UPDATED: Statoil’s former chief executive, Helge Lund, has found something else to do after his new job at BG Group evaporated when the company was taken over by Shell. Lund emerged in early June as a new board member of Schlumberger, the huge supplier of various services to the oil and gas industry. He’s also starting up his own investment company.
As newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) noted, Lund will now be among those monitoring the performance of another Norwegian, Paal Kibsgaard, who’s Schlumberger’s chief executive. There was some initial confusion when international media incorrectly reported that Lund was taking over for Kibsgaard. Instead he’ll be among those setting Kibsgaard’s pay, and overseeing other company matters.
The pay levels are much higher in Schlumberger and other international firms than in Norwegian companies. Lund himself did very well after leaving Statoil, reportedly getting paid as much as NOK 378 million (USD 46 million) in salary and benefits despite his short tenure. So he doesn’t need the money, but he’s only 53, and many expect him to pop up somewhere in a new top-level job.
Lund himself has been tight-lipped about what his next career move might be after his BG Group gig ended. It remains unclear whether he’ll find another job besides the Schlumberger board seat in an industry that’s been cutting staff since oil prices took a dive. DN noted that he earlier has also been a board member of Finland’s mobile phone firm Nokia.
Later in June, DN could also report that Lund had invested NOK 30 million in a new company called Inkerman Holding. The company, according to DN, also secured a loan of NOK 13 million from Lund.
The investment was listed in documents filed with Norway’s business registry in Brønnøysund. The documents indicate that Inkerman will manage and invest funds, offer consulting services and contribute gifts and contributions to charitable and social ventures. Lund was the only shareholder listed in an otherwise reportedly complicated structure of A- and B-shares with intricate voting rights. The company’s address was listed as in Oslo.
Lund had no comment on the new venture. DN reported that he still lives in London while his lawyer wife, Else Cathrine Lund, works for Finans Norge in Oslo.
newsinenglish.no staff
