Nel group management
CEO
Håkon Volldal was appointed CEO effective 1 July 2022. Mr. Volldal has previous experience as Executive Vice President at TOMRA, and later as President and CEO of Q-Free ASA, creating intelligent technology solutions for efficient, safe, and sustainable transportation. Mr Volldal holds an MSc in Industrial Economics and Technology Management (civil engineering) from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
CFO
Kjell Christian Bjørnsen was appointed CFO effective 1 March 2020. Mr. Bjørnsen came from a position as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Kavli Group, and has, prior to that, held positions within business development, strategy, and finance in several global industrial companies, including the CFO position of REC ASA. Mr. Bjørnsen holds a MSc in Chemical Engineering from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
CTO
Marius Løken assumed his role as Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Nel ASA in June 2023. Prior to this, he honed his leadership at TOMRA Systems ASA, ascending through positions like Head of Europe Asia Pacific, Head of Technology, and Head of Product Management. In total, Marius spent over 23 years at TOMRA, making significant contributions across various technological and commercial facets. His academic foundation is rooted in a Master of Science in Mechanical from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), with the master thesis conducted at Michigan Technological University.
Anne Liberg
CHRO
Anne Liberg became CHRO on 2 April 2024. A Norwegian citizen, she has extensive leader experience from McKinsey & Company (1995-2016) spanning from IT-Management to leading the Administration in the Oslo Office. She holds a Computer & Information Sciences degree from the Norwegian School of Information Technology. After leaving McKinsey in 2016, she was a part of the founding team at Arundo Analytics, serving first as Chief of Staff, then as CHRO, contributing to its strategic HR development. Her tenure at Arundo has been marked by significant contributions to the company’s strategic growth and HR strategy, focusing on building a global organization from a people perspective.
CPO Electrolyser
Hans H.Hide is Chief Projects Officer (CPO) and joined Nel in March 2019. Prior to joining Nel, he served as Project Director in Kvaerner holding management positions in some of Kvaerner’s largest projects within the oil and gas sector. He has previously served as Project Portfolio Manager ALSTOM covering projects in Europe, The Middle East, SEA and America. Mr. Hide also served as Vice president Projects in REC, where he also held management positions in the projects covering REC’s expansion program within Solar and Silicon. He holds a Master of Science in Process Automation technology from the Norwegian University in Porsgrunn.
Chief Legal Officer
Stein Ove Erdal is Chief Legal Officer and joined Nel in May 2019. Erdal comes from a position as an Associate General Counsel in Nexans Norway AS where he worked for nine years with complex offshore EPCI and EPC projects. He also has experience from working as a lawyer in the oil and gas division of Arntzen de Besche, as a deputy judge and as a defence counsel. Erdal holds a Cand. Jur. (Qualifying law degree) from the University of Oslo.
Todd Cartwright
CCO
Todd Cartwright joined Nel as Chief Commercial Officer, effective January 2nd, 2024. A US citizen with a BS in Mechanical Engineering, he brings over 30 years of energy sector experience. Mr. Cartwright has held key roles at CB&I and Technip Energies, notably as Commercial Vice President at the latter. In this role, he led business development, key account management, and strategic partnerships, and was responsible for commercial leadership of strategic projects across legacy and energy transition markets such as CCUS, Hydrogen, Ammonia, BioFuels, LNG, and Circularity.
Kai Rune Heggland
SVP Alkaline Operations
Kai Rune Heggland assumed his role as Country Manager for Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser AS and Vice President of Operations for the Alkaline Division in 2022, taking full responsibility for Alkaline operations in October 2024. Prior to joining Nel, he served as Vice President of Operations at Alcoa Aluminum for Europe, the Middle East, and Australia from 2015 to 2020. His career spans from Production Manager in Statkraft, Plant Manager in Elkem Aluminum and different roles in Alcoa as well as different Country Manager responsibilities and Board Member positions in various companies. He holds a Master’s degree in Management from BI Norwegian Business School (Handelshøyskolen BI), a Master’s degree in Power Systems from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTH), and a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics from Agder Ingeniør- og Distriktshøyskole.
