Our Management Team in Norway
The company’s eight-strong Management Team brings decades of expertise and experience.
The Management Team for Wintershall Dea in Norway steer the day-to-day course of the business, bringing decades of experience to their roles. Separating the core business functions between exploration, major development projects, operated production and non-operated assets, the Management Team is also represented by leaders who shepherd the experience of other colleagues vital to the ongoing success of the company. Leaders in reservoir management and engineering, strategy and new ventures and HSEQ are joined on the team by managers supporting the business in finance, legal and strategy.
Michael Zechner
Managing Director
Zechner began his career in the Wintershall graduate programme, working in Argentina and Germany, before taking on a role as a senior geophysicist in Norway. Since then, the Austrian has held various technical and management positions in numerous fields including as an Unconventional Operations Manager in Argentina and Head of Merger Integration Planning for the global merger between Wintershall and Dea. Before starting his current role, he was Wintershall Dea’s Senior Vice President for Global Exploration. He became MD of Wintershall Dea Norge in March 2022. Zechner holds a diploma (Dipl.-Ing) in Applied Geosciences from the University of Leoben, Austria and a postgraduate degree in Petroleum Economics from the Technological Institute of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
I expect Wintershall Dea to be one of the leading gas and oil companies in Norway, operating both the whole length of the value chain and the whole length of the Norwegian Continental Shelf. My job is to help inspire the amazing team we have in Norway to reach our ambitions.
Ole Martin Dahle
Vice President HSEQ
Dahle has more than 15 years of experience in a variety of leadership and management roles calling for a strong HSE mindset and delivery focus. Early in his career he was a process engineer in IGL Oil & Gas Consultants, spending several years working for Marathon Petroleum and later becoming the Operations Team leader in E.ON and then DEA Norge. He was the Facilities & Development Technology Manager in DEA before becoming head of HSEQ at Wintershall Dea in Norway. Dahle has a master’s in Offshore Technology from the University of Stavanger.
Roy Davies
Vice President Exploration & Subsurface
Davies started his career in 2004 at the Schlumberger Research Centre in Boston, before moving to Norway to join Rocksource ASA in 2005. In 2009 he joined E.ON E&P Norge, before moving to London to become Chief Geologist for E.ON in 2013. Since January 2016 he has held various positions in the exploration department of DEA Norge, before joining the new Management Team of Wintershall Dea in Norway after the merger in 2019. He holds a BSc and a PhD in Geology from the University of Liverpool.
Christian Ritzmann
Vice President Finance
Christian has broad international experience in the oil and gas upstream business and spent more than half of his career outside his native Germany in various positions. From 1998, he spent four years in Preussag Energie in Germany before moving to Tunisia as a Financial Controller for OMV, then to Romania as Head of Reporting and Co-ordination for OMV/Petrom. He joined DEA in 2009, enjoying spells as Expert in Subsidiaries Accounting and Head of Business Controlling in Hamburg, and Finance and Information Services Manager in Norway. After the merger with Wintershall in May 2019, Christian became Vice President for Finance for BU Egypt. He joined Wintershall Dea Norge in June 2021. Christian has a degree in Business Management Studies from Osnabrück in Germany.
Ronny Hanssen
Vice President Production & Operations
Hanssen, who joined DEA in June 2017, has 20 years of experience spanning the entire value chain of the oil and gas business. He has worked as Asset Manager for the Dvalin and Snorre fields as well as leading the digitalisation activities in DEA Norge. Prior to joining DEA, Hanssen worked with asset management and new ventures in the private equity owned Core Energy/Point Resources. He also has several years’ domestic and international experience working for Total with operations management and large-scale projects in Norway, France, Angola and North America. Hanssen holds an MSc from the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTNU) and an Executive MBA from BI Norwegian Business School.
Tina Endresen
Vice President Business Services
As a trained lawyer, Endresen has spent most of her career applying her professional background to the Norwegian E&P sector. In addition to a period as associate professor at the Norwegian School of Economics, she has a history working in corporate law in practices in Bergen and Stavanger, including almost 10 years in Kluge law firm, where she specialised in petroleum law. After a period seconded to the legal team in BP, she joined Wintershall in 2011, and took the role as Head of Legal in 2013. She was in 2019 appointed Vice President of Legal and Compliance in Wintershall Dea Norge. She became Vice President of Business Services in 2024, where she is responsible for HR, Communication and Legal services. Endresen graduated with a law degree from the University of Bergen in 1996.
Bjorn Tore Viste Solheim
Vice President Commercial & Sales
Viste Solheim started his career as a gas and midstream negotiator with BP. He went on to hold several senior positions within BP in the UK and Norway, including Performance Manager and Manager for Business Development and Commercial. In 2013 he joined E.ON in a global role as General Manager Commercial. Through the two mergers, first with DEA, then Wintershall, Viste Solheim went on to lead the commercial team for Wintershall Dea Norge and was appointed as Vice President of Commercial in 2021 and Vice President Commercial & Sales in 2024. Viste Solheim has a Master’s in Economics from the University of Bergen.
Stein Erlend Skei
Vice President Projects & Engineering
Skei has spent most of his long E&P career in project management, beginning in Norsk Hydro, before taking on various positions in Statoil, Elf, AkerBP and Vår Energi. He has overseen projects in four continents, notably in the US, the Middle East, the UK, and France, with periods managing deepwater projects in West-Africa. Before joining Wintershall Dea Norge as VP for Projects and Engineering in 2024, he was Vice President for Projects in Vår Energi. Skei has a degree in cybernetics and a master’s in management.
Nils Petter Norheim
Vice President Drilling & Wells
Norheim has more than 25 years’ experience from the drilling industry, with a background both from the Contractor and the Operator side. He began his offshore career in Baker Hughes following 15 years in Equinor, holding various operational and management positions onshore and offshore, both in Norway and Internationally. Norheim joined Wintershall in 2012 and held the position as Drilling and Wells Manager for the Maria field development before he became head of Drilling & Wells in Wintershall Dea Norge. He was appointed Vice President in 2024. Norheim holds a MsC degree in Petroleum engineering from the University of Stavanger, specialising in drilling technology.
