1 Members of the Council on Ethics

The Council on Ethics

Svein Richard Brandtzæg (Chair)

Brandtzæg has a doctorate in engineering from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and a diploma in business administration from BI Norwegian Business School. Over the course of 34 years, he occupied a variety of positions at Norsk Hydro ASA, both in Norway and abroad. For 10 years up until 2019, he was the company’s CEO. Brandtzæg has served on the boards of directors of numerous enterprises and industry associations. He is currently chair of Dormakaba AG and a director of Mondi PLC and Eramet Norge AS.

Siv Helen Rygh Torstensen (Vice Chair)

Rygh Torstensen is a lawyer, who is currently EVP Legal & Compliance at Equinor ASA. She has worked for Equinor in a variety of roles since 1998, mostly in the Legal & Compliance Department. She has previously served as the company’s Chief Compliance Officer. Torstensen also headed the CEO’s Office for three years until August 2019. Before joining Equinor, she worked as a lawyer with the law firm Cappelen & Krefting DA and in Stavanger City Council’s Legal Services Department.

Cecilie Hellestveit

Hellestveit is a lawyer, with a doctorate in humanitarian law. She also holds an MPhil in Middle Eastern Studies. Hellestveit has worked at various research institutions, including PRIO, SMR, NUPI, IKOS and ILPI. She has also been affiliated with the Atlantic Council in Washington DC and the Max Planck Institute in Germany. She is currently a researcher at the Norwegian Academy of International Law and is a special advisor at the Norwegian National Human Rights Institution. Hellestveit has authored a textbook on the international law of war and several books on contemporary armed conflicts.

Vigdis Vandvik

Vandvik has a PhD in plant ecology and is a professor at the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Bergen, where she also heads the CeSAM Centre for Sustainable Area Management. Since 2017, she has been affiliated with the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research. Vandvik has extensive experience at the intersection between research, public administration and environmental policy, and has participated in a number of national and international research projects, knowledge processes and committees. She has also participated in various advisory councils and commissions. She is the lead author of several reports published by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

Egil Matsen

Matsen holds a PhD in Economics from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH) and is currently Professor of Economics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Matsen has previously served as Deputy Governor of Norges Bank, with particular responsibility for the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) and was a member of the Bank’s Executive Board. He has also been employed as CEO of Forte Fondsforvaltning, professor and head of the Department of Economics at the NTNU, and as a scientific advisor in Norges Bank’s research department. He is currently a member of KLP’s Board of Directors.

Secretariat

The Council has a Secretariat that investigates and prepares cases for the Council. At the close of the year, the Secretariat had eight employees, and is headed by Eli Lund.