Equinor Makes Board Change

Equinor announced, in a statement posted on its site recently, that it has made a change to its board of directors.

According to the statement, Finn Bjørn Ruyter has decided to leave his position on the board and prioritize his responsibilities as CEO of Hafslund and in other board positions. The change will take effect on September 1, Equinor revealed.

Ruyter has been a member of Equinor’s board since July 1, 2019, according to a bio page hosted on Equinor’s site, which notes that Ruyter is the chair of the board’s Safety, Security, Sustainability, and Ethics committee.

The bio page highlights that Ruyter has been CEO of Hafslund since 2012, and that he was CFO of the company from 2010 to 2011. From 2009-2010 he worked in the Philippine hydro power company SN Aboitiz Power, the bio page notes, adding that, from 1996 to 2009 he led the power trading entity, and from 1999 also the energy division, in Elkem. From 1991-1996 Ruyter worked with energy trading in Norsk Hydro, the bio page states.

In a statement posted on its website back in June, Equinor announced that its corporate assembly elected Jarle Roth as the new chair of the board of Equinor. That statement also revealed that the corporate assembly re-elected Anne Drinkwater as deputy chair and that Ruyter, Haakon Bruun-Hanssen, Mikael Karlsson, Fernanda Lopes Larsen and Dawn Summers were re-elected as members of the board.

That Equinor statement noted that Jon Erik Reinhardsen, the previous chair, would resign from the company’s board of directors.

“The shareholder representatives of the board of directors of Equinor ASA are elected with effect from 1 July 2026 and until the ordinary election to the board of directors in June 2027,” that statement noted.

In a statement posted on Equinor’s website at the start of June, Equinor said its nomination committee recommended that the company’s corporate assembly elect Roth as the new chair of the board.

“Furthermore, the nomination committee recommends re-election of Anne Drinkwater as deputy chair, in addition to Finn Bjørn Ruyter, Haakon Bruun-Hanssen, Mikael Karlsson, Fernanda Lopes Larsen and Dawn Summers as members of the board of directors of Equinor ASA,” that statement added.

“Jon Erik Reinhardsen, who has been the chair of the board since 2017, would like to resign from the board of directors,” it continued.

That statement highlighted that Roth has been a member of the board since December 1, 2025, and pointed out that he is an independent advisor.

“Roth has held CEO roles in multiple Norwegian companies, including at Eksportkreditt Norge AS, Arendals Fossekompani ASA, Umoe Group, Schat-Harding and Unitor ASA,” the statement pointed out.

“His career spans across industrial investment management, change management, energy transition initiatives, financing of Norwegian export industries and global shipping services. He has extensive experience from major listed companies,” it added.

“His boardroom experience includes governance, risk management, strategy, M&A, and sustainability. Internationally, Roth has led and integrated businesses with activities within Europe, Americas and Asia,” it continued.

“Roth has previously served as chair of the nomination committee and corporate assembly of Equinor ASA,” it went on to state.

According to Equinor’s website, the company’s board has overriding responsibility for managing the group and supervising its day to day management and operations.

“The work of the board is based on rules of procedure and applicable legislation describing its responsibility, duties, and administrative procedures,” the site states.

“Equinor’s board of directors has three sub-committees which act as preparatory bodies,” the site adds.

These comprise the compensation and executive development committee, the safety, security, sustainability and ethics committee, and the audit committee, the site outlines.

The role of the first committee is to assist the board in its work on terms and conditions of employment for the Chief Executive, and on the philosophy, principles and strategy for the compensation of leading executives in Equinor, the site notes.

The board’s safety, security, sustainability and ethics committee is established to support Equinor’s commitment to sustainable and ethical conduct, according to the site, which states that the role of the audit committee is to assist in the exercise of the board’s management and control responsibilities and to ensure that the group has an independent and effective external and internal auditing system.

On its site, Equinor highlights that its board has adopted an annual plan for its work, which it said is revised “with regular intervals”.

“Recurring items on the board's annual plan are: safety, security, corporate strategy, business plans and targets, quarterly and annual results, annual reporting, ethics and compliance, sustainability, management’s performance reporting, management leadership assessment and compensation and succession planning, project status review, people and organization strategy and priorities, and an annual review of the board's governing documentation,” the site states.

“The BoD has dedicated strategy sessions with the corporate executive committee twice a year to review strategy progress and align on forward plans. There are also dedicated risk sessions with the BoD and CEO at least twice a year to discuss current risk outlook and risk adjusting actions,” it adds.

“The BoD discussed the energy transition in all ordinary board meetings either as integral parts of strategy and investment discussions or as separate topics,” it continues.

Equinor’s site reveals that its board has eight regular meetings per year and extraordinary meetings “when needed”.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com