Equinor Picks New CFO

Norway's Equinor announced on December 16 it had appointed a new CFO Ulrica Fearn, replacing Svein Skeie, who has been serving as acting financial head since October.

Swedish-born Fearn, who has worked as director of group finance at the UK telecommunications group BT since 2017, will take on her new role in June 2021. Before BT, she work for nearly 20 years at alcohol beverage producer Diageo, where she held both finance and general management positions. Skeie will go on to work as senior vice president for CFO performance management and risk.

The appointment comes after CEO Anders Opedal took the oil and gas producer's helm in November following the resignation of Eldar Saetre. Opedal has announced plans to make Equinor a net-zero emissions company by 2050 and has also overhauled its corporate structure. Equinor's last permanent CFO Lars Christian Bacher stepped down in late October.

Opedal said Fearn's "deep and extensive experience in leading financial operations, as well as driving operational, control and shared services results, will make a strong contribution to the leadership of Equinor. She will also bring "renewal and increased diversity to the corporate executive committee."