Background
Sætre was born in Vartdal in Ørsta, son of a carpenter.
Businessman master Chief Executive Officer of Statoil
Sætre was born in Vartdal in Ørsta, son of a carpenter.
He holds a master"s degree from Norwegian School of Economics. He joined Statoil in 1980. He was central in the listing of the company on the Oslo Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange in 1981, following a privatization of Statoil.
He has been part of the Executive board since 2003, first as Chief Financial Officer and from 2010 to 2014 as director of Marketing, Processing and Renewable energy.
As Chief Financial Officer he played a major role in the merger of Statoil with Hydro Oil & Gas in 2007. He has also been responsible for Statoil"s marketing strategy for natural gas sale in Europe.
At the resignation of Helge Lund as Chief Executive Officer in 2014, Sætre was made interim Chief Executive Officer. He denied any interest in taking on the position permanently, but changed his mind after being asked by the board in December 2014. Sætre is the first Chief Executive Officer of Statoil to be recruited from within the company"s staff
He is, as of February 2015, a board member of Strømberg Gruppen and Trucknor.