Our Management Team
With many years of experience, our team of dedicated specialists work collaboratively with our customers, partners, and each other to build innovative solutions that drive digital transformation.
Esben Thorup
Chief Executive Officer
Esben has worked with-in digitalization projects in the offshore drilling industry for many years, working closely with operators, drilling contractors and other service providers. Esben was the Head of Digital Innovation in Maersk Drilling and has been with the Maersk Group since 2011 in various leadership positions within digital, innovation, IT and procurement. Before this, Esben worked for Ramboll Group in Denmark and India after obtaining a MSc degree from Technical University of Denmark in 2008.
Mikael Skov
Chief Technology Officer
Mikael has an extensive background within automation engineering, spanning from electrical engineering to high-level software development.His career started with developing automation software for large process plants in the industrial sector. He then transitioned to software services specifically for the Oil and Gas industry in which he has had specialist domain experience for 10+ years. Additionally, Mikael has worked for multiple relevant organisations within the O&G industry with companies such as NOV, Aker BP, NPD etc., where he provided services as developer and at managerial level. Mikael is passionate about “making software work” and product development where the value sets the need for technology
Michael Olesen
Chief Operations Officer
Michael started his career straight from Marine Engineering school from where he joined the development program “Special Driller Trainee” aimed at future offshore leaders within Maersk Drilling. Since joining Maersk Drilling more than 16 years ago, his time has been spent in various offshore and onshore roles within the company, from senior offshore positions to onshore management position. Michael is focused on optimizing the drilling process and delivering quality.
Eirin Wille
Chief Human Resources Officer
Eirin has a wealth of experience within HR Management Positions from operators in the oil & gas industry such as DONG Energy, Shell and OMV. Before Eirin joined Horizon56, she was the Head of HR in the airline company SAS Scandinavia. Eirin holds a MSc degree in Change Management and a BSc degree in HRM Management in addition to Strategy, Project Management and Contract law from the University of Stavanger.
Aaron Campbell
Chief Financial Officer
Aaron was named Chief Financial Officer of Horizon56 in August 2024. He brings over 15 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and joins the company following positions at Noble Corporation, Pacific Drilling, Transcocean, and TechnipFMC. His professional background includes M&A, investor relations, corporate planning, business optimization, and project management. Aaron holds an MBA from Rice University and a BSc in engineering from Texas A&M University.
Craig Reid
Chief Product Officer
Craig’s background is strongly connected to operations which started more than 20 years ago with Santa Fe Drilling. He has progressed through all the “traditional” job roles within the Drilling Industry Hierarchy structure, including onshore performance-based roles and additionally, has cross organizational experience with Drilling Contractors such as Transocean, Maersk Drilling and Noble.Craig transitioned from operations to digital optimization within the oil and gas industry in 2019. Craig is passionate about improving digital opportunities and services within well construction operations.
Asbjørn Sola
Chief Commercial Officer
Asbjørn Sola has extensive management experience from several industries including the oil and gas industry. He has worked within finance, technology, sales and marketing with an entrepreneurial focus over the last 25 years. Asbjørn has held senior positions – the country manager of the B2B marketplace IBX, CFO of Sense Intellifield (developed Sitecom), and in 2011 he was one of the founders of Sekal. He holds a MSc as a Software Engineer from the University of Stavanger and an MBA from Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh.