Margareth Øvrum

Biography

Born in Skien in the south of Norway, in 1981 she graduated with a 4.5 year degree (Sivilingeniør) in engineering from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in Trondheim, specializing in Engineering Physics. In 1982, she began working for Statoil where she became the company's first female platform manager while she was working at the Gullfaks Field. She then became senior vice-president for operations at the Velsefrikk oil field and vice-president of operations support for the Norwegian continental shelf. She is currently Statoil's Executive Vice President of Technology, Projects & Drilling.

In 2013, Øvrum was named "Oilman of the Year" by the Society of Petroleum Engineers. The same year, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of universal suffrage in Norway, Øvrum was voted the Most Influential Woman in Technology.

Øvrum has been a director at Atlas Copco since 2008. She is also a director of the University of Bergen and has served on the board of the Storebrand financial services company. She has held directorships with Ratos, Elkem and Siemens Norge.

Margareth Øvrum has lived in Bergen since 1987. After working for three years offshore, she returned home to look after her three daughters and her dog. In her current position, she actively supports the role of women in the field:

"I've no doubt been a role model for women in everything I have done. In most of my assignments, I have been both the youngest woman and the first. When I became Statoil's executive vice president for technology, projects and drilling, my goal was to have a senior management team consisting of at least 40% women. That I have achieved. But they are hired because they are talented, not because they are women."