint ventures with Sonangol and GDI, and consolidation in the sector.”
Anton Dibowitz , Seadrill CEO, commented: “John handing over the Chairmanship to Glen, is for us very much business as usual. [John Fredriksen’s investment company] Hemen remains our anchor shareholder. I will continue to have a close dialogue with John and benefit from his input and perspectives. On a personal level, I would like to extend my thanks and gratitude to John for his leadership of the board to date. I would like to welcome Glen and I look forward to working together.”
Apart from the Chairman change, Seadrill has also made a change to its Board. Harald Thorstein will step down as non-executive director of Seadrill effective from November 21, 2019. Gunnar Winther Eliassen will be appointed to the Seadrill Board as non-executive director effective November 21, 2019.
Gunnar is employed by the Seatankers Group, an affiliate of the Company’s largest shareholder, Hemen Holding Limited. Prior to joining Seatankers, Gunnar was a partner at Pareto Securities Inc in New York and Oslo.