CEO Who Ran $1.1 Trillion Fund for 12 Years Skips Last Report
CEO Who Ran $1.1 Trillion Fund for 12 Years Skips Last Report
(Bloomberg) -- After more than a decade running the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, Yngve Slyngstad won’t be there to present what would have been his final set of results.
In an invitation to a press conference for the half-year report on Tuesday, the Oslo-based fund said Slyngstad’s deputy, Trond Grande, will do the presenting instead. A spokeswoman for the fund said the outgoing CEO and Grande “have alternated” in the past in hosting press conferences. “This time it’s Trond Grande,” she said.
Slyngstad’s absence comes amid a recruitment storm surrounding the $1.1 trillion Norwegian fund, with his designated successor, hedge fund manager Nicolai Tangen, under fire from lawmakers. The central bank’s watchdog has even questioned the legality of the process by which Tangen was hired, fueling speculation that it might now be subject to change.
Norway’s parliament is due to voice its opinion this week on a series of issues relating to Tangen’s appointment.
No ‘Grand Finale’
Karin Thorburn, a professor of finance at the Norwegian School of Economics, said it’s “surprising” that Slyngstad wouldn’t want to present the half-year results “as a grand finale” after his 12-year stint as CEO.
“I believe [the fund] wouldn’t have done that if they thought that Tangen would take up his position on Sept. 1 as planned,” she said.
Line Aaltvedt, a spokeswoman for Norges Bank Investment Management, the central bank unit that runs the fund, said there’s “nothing new to report” on Tangen’s start date, in an emailed response to questions.
The planned change of CEO has been fraught with controversy. The central bank failed to eliminate the risk of conflicts of interest tied to Tangen’s personal wealth and his firm’s use of tax havens, according to its watchdog. On Friday, Norway’s biggest opposition party, Labor, came out against his appointment.
The government has now said it would consider some changes to the whole process. The Finance Ministry said on Monday it had hired a law firm to look at whether any state authorities had the legal right to instruct Norges Bank in its task of appointing CEOs for the fund.
Reduced Ownership
Those who know Tangen, including the founding CEO of the wealth fund, say he’s eminently qualified for the job. Tangen has reduced his stake in his firm, AKO Capital LLP, to 43% and put his holdings in a blind trust. He’s also said he wouldn’t have taken the job at the Norwegian wealth fund if he’d been forced to relinquish his ownership entirely.
Meanwhile, Slyngstad was himself tainted by the drama surrounding Tangen, after a Norwegian tabloid earlier this year reported details of his participation in a lavish event hosted by the hedge fund manager before his official appointment as the wealth fund’s new CEO.
Slyngstad played no role in Tangen’s appointment. But he’s since said he “really screwed up” when he accepted a luxury flight paid for by his successor. The outgoing CEO has been exonerated of wrongdoing after an internal probe, though the wealth fund acknowledged it needed to review its compliance rules.
Tangen never appeared on an official list of candidates for the CEO position at the wealth fund, whereas Grande, who will be presenting the results on Tuesday, put himself forward for the role.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.