DnB NOR is reorganising and changing the composition of its group management team in order to meet new challenges in the financial industry. Complete statement on www.newsweb.no DnB NOR is reorganising and changing the composition of its group management team in order to meet new challenges in the financial industry. The most important changes are: · the establishment of an operations unit to merge production and operations expertise in Corporate Banking and Payment Services, Retail Banking and Group Services. · the amalgamation of operations in DnB NOR Asset Management and Vital into one business area. · the streamlining of the IT and HR organisations. · the establishment of a corporate centre for group strategy, growth and lean banking across business units. The establishment of a separate production and operations unit will ensure an optimal service level and clearer responsibilities within this link in the value chain. Combining operations that are currently spread among several business areas should yield economies of scale during a time of rising growth in all parts of the Group. Gathering these units under one management will improve efficiency and streamline operations. · Liv Fiksdahl, who has led Bank Production in Corporate Banking and Payment Services, will be head of this area. Making IT a separate business area will promote customer-oriented solutions and strengthen overall priorities and management of the IT unit at group level. DnB NOR wishes to improve operational stability and ensure value creation by developing effective and user-friendly solutions for customers and employees. · Cathrine Klouman, who has headed the business development unit in Retail Banking, will be the new head of IT. Asset Management and Vital will be coordinated to strengthen the emphasis on long-term savings across the Group. Though DnB NOR plans to improve cooperation and resource management within the new business area, the current company structure will be maintained. · Tom Rathke, managing director of Vital and group executive vice president, will head the new business area. 'Challenges related to IT and human resources are so important to the future development of DnB NOR that I wish to include the heads of these operations in group management,' says Rune Bjerke, group chief executive of DnB NOR. 'We have considerably expanded our international operations over the last few years. This will continue, and it is important to establish systems, an organisation and HR policies enabling us to handle the international growth we anticipate. DnB NOR will continue to be a preferred employer; one that can attract and retain talent. This means we must be able to meet the challenges posed by internationalisation, mobility and other changes. · Anne-Brit Folkvord, who has headed Group Services within Human Resources and Group Services, will be the new head of HR. · Kari Olrud Moen will head the new 'Corporate Centre', which will support growth, development and improvements across the Group. The entity will thus be responsible for strategy, group development and support for corporate finance. DnB NOR's group management team will thus have the following members: Rune Bjerke Group chief executive Tom Grøndahl Deputy CEO and CFO Ottar Ertzeid DnB NOR Markets Liv Fiksdahl Operations Anne-Brit Folkvord HR Cathrine Klouman IT Tom Rathke Asset Management and Vital Åsmund Skår Retail Banking Leif Teksum Corporate Banking and Payment Services The Corporate Centre and the Corporate Communications unit will report directly to the group chief executive. --------------------- Cathrine Klouman (44) former head of Business Development in Retail Banking in DnB NOR. She has an Msc from BI Norwegian School of Management and has worked in the DnB NOR Group since 2002. In DnB NOR, she has also been head of the Telephone and Internet banking division in Retail Banking. She has previous management experience from Gjensidige NOR Sparebank and ICA Bank, and has worked for BankAxept and IBM. Anne-Brit Folkvord (51) former head of Group Services in Human Resources and Group Services in DnB NOR. She is a bank economist from Bankakademiet, and holds a diploma in market communication from IFM. Folkvord has worked in the Group since 1986 and has previously been head of the Payment Services division in Corporate Banking in DnB NOR. She has solid experience from establishing new entities in connection with the mergers involving Postbanken, Nordlandsbanken and the establishment of DnB NOR. Liv Fiksdahl (42) former head of Bank Production in Corporate Banking and Payment Services in DnB NOR. She was educated at Trondheim Business School and has worked in DnB NOR since 1998. She has had important tasks related to integration within DNB NOR and has had customer-oriented positions in Gjensidige NOR Sparebank, Handelsbanken and Fokus Bank. Tom Rathke (50) is currently managing director of Vital and group executive vice president in DnB NOR. Rathke was previously managing director of Gjensidige NOR's investment fund company Avanse, prior to which he held managerial positions in If Skadeforsikring, Vesta, SAS and Dyno. His latest position was that of financial director in Vital Forsikring. Rathke is a graduate of BI Norwegian School of Management and has a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin. He has also completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard University. Kari Olrud Moen (37) has been project manager in Finance/Group Staff. She is a graduate of the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration and has an MBA from Berkeley. She has previously been state secretary in the Ministry of Finance and worked as a consultant at McKinsey. http://www.newsweb.no/index.jsp?messageId=153791