Tushar Ghuwalewala
SVP PEM Operations
Tushar Ghuwalewala assumed the role of Vice President of Operations for the PEM Division in April 2020, and assumed full responsibility for PEM Operations in October 2024. Since joining Nel in 2000, Mr. Ghuwalewala has held positions across Engineering, Technical Service, and various Leadership roles. Prior to his tenure at Nel, he contributed to projects supporting NASA at ABB Lummus Global. Mr. Ghuwalewala holds both a Bachelor of Science and a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tulane University (US), and is a US citizen.
Board members
Arvid Moss
Chair
Mr. Moss (born 1958), is an experienced executive who has been a member of Norsk Hydro’s corporate management board since 2008. Moss served as EVP for the Business Area Energy between 2010-2024. Since mid 2024 he is special advisor to Hydro’s CEO and chair of Hydro REIN, the renewable company owned by Hydro and Macquarie Asset Management. Since 2022 Mr. Moss also is the Chair of the Board in Norway’s Export Council (Norsk Eksportråd). In Norsk Hydro, he has been responsible for strategy and business development in the aluminium area and on the corporate level for several periods. He also led the process that resulted in the oil and gas merger between Norsk Hydro and Statoil in 2006. Mr. Moss also served as State Secretary and Chief of staff in the Norwegian Prime Minister’s office (1989-1990). Mr. Moss has a MSc in Economics and Business Administration (siviløkonom), Norwegian School of Economics (NHH). He has been a member of the board since 2023 and holds no shares directly and/or indirectly in Nel ASA.
Hanne Blume
Board member
Ms. Blume (born 1968) is Executive Vice President and Group CHRO in the Danish DLG Group. Hanne Blume has a Master of Science degree in Business Administration and Commercial Law from Aarhus School of Business. She has also supplementary leadership training from international schools INSEAD, IMD, London Business School and Wharton. She has management experience and board experience from both listed and private companies. Ms. Blume is a Danish citizen and lives in Juelsminde in Denmark. She has been a member of the board since 2019 and holds no shares directly and/or indirectly in Nel ASA.
Committees:
Remuneration Committee
Charlotta Falvin
Board member
Ms. Falvin (born 1966) serves as a board member in several listed companies within the technology and communication industries. She has previous management positions e.g. as CEO in The Astonishing Tribe AB which were sold to Blackberry in 2010. Charlotta Falvin has a Master of Science degree in Business Administration and Economics from University of Lund. She is appointed Honorary Doctor at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Lund. Ms. Falvin is a Swedish citizen and lives in Genarp, Sweden. She has been a member of the board since 2020 and holds 46,000 shares directly and/or indirectly in Nel ASA.
Committees:
Audit, Risk and Sustainability Committee
Beatriz Malo De Molina
Board member
Beatriz Malo de Molina (1972) has had a 30 year career in M&A, finance and capital markets, beginning in 1994 with EY and including positions in Alvarez & Marsal, Orkla, Kistefos, McKinsey, and Goldman Sachs. Current board positions: Chairman of Otovo, and Chair of the Audit Committee of EMGS. Beatriz graduated summa cum laude from Georgetown University in Washington D.C., and has a Master’s degree from the University of Oslo. Ms. Malo de Molina is a Spanish citizen and has been a resident of Norway since 2006. She has been a member of the board since 2017 and holds no shares directly and/or indirectly in Nel ASA.
Committees:
Audit, Risk and Sustainability Committee
Tom Røtjer
Board member
Mr. Røtjer (born 1953), former Senior Vice President, Head of Projects in Norsk Hydro ASA until 2018. He served as Executive Vice President Projects (member of Corporate Management Board) in Norsk Hydro from 2007-2012. He has held previous board positions in Aibel AS , Hæhre & Isachsen Gruppen AS (Akh Gruppen AS), Det norske oljeselskap ASA (Aker BP ASA), Qatalum Ltd., and Green Energy Geothermal Ltd. Mr. Røtjer holds a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Trondheim, Norway. He is a Norwegian citizen and resides in Oslo, Norway. He has been a member of the board since 2020 and holds no shares directly and/or indirectly in Nel ASA.
Jens Bjørn Staff
Board member
Mr. Staff (born 1967) is the Group CEO in Skagerak Energi, a Norwegian utility company, since 2020. Mr. Staff has broad executive experience from Orkla where he served as Group CFO for 6 years and Statkraft where he was Group CFO for 3 years. He has also had several executive positions in Statoil over the course of 6 years. He has previously held board positions in Isola Holding AS, Statoil, Orkla and corporate assembly in Jotun. Mr. Staff holds an MBA from the Norwegian School of Economics (2002) and an BA from the Norwegian Business School. In addition to International Directors Program from INSEAD (2022) and the Advanced Valuation program at NYU Stern School of Business (2023). Mr. Staff holds no shares directly and/or indirectly in Nel ASA.
