DNV GL Appoints Liv Hovem as New Oil & Gas CEO

DNV GL has appointed Liv Hovem as the new CEO of its Oil & Gas business area. Starting 1 January 2018, Hovem will report to Group President and CEO Remi Eriksen.

Liv Hovem will take over as CEO of DNV GL’s Oil & Gas business area, which provides integrated technical assurance and advisory services to operators, suppliers and regulators across the oil and gas value chain, from project initiation to decommissioning. She will be based at the DNV GL – Oil & Gas headquarters in Hovik, Norway and be a member of the DNV GL Group's Executive Committee. Liv Hovem succeeds Elisabeth Torstad, who has been appointed CEO of DNV GL’s new Digital Solutions business area.

DNV GL Group President & CEO Remi Eriksen says; “I'm very pleased to announce that Liv Hovem has accepted the position as CEO of our Oil & Gas business area. She has extensive knowledge of the oil and gas industry and has held various leadership roles within DNV GL. I am confident that she will successfully lead our business through the current period of significant changes in the industry, working together with her colleagues in our Oil & Gas business area.”

Commenting on her appointment, Hovem says; “I look forward to leading the Oil & Gas business area in its next phase of development. The oil and gas industry has the opportunity to play an important role in a sustainable energy portfolio.”

DNV GL’s recently published Energy Transition Outlook shows that the world’s energy system is going through a transition. The oil and gas industry will continue to play an important role and will account for 44% of the total energy mix in 2050. Gas will become the largest single source of energy from 2034.

“Over the next thirty years it will change significantly in its composition as it decouples from carbon, population and economic growth. While our model forecasts that oil demand will flatten from 2020 onwards, the stage is set for gas to continue playing a key role alongside renewables in helping to meet future, lower carbon energy requirements,” says Hovem.

Hovem has been with DNV GL since 1988, most recently as Regional Manager for Continental Europe, the Middle East and India in DNV GL’s Oil & Gas business. She has more than 25 years of experience in international management, technical advisory and engineering services, research and development in the oil & gas and maritime industries. She has an MSc in Naval Architecture and Offshore Engineering from UC Berkeley (1990) and an MSc in Civil Engineering from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (1987).