Executive management

DNO's executive management has extensive experience in the oil and gas industry. The executive management team is responsible for the overall conduct of DNO's business activities.

Bjørn Dale
Managing Director

Mr. Dale joined DNO in 2011 with extensive legal and cross-border transactions and corporate restructuring experience. Mr. Dale holds a Master of Law degree from the University of Oslo and an Executive MBA from the Stockholm School of Economics.

Chris Spencer
Deputy Managing Director

Mr. Spencer joined DNO in 2017. Mr. Spencer previously served as the CEO of Rocksource ASA and in various commercial and technical roles at Royal Dutch Shell and BP. He is a Chartered Engineer with the Institution of Chemical Engineers in the United Kingdom.

Haakon Sandborg
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Sandborg joined DNO in 2001. In addition to his oil and gas experience, he has a background in banking, including positions at DNB Bank. Mr. Sandborg holds a Master of Business Administration from the Norwegian School of Business Administration.

Ute Quinn
Group General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer

Ms. Quinn joined DNO in 2017. Ms. Quinn previously served as General Counsel of Sakhalin Energy and in various legal executive roles at Royal Dutch Shell and Hess Corporation. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Vassar College and a law degree from Temple University School of Law.

Nicholas Whiteley
Group Exploration and Subsurface Director

Dr. Whiteley joined DNO in 2015. Dr. Whiteley previously served as General Manager of Exploration at Cairn India. He commenced his career at BP and has a Master of Science degree in Earth Sciences from the University of Cambridge and a PhD from the University of Oxford.

Ørjan Gjerde
General Manager DNO North Sea

Mr. Gjerde joined DNO in 2017. Mr Gjerde previously served as CFO of Noreco and in management roles at various oil services companies. He is a state authorized public accountant and obtained his Master level degree in Accounting and Auditing from the Norwegian School of Economics.

Tom Allan
General Manager KRI (Kurdistan Region of Iraq)

Mr. Allan joined DNO in 2019. Mr. Allan previously served as COO of Oilserv and in various operational and managerial roles at Schlumberger. Mr. Allan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada.

Geir Arne Skau
Human Resources Director

Mr. Skau joined DNO in 2019. Mr. Skau previously served in the Norwegian Armed Forces and in various human resources leadership roles at TechnipFMC. He was educated at the Norwegian Military Academy.

Aernout van der Gaag
Finance Director North Sea and Group Planning

Mr. Van der Gaag joined DNO in 2017. Mr. Van der Gaag previously served in various finance and business services roles at Talisman Energy and Royal Dutch Shell. He holds a Master of Business Economics from the University of Groningen.

Tonje Pareli Gormley
General Counsel - Middle East

Ms. Gormley joined DNO in 2018 upon secondment as a partner from the law firm Arntzen de Besche. She holds a law degree from the University of Oslo and a diploma in law from the London Metropolitan University.