Statoil is one of the largest suppliers of energy to the UK and the rest of Europe. In this lecture, John Knight will explain how the company has placed sustainability at the heart of its strategy, and how Statoil will address the future challenges and opportunities precipitated by climate change.
Event summary
Statoil is a major oil, gas and energy provider and among the largest suppliers of energy to the UK and the rest of Europe. Throughout its 40 year history it has been recognized as a sustainability leader in the oil and gas industry.
Over the last decade Executive Vice President John Knight has been centrally involved in the growth of Statoil from a Norwegian producer to an international player. More recently, he has brought sustainability to the heart of the global strategy and business development function in Statoil, recognizing that this is a key strategic driver for the company.
At the lecture John will talk openly about his personal commitment and share from a board room perspective how Statoil is dealing with the climate challenge, both in its current operations and as it prepares its leadership and strategy for the profound and long term challenges and opportunities ahead. The talk will be followed by an open dialogue session with the audience and John and his team.
Biography
John Knight is an Executive Vice President of Statoil, a Fortune 50 oil and gas company that is majority owned by the Norwegian state and quoted on both the New York and Oslo stock exchanges. He has been a member of the Executive Committee (equivalent of a US/UK unitary board) since January 2011 where he runs the Global Strategy and Business Development department (GSB). GSB areas of responsibility include corporate strategy, business development, mergers, acquisitions and divestments, geo-political analysis (including changing security threats) and sustainability policy (including climate policy)
Before his current position, he was a member of the management committee of Statoil’s international division. He was involved in growing Statoil’s business in all parts of the world where Statoil operates, including US, Canada, Brazil, Venezuela, Algeria, UK, Russia, Asia, Nigeria, Angola and Tanzania.
John is also the Country Manager for Statoil in the UK. In addition to being the largest importer of gas to the UK, Statoil is also the second largest supplier of gas to Europe after Gazprom and one of the largest offshore wind operators. He is in regular dialogue with UK government departments, mostly at BIS, DECC and the Cabinet Office.
Outside Statoil he is a member of the Advisory Board for the Columbia SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, New York and Chairman of the ONS16 Conference in Norway. Previously John studied law at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and Inns of Court School of Law. He practised law from 1981-87, including at Shell International Petroleum (1985-87). In 1987-2002 he held various positions in energy investment banking including head of Energy at Chase, UBS and Salomon Brothers before joining Statoil in 2002.