Board of directors

Non-executive.

Chaiwat Kovavisarach (born 1966) has been the President and Group CEO of Bangchak Corporation Public Company Limited since 2015. He also serves on the board of several listed and non-listed companies including, vice-chairman of BCPG and Director of BBGI, and is the chairman of Thai-Europe Business Council, chairman of Innovation Institute for Industry vice chairman of the Federation of Thai industries, the executive chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Asian Institute of Technology and a Director of the International Chamber of Commerce for Thailand. He holds a Master of Engineering from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), an MBA from Thammasat University and a Bachelor of Engineering from King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL).

Non-executive. Member of the people and organisation committee and member of sustainability and technical risk committee.

Mike Fischer (born 1958) has nearly 40 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry. He is currently an Executive Advisor to the Natural Resources business unit of Bangchak. Dr. Fischer has previously held senior management positions at Ophir Energy, OMV, Woodside Energy and BP. He holds a PhD from the University of Wales and a BSc from the University of Leeds. 

Independent, non-executive. Chair of the audit committee.

Rune Olav Pedersen (born 1970), has been appointed CEO of Geoquip Marine, effective from 1st January 2025. Previously, he has been President & CEO of PGS ASA since 2017. Mr. Pedersen has also held the position of executive vice president & general counsel at the company. Before joining PGS, he was a partner in the oil and gas department of the law firm Arntzen de Besche. He has a law degree from the University of Oslo, a post-graduate diploma in European competition law from Kings College London, and an Executive MBA from London Business School. 

Independent, non-executive. Chair of the sustainability and technical risk committee.
Nicola Gordon (born 1957) has many years of experience from the energy industry. Ms. Gordon holds several board positions, among others as Chair of the audit committee at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and on Heriot-Watt University’s Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering's Strategy Advisory Board. Gordon’s experience at the Royal Dutch Shell Group includes vice president for Shell International, asset manager and board director at A/S Norske Shell and managing director at Shell Denmark. She is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Energy Institute and holds an MSc in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot-Watt University and a BSc in Chemical Engineering from University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Independent, non-executive. Chair of people and organisational committee and member of audit committee.

Finn Haugan (born 1953) was from 1991 to May 2019 the CEO of SpareBank 1 SMN, before that deputy CEO of Fokus Bank (Danske Bank). Mr Haugan now holds positions as chairperson for the listed companies Norbit ASA and SpareBank 1 Sørøst-Norge. Furtheron he holds the position as chairperson for the non-listed companies Forte Asset Management AS, Sinkaberg Hansen AS, Elekt AS and Solon Eiendom AS and as deputy chairperson for LL Holding AS. Mr Haugan holds a master’s degree in business administration (MBA). 

Independent, non-executive.

Jon Arnt Jacobsen (born 1957) has extensive experience from the energy industry. Mr Jacobsen has 24 years of executive management experience from Equinor ASA within corporate finance, refining marketing and trading, procurement as well as internal audit and corporate security. Prior to Equinor, Mr Jacobsen worked in DnB ASA for 12 years in various management positions within corporate banking both for the oil & gas industry and Norwegian corporates. Mr Jacobsen has also been General manager for DnB´s Singapore branch. Mr Jacobsen has previous experience as board member in Mesta AS, Storebrand ASA and Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA. Mr Jacobsen has various business degrees from Norway and a MBA from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Non-executive.

Phatpuree Chinkulkitnivat (born 1974) is currently a Group Chief Financial Officer at Bangchak Corporation Public Company Limited, a leading energy company in Thailand. She had more than 20 years experience in banking industry prior to joining Bangchak and held the position of Chief Financial Officer at BCPG Public Company Limited, a flagship in the power generation business of Bangchak Group. Phatpuree holds a Master of Business Administration (High Distinction) from the University of Michigan, USA, and a Bachelor of Economics (First Class Honors) from Chulalongkorn University.

Independent, non-executive.

Liz Williamson (born 1984) is the Head of Energy for Rand Merchant Bank and is responsible for M&A transactions in the renewable and oil & gas space across Africa. She has led the growth of the bank’s international energy strategy since 2018. Originally from Texas but now based in London, Liz started her career in private equity focused on US upstream transactions. Thereafter she joined GMP Securities and Canaccord where she advised international E&P companies on capital markets and M&A. Liz holds an Honours degree from Davidson (North Carolina, USA) and a Masters in Energy Finance from the City University London, Bayes Business School.

Employee elected.

Sverre Nes (born 1971) was employed in Hydro from 1991 to 2012. He was trained as process technician and worked there in various departments in addition to being stationed in Qatar as supervisor between 2009-2010. Sverre joined Wintershall in 2013 and currently works for Brage as Discipline Responsible for Process.

Employee elected.

Ragnhild Aas (born 1973) holds the position of VP Technology & Development in OKEA. She has worked in OKEA since 2016 and has previously also held the position of VP Operations. Prior to joining OKEA she worked in Altera for 16 years where her last position was FPSO Operations Manager. Ragnhild holds an MSc in Process Engineering from Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet (NTNU) and a BSc in Chemical Engineering from Trondheim Ingeniørhøgskole.

Employee elected.

Per Magne Bjellvåg (born 1969) holds the position of Lead Process Engineer in OKEA. He has been with OKEA since 2018 and prior to this he has worked in Norske Shell and FieldTalk Solutions. With more than 27 years of experience in the oil and gas industry he has held various positions, mainly in operations and maintenance of onshore and offshore process plants as well as underwater installations. Per Magne holds a BSc in Process Engineering from Høgskolen Stord Haugesund.