Nomination Committee
To contact the Nomination Committee, please send an email to agm@nelhydrogen.com
Eivind Sars Veddeng
Chair
Mr. Veddeng is a portfolio manager in the asset manager DNB Asset Management. On aggregated level, portfolios managed by DNB is among the largest shareholders in Nel ASA.
Andreas Poole
Mr. Poole is a portfolio manager in the asset manager Storebrand Asset Management. On aggregated level, portfolios managed by Storebrand is among the largest shareholders in Nel ASA.
Mai-Lill Ibsen
Mai-Lill Ibsen has for several years worked as a non-executive director and as an adviser through her firm Ibsen Raad. Her executive background is from the finance sector; as deputy CEO of Eksportfinans ASA, Country head of Citibank Norway and CEO of NOS ASA. She has board experience, both as a board member and chair, from companies in the Nordics; public, private and government-owned. She has also varied experience from nomination committees (Gjensidige, BW LPG, Aberdeen funds, Oslo Stock Exchange). She is currently chair of the Europris ASA nomination committee, and vice chair of the nomination committees of DEAS Eiendomsfond Norge I IS/AS and DEAS Norway Balanced Property Fund AS. She has the degree Siviløkonom from BI and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Ms Ibsen is a Norwegian citizen and lives in Oslo.
Nanna Sjaastad
Nanna Sjaastad is working as a Commercial Director of Hydro REIN focusing on the investment and development of renewable assets (primarily solar and wind). She is currently a member of the Board of three renewable investments within Nordic solar. Mrs. Sjaastad also has more than 10 years’ experience from corporate and investment banking in SEB, DNB and Citi Bank covering a broad range of industries like shipping, offshore, energy, renewables, and industrials. She holds a MSc in Industrial Economics and Technology Management from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Mrs. Sjaastad is a Norwegian citizen and lives in Oslo.
Code of Conduct
In Nel we believe that conducting business in an ethical, transparent, and responsible manner is not just the right way to work, but the only way to work. It is not sufficient to provide the best possible technical solutions, we also need to conduct ourselves in the best possible way.
Compliance with applicable national and international laws and regulations is mandatory, but we have to go beyond that. We must ensure that we do our business with the highest integrity, respecting the cultures, dignity, and rights of individuals and entities in the regions where we operate. We want to avoid the risks associated with inappropriate conduct and instead turn ethical and responsible business into a competitive advantage for Nel. I expect all of us to show the world that Nel will lead the way in this area also.
Therefore, we have developed a Code of Conduct, which describes business ethics principles and practices that are fundamental to Nel. The document reflects our values, the key pillars of the Nel Business System (NBS), and generally accepted principles for how to behave and act. Adhering to the Code of Conduct is mandatory for everyone who works in Nel or acts on behalf of Nel.
Combined with your sound judgement, the Code of Conduct should help you to make the right decisions. If anything is unclear or you have any questions about the Code of Conduct, you should seek guidance from your manager or other internal resources. I strongly encourage all employees and stakeholders to ask questions if you observe any suspicious behavior and/or possible violations of the Code of Conduct.
Any report of concern can be done through one of our reporting channels.
- Håkon Volldal, CEO
Information security
At Nel, we recognize the critical importance of protecting our information assets.
Our Information Security Policy is grounded in the internationally recognized ISO 27001 standard and is further supported by the NIST SP 800-53 control catalogue. This policy is integral to our operations, particularly in our core area of manufacturing equipment.
This document outlines our structured approach to information security, reflecting our commitment to managing and safeguarding our data against unauthorized access and threats. It has been developed with careful consideration and is fully endorsed by our Board of Directors. Through this policy, we aim to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our information assets, aligning with both our organizational goals and industry best practices.
For previous information please see our Reports and Presentations page.
Remuneration
Our remuneration principles are designed to ensure responsible and sustainable remuneration practises that support our business strategy, long-term interests, and sustainable business practises.
We have a leading role within the global hydrogen industry, and as such we compete for senior management talent within the industry in all its locations worldwide.