Stockholm (NordSIP) – Over the last six months, a range of revelations and public scrutiny have unveiled various failures in the process behind the decision to hire Nicolai Tangen as the next CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM). Now, the executive and Norway’s authorities seem to have reached a new settlement acceptable to all parties.
On August 24th, NBIM published some details regarding a revised employment agreement with Nicolai Tangen. According to the main points of the new agreement, “Tangen will divest himself of his holding in AKO Capital LLP. He will transfer his holding and dividend rights to the charitable entity AKO Foundation. He will thereby no longer have any ownership interest in AKO Capital LLP. This will apply in perpetuity.” According to NBIMs announcement, the new CEO will also change the way his personal fund investments are managed so that all assets are held as bank deposits. It is hoped that this solution addresses some of the most prominent concerns raised at the latest hearing of Norway’s Parliamentary Finance Committee.
“We are of the opinion that the agreement, which the Executive Board has now endorsed, addresses the concerns raised by the Storting’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs on the contract of employment with the new CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM)”, says the Chair of Norges Bank’s Executive Board, Øystein Olsen.
Although the implementation of this contract will take some more time, with these issues out of the way, NBIM announced Nicolai Tangen would be able to take office on September 1st, as initially agreed.
“The Executive Board has been of the opinion that the contractual framework surrounding Tangen’s employment contract was sufficient in preventing potential conflicts of interest, but we have noted, of course, that the Storting takes a different view. Their concerns are something the Executive Board, in dialogue with Nicolai Tangen, has now addressed”, says Olsen.
“I have taken these actions to remove any doubt about which hat I am now wearing. I want to be CEO of the oil fund, and have only one objective: Creating wealth for future generations”, says Nicolai Tangen.
Image courtesy of Norges Bank